Slick Rock Bike Trail

Well my niece decided she must have a June wedding, so she plans it with a week's notice. What this means for the YACC is a trip to Moab, Utah rather than a rafting trip on the best water in quite a few years.

Having family in Moab means that I have biked Slick Rock many times. Since Larry and I are planning a Kokopelli trip in September, I decided I should bring my bike to the wedding. Dalton and I busted ass out of Denver on Friday night and spent the night in Grand Junction. Saturday morning I took my bike to the Lunch Loop area and took a trip up Pet-e-kes, over to Little Park Road, then down the Eagle's Tail. This was a nice warm up for Moab on Sunday.

Sunday morning I was supposed to help clean up after the Saturday night festivities. Instead I ditched my duties and headed up to Slick Rock. I was surprised to find only a few vehicles in the parking lot. Has everyone abandoned Moab, or is it the heat?

Since I was riding alone and there weren't very many people on the trail, I didn't push my luck too much. I walked a few sections that normally I would have chanced a ride. My training hasn't been hard-core up to this point, but I found that I am in pretty good shape. I pulled some of the hard hills (picture 1) and made the full 11 mile trip in good time.

Picture 2 is a classic view of biking on great rock with the La Salle's in the back ground. The third pic proves I made it out to Shrimp Rock and back. The final picture shows the section where Jeepers and bikers share this super area.

I can't wait to ride this with Larry so we can compare skills!

Mount Geneva to Mount Santa Fe Traverse

On June 29, 2008 Sean and I planned to ascend Mount Geneva, Mount Santa Fe and Mount Decatur. We felt this would be a good tune up for the summer hiking season. It is always fun to climb some 13ers since there are far fewer people: providing a more pure alpine experience.

To get there you take Guanella Pass Road, then make a right at FR 119 and take it to the gate. From the gate hike up the road past a nice cabin. We weren't sure exactly where to leave the road, so we decided to start bushwhacking just past the first Y. It turns out we ascended a very steep section of Mount Landslide. In hindsight we should have continued up the road further before leaving it. No matter, it was a good quad burner. Once atop Landslide we followed the ridge crest over to Geneva. This section is a pleasant high altitude hike with the usual stunning Colorado views (photo 1 atop Geneva). The descent from Geneva offered the only scramble section for the day, but you must work to make it happen. It is worth it since following the trail is quite uninteresting.

The ascent of Santa Fe is again steep and by now the legs were feeling weaker. Once atop Santa Fe we felt like conquerors so we chose to descend the steep ridge heading straight for the road far below (photo 2). This meant we wouldn't bag Mount Decatur, but from this apex it looked like a long way over there with much altitude loss and gain.

About half way down the face of Mount Santa Fe we found a wonderful snow field. I failed to bring an ice axe, but Sean had his. The run out seemed safe and the angle wasn't extreme, so I felt comfortable doing a glissade sans axe. It was quite fun! We found another steeper glissade heading down to lake. This one was a bit more challenging, and I started thinking I should never leave the truck without an ice axe. You never know when you will encounter good snow even in the dog days of summer. Check out the third photo.

Once down to the lake we plunge stepped the rest of the snow past the beautiful waterfall in this last photo. Our goal was to avoid the quagmire in the basin, but it pursued us no matter our course. We light-footed it across the swamp and were fortunate to find the road home.

Second FlatIron 2008

More fun times climbing Free Way on the Second FlatIron high above Boulder, Colorado. On this fine June day my climbing partner was my son Dalton. It was the first time Dalton had joined me; usually it is Matt. Both are better scramblers than I am, but I still have just as much fun.

Approaching the 2nd from Chautauqua Park there were many people on the trail. Too many. The bottom of the climb is the most technical, just because it is steeper and has fewer holds. The holds become more plentiful the farther up you go.

Eventually we climbed to the point where you must make a flying leap to the rock below. The jump isn't hard to make, but it makes one ponder it for a few minutes. The jump is much easier than trying the downclimb.

We climbed to the high point because the last few hundred feet is a whole lot of fun. When you do this you must downclimb in order to reach the exit point on the North side of the rock. The exit point is always a bit of a move if you don't do it all the time, but not hard.

I think Dalton had fun on his first FlatIron climb!

Holy Cross Bike Ride

My brother Larry and I hooked up for a mountain bike ride for the first time. Larry has recently taken up the sport and is gung ho to ride the entire Kokopelli trail in September. We headed out to Fruita Colorado to take on Mary's Loop. Instead we took a wrong turn and ended up riding Rustler's Loop.

After finishing the easy ride, we headed into town and the Board N Buckle to pick up some riding gloves. The friendly staff recommended a fairly new ride called Pet-E-Kes in the lunch loop area on the road to Colorado National Monument. Pet-E-Kes is an intermediate trail that is quite a hoot to ride.

At the top of Pet-E-Kes we decided to head down Holy Cross. Holy Cross is an expert ride with a few crucial crux sections. Larry and I walked our bikes quite a bit. He even crashed and gashed his leg. The trail is named after a particularly gnarly section next to an old wooden cross. We stopped and watched the Yeti Team give it a whirl. Most made it, but even some of them could not clean the steep rocks.

