After my recent ignoble defeat on the Wetterhorn, I was thinking that I would be ending my 2022 climbing season on a down note.
Continue readingCollegiate Peak Redemption
Climbing
Sometimes the bear eats you
In my ongoing pursuit to climb Colorado’s 14ers, so far I have managed to finish 18 out of 58 of them. That puts me squarely in the beginner-intermediate category, I think. This year I’ve been trying to improve my skills and fitness by focusing on longer and more difficult climbs. And so far, I’ve had success.
Continue readingThe road less travelled
I generally like to start these mountain climbing posts with a picture of the subject mountain, just to give you, dear reader, an overