The Sangres are an area of wild contrasts. A linear range running from Salida all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the mountains are characterized by prominent, jagged conglomerate masses, rising straight out of the San Luis Valley. Much has been mentioned throughout this site of the intimidating nature of its mountains, and long, arduous approaches to the alpine. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a nice change of pace from this and is the perfect place to exercise your inner child for a weekend, or longer. Keep reading…
With ski conditions starting to deteriorate up high and a good amount of summer driving on the agenda, I knew I wanted to keep things local this past Saturday. My buddy Jason Fruh and I talked about going for Pettingell Peak which resides at the head of Herman Gulch only an hour’s drive from Denver. We knew it was in (thanks to beta provided by Brandon Chalk and Co who had skied it a week and a half prior), and with the good possibility of a sub-par freeze the night prior we liked the idea of going for a low-angle route. Read more…
Casco Peak is a Centennial 13er located in the northern Sawatch Range. It is the 69th highest peak in the state of Colorado, sitting just to the west of Mount Elbert and southwest of French Peak. The peak itself is often climbed with French Peak (13,940 ft. – ranked) and Frasco Benchmark (13,786 ft. unranked) as seen in the picture above. It is easily and most often accessed from the Halfmoon Creek TH near the Mount Massive TH, but there are several routes in all directions that enable you to choose your own adventure. Keep reading…
I’ve been intrigued by Mount Moran ever since seeing a trip report about it on TGR years ago, then reaffirmed by a pic from a plane included in Chris Davenport’s “50 Classic Ski Descents of North America”. The draw is obvious from the start – an approach on a canoe across a lake in the Tetons to a campsite along a shore and a 6000 foot vertical ski line in the heart of raw nature. In my opinion, that’s a must do for any ski mountaineer, or any mountaineer period. Keep reading…