Stay tuned for more on our Kokopelli quest...

Mount Eva Descent

On the last day of May, 2008 Sean and I hiked to the top of 13,130 ft Mount Eva and skied down. Well I snowboarded down. The road was not entirely passable up to the reservoir, so we had to hike the road for about a mile. From the reservoir you head south up a steep drainage from the upper lakes for about a quarter mile. From there you head west to the ridgeline. The mileage from the main reservoir is about 2.25 miles to the summit of Mount Eva.

The final leg to the summit is a fairly steep snowclimb. I had to remove my snowshoes and front point the final 300 feet. It might have been nice to have crampons, but the ascent was never unsafe.

From the summit you ski down the ridge line for about 100 yards to an old tower station. From there a notch in the ridge allows access to the snow slope. This slope was perfect corn snow. Bearing to the left allows access to another slope down to the flats and marshes.

After the flat marshes you get a final snow slope down to the upper reservoirs. This snow was much slushier. The stickiness of the snow caused me some problems on my board, but we made it back.

Square Top Ski Descent

My first ever backcountry snowboard ride took place on May 24, 2008. Sean and I traveled to the top of Guenella Pass from Georgetown, Colorado for an ascent and ski descent of Squaretop Mountain. The pass had just opened the day before, so the timing was perfect.

Sean is a seasoned veteran of backcountry skiing and chose this excellent outing. He recommended that I bring along my snowshoes just in case. The only backpack I have that is suitable for stowing snowshoes and attaching a snowboard is my multi-day pack. It is rather large, but hikes well and I removed as much weight as I could. It turns out that the first mile from the trailhead was mostly dry. Then once you pass the notch and see the lower lake, the snow was fairly well wind-packed and there was not much postholing. The lower lake was already thawed. From here you can see Square Top. Another couple of tele-mark skiers chose to ascend the snowfield we planned to ski. We chose to climb the lefthand ridge. The snow was easily climbed without snowshoes or crampons. We summitted ahead of the other party.

From here the fun 1,000+ ft snowfield was ahead of us. It was about 10:00 AM and the sun was doing its magic on the snow. We decided to take a break and waited about 20 minutes to let the snow soften up a bit. The upper part of the mountain was still a bit icy when we started down, but the snow softened within a couple hundred feet. You can see our route in the first photo. It goes down and to the right, then back left just past the cliff band. The turns down the snow were heaven and I enjoyed every one of them! We had to bear right near the bottom to avoid landing in the lower lake and its icy waters. Check out Mount Bierstadt and Evans along with Sean in the last photo.

For a first descent the day turned out perfectly. We ended the trip with lunch at BeauJo's and a good Pick Axe IPA.

North Star Mountain - East Ridge

I recruited Nick to go along with me on a Colorado Snow Climb of North Star Mountain's East Ridge. This climb starts at the parking lot at the top of Hoosier Pass on Colorado Highway 9. There is a nice sledding hill just up from the parking lot.

We started out on the jeep road that circumscribes the first hill. I understand that part of this road might be private property, but it didn't appear that the mine owners are too interested in keeping people out. They are mostly concerned with people getting hurt on their property. I promise not to sue. There was one part of the road where the snow was particularly steep. Moving over this snow perpendicular to the slope was a delicate affair.

Once you reach the first saddle the mass of North Star confronts you. It is a fun slog up the slope on a huge snowfield. By the time Nick and I made it to the long ridge, we were quite tired. The weather was turning very windy and cold, so we decided to eat lunch and turn around.

On the return we encountered a few ski-mountaineers skinning up the mountain. It would have been fun to have my snowboard, but instead just snowshoed down. Nick did not use a balaclava so his face was quite wind-burned upon arrival back at the truck.

I must return to North Star Mountain again. I would feel safe climbing this mountain alone and the avalanche danger appears low.

Ice Climbing

I took an ice climbing class from Colorado Mountain School on March 1st and 2nd. The first day we learned the basics of ice climbing. We drove to the Big Thompson falls East of Estes Park about 9 miles on Highway 34. After crossing the river and a one mile steep hike you come to a nice but short frozen water fall. The keys to ice climbing are to stick the front points of your crampons into the ice with your feet level. Keep your heels down. Don't move your feet at all once placed. Placing the ice tool is a bit art and science. You should try to find a slight depression in the ice. Swing your tool with assertion to produce a satisfying "thunk". If the ice "dinner plates", don't pick a new spot thinking the ice is bad. Swing your tool in exactly the same spot. You have removed the loose ice, so the second swing should seat nicely.

As in rock climbing, you should keep three points on the ice at all times. Tying a figure-eight follow through with gloves on is a new experience. There were five in our class the first day and we had fun climbing various routes on the ice. One in particular was an ice column. We learned how strong even a small amount of ice is. We learned how to create an Abalacov anchor by drilling a "V" in the ice with an ice screw. You need a short piece of wire to push a sling thru the corner of the V. Once the sling is thru, you can pair it with a carabiner to create the anchor. It is often used on rappels since a minimum of equipment is left behind.

