Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year as they say, is officially here. As the holiday crowds descend from all over the world upon Colorado’s mountain towns, Anna-Lisa and I have made it a tradition to escape the madness and head up to a 10th Mountain or Braun hut for a night or two on or around Christmas. This year we decided to book out the Markley Hut, which features one of the shortest approaches of any hut in the system. Keep Reading…
Earlier this fall Brian, Steve and I set off from the Gore Creek Campground and hiked “Hail Peak”. It was a sweet day out, and was one of the last summer-esque days before the area received it’s first real snowfall.
“Hail Peak” is a high point along the ridge line connecting Mt. Valhalla and Mt. Silverthorne just northeast of Snow Lake. It’s a reclusive peak and one that doesn’t see very many ascents on an annual basis. The only reasonable route to the top is via the peak’s southeast slopes, though I know at least one party that’s run the connecting ridge over to Mt. Valhalla. The approach from Gore Creek TH takes the long trail up the drainage to the Recen Brother’s grace site, then up the trail to Gore Lake. From there, you have to split off the trail and hike up through the open meadows towards Snow Lake. Eventually you’ll be standing right at the base of “Hail Peak” with nothing but a few thousand feet of boulder hopping between you and the summit. Keep Reading….
A couple weeks after our Sunlight Basin pack-in, Steve and I headed back down to the Weminuche to try for a few more peaks at the tail end of summer. The destination this time around was Stormy Gulch via Trinity Creek. From there we ended up hitting Peaks Two and Three to the northeast of Vestal Basin, and Peak Eight to the west of Silex Lake. Keep Reading…
Sometimes climbing these mountains can be a massive logistical undertaking. But other times the trips just write themselves. That was the case for me on a random weekend in the autumn of 2025. I was feeling pretty burned out with the relentless responsibilities of life. As such, mountains have been hard to come by this year. A trip to the hills was long overdue. I was originally planning on working on my centennial list via the apostles group. But an early dusting of snow made me reconsider. As I did, I settled on the Mt. Solitude group. Keep Reading…