Tag Archives: Centennials

Centennial Sunday – California’s West Ridge

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I get excited every time I visit the San Luis Valley. How could you not? It is a 122 mile long, 74 mile wide, vast high desert plain surrounded by mountains. And not just any mountains. To the west, the Sangres rise up like nowhere else in Colorado. Going from 8,000 to 14,000 feet in a matter of 2-3 of miles just never gets old. On every trip I am stunned by the relief off of the valley floor. The fact that most of the high peaks are as rugged as they come only adds to the appeal. Keep reading…

Longs Radical Slam

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As almost anyone who has ever climbed a 14er knows, Gerry Roach’s Colorado’s Fourteeners book is pretty much the bible for all things high in Colorado. It is the book that started it all for many of us and it guided us on many early trips during our mountaineering journeys. The second edition I own shows all the signs of nearly 15 years of use: the cover is coming off, nearly 50 pages are loose, the pages have been written on, and a good chunk of the material is now outdated. Keep reading…

Pomeroy to Carbonate: A Sawatch Six Pack

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This past Saturday morning Steve and I motored down to Poncha Springs and up road 240 to the historic Shavano townsite. Armed with a prototypical September forecast and only one day at our disposal, we hoped to get some good bang for our buck out of the day. Earlier in the week we set our sights on a ridge run from Pomeroy Mountain to Carbonate Mountain (including Cronin), a loop we knew had been documented a few times already but a somewhat rare one nonetheless. Read more…

Goodbye Mountain Snobbery, Hello Wonders of Quandary

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There’s a little gaper in almost all of us. Not many can pop out of the womb as a prefab Blaurock. I grew up in Colorado and “learned” to ski in Levi 501s. Now I hang out with people who ski routes worthy of films, scramble ridges with some legit badass mountain athletes, and laugh at my former self (I still ski horribly, but I at least ditched the Levis). So in the spirit of goodwill with gapers state-wide in hopes that they can similarly evolve, I offer this report. Keep reading…