Dillon and I loaded into his Jeep and made our way south after work on Thursday evening, intent on hiking Gladstone Peak on Friday followed by Rio Grande Pyramid on Saturday (both Centennial 13ers). Anyone who knows the San Juans decently well will probably quickly realize that these two peaks aren’t exactly close to each other; not in a straight line but especially not with regard to drive time between trailheads. Continue reading…
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…
For several years now I’ve been slowly chipping away at the Centennial 13ers, trying to do them each in the fashion that makes the most sense. Peaks like Vestal and Dallas in the San Juans for example seem best climbed as summer rock scrambles, since their approaches are long and they both hold classic alpine routes.Peaks like Grizzly and Cronin in the Sawatch on the other hand seem best done as ski outings since they have nice couloirs/faces that make them unique. Keep reading…
Labor Day weekend in the San Juans has become sort of a tradition over the years. The extra day, usually accompanied with decent weather, combine for a perfect time to bag some peaks. With a full year of long winter slogs, spring descents and summer ridge runs, your legs are finely tuned for long days, and the monsoon season is finally starting to calm down. For some, this is the culmination and final hoorah before hanging up the boots, for others, just another great weekend in the hills. Read more…