A Great Day on an Alpine Classic: Kieners Route
Tom Pierce and I got out Saturday and climbed what I would consider to be the most fun route I‘ve been on to date. I‘ve been thinking about Kieners for a few years now and the opportunity came up for me this past March to try a winter ascent (pretty ambitious for my first time up the route). Tom, a friend of his, and I made our way up to the base of Lambslide and elected to save it for another day due to a large cornice overhanging the Notch, as well as a rather slow approach time. Although somewhat disappointed, I think we all felt the right decision was made in the end. Keep reading…
Jon, Matt, Jon‘s buddy Nate, and I motored to Aspen this past Friday night with the intent of skiing Castle and Conundrum. We were able to drive up the Montezuma road to around 10,800 ft (there was no use trying to get higher due to a monster snow drift blocking the road). It‘s not the best elevation I‘ve ever achieved on this road but it was good enough. Bivy sacks and sleeping bags went down next to the car and the four of us were asleep shortly after. The alarm went off at 3:30am and we hit the trail at 4:30. Thanks to Matt‘s killer pace right out of the gate we were able to reach the top of the jeep trail in an hour and a half, seeing a sunrise from this basin is one of the better experiences I‘ve had in the mountains this year. 