The second day it was just Christiaan and I in the class with Bill. We went up to Rocky Mountain National Park to practice some vertical ice. The approach this day was much longer and the weather was much colder. We took turns climbing two different routes. On vertical ice it is much more important to keep your feet still. Once you lose footing it is hard to kick around and find another spot. You must get used to leaning back off the ice trusting your ice tools. This allows you to see your feet and find the next spot to front point. When placing an ice screw, you might be tempted to angle the ice screw down as you screw to create an angle. Research shows that a slightly upward angle is stronger since it is the first few threads that hold the load. A downward angle could chip away at the ice at the front. Ice screws are around $60 a piece, so this sport is not cheap (unless compared to snowmobiling :-) )

Atlantic Peak

For my second snow climb from Dave Cooper's "Colorado Snow Climbs" book, I chose the first climb in the book: Atlantic Peak. The Atlantic Peak ascent is a ridge climb, so there is little avalanche danger. I was going alone, so I picked one of the easier routes in the book. I also wanted to grow in my skills and confidence before tackling the more challenging routes. This route proved to be just the ticket. Easy enough to feel safe, yet challenging enough to keep your attention.

To reach the trailhead from Denver, take I-70 to Copper Mountain. Take Highway 91 for 6.4 miles to a large plowed parking lot on the east side of the highway. I left the house at around 7:00 AM, and arrived at the trailhead at around 9:30 AM. Leaving earlier would have been better, both for snow conditions as well as avoiding the ski traffic rush up I-70. There were already quite a few vehicles in the parking lot, so I donned the snow shoes and started out. This area is popular with cross-country skiers, so etiquette instructs that you don't tear up their lanes with your cramponed snowshoes.

The approach to the ridge follows a four-wheel drive road for 1.1 miles. You then cut across the wide snow park and ascend up through the trees to reach the broad ridge at the bottom of Atlantic Peak. Check out the first photo which looks back on the approach. Crossing the park proved to be a little tedious due to the powdery snow on this mid-February day. My snow shoes are of slightly larger than average surface area, yet still sank in the snow for quite a ways. Ascending through the trees was a fun exploration with pockets of sinking snow. Once on the wide ridge, the going in snowshoes turns becomes a problem for your ankles more than a sinking issue. Even with my heel-raisers in place the ascent is a bit steep, pointing my toes upward past the comfort zone. Once I topped the rounded hill, I eschewed my snow shoes, stashed them where I could find them on the descent and proceeded on with my boots and poles.

After flattening out for a ways the ridge steepens and narrows. The climbing becomes mixed snow with some rocky sections requiring some low-end scrambling. You can see an example in the last photo. On February 16, 2008 the snow on this ridge was very hard-packed. The drop off on each side of the ridge is long and dangerous. I wished I had brought my crampons. Dave doesn't say they are required, but I advise you to bring them along just in case. I took slow and steady steps, making sure that each foot placement was solid as I proceeded along the ridge. Since my pace was slowed it took me a while to traverse the seemingly endless ascent. I didn't quite make it to the top of Atlantic Peak. My legs were not in prime condition and the hour was getting late, so I stopped for lunch. The middle photo shows the broad ridge to the right of the center. The ridge continues heading to the right in this photo. Atlantic Peak is the third summit which is not very pronounced in this picture. See if you can spot my snowshoe tracks up the broad side of the ridge.

You could see many skiers and snowshoers in Mayflower Gulch far below. I was the only one on this climb, but it was comforting to know that there were others around in case of emergency. Not sure how I would get their attention so far away! There were a group of people building an igloo in the park, and others exploring the old mines.

The descent was fun but uneventful. I tried glissading a couple of times, but the angle of the slope was too low. I think I will try this route again and attain the peak. It is safe enough to go alone when you can't find a partner: at least in my humble opinion. Take responsibility for yourself.

Grizzly Peak

Dave Cooper's Colorado Scrambles book has given me many enjoyable weekends in the Colorado mountains, so when his new book "Colorado Snow Climbs" came out I had to get it. The book is great. I decided to start out with one of the easiest climbs in the book: Grizzly Peak. This climb is relatively safe to do alone, so I felt reasonably safe.

The Grizzly Peak climb starts at the top of Loveland Pass. This route follows the ridge line so there is little avalanche danger and the wind packed snow requires no snow shoes. I took my ice ax and crampons, but used neither. My mountaineering boots and hiking poles were adequate. However, the book states that an ice ax is useful on the final ascent which I never reached.

The first section is a gentle climb to the Grizzly Peak ridge. It is a good cardio workout at altitude. Once I reached the ridge it became very windy. I had my balaclava on, but there was still a portion of my nose and cheeks exposed. As I started down the ridge to approach the second peak the wind was blowing me very hard. I was warm, so I continued on.

As I approached the intermediate peak on the ridge, the weather was turning bad. I decided to not push my luck all the way to Grizzly Peak and turned around. When I got back to the truck my nose and cheeks had some frost-bite. Still it was a very enjoyable early January climb. My first winter snow climb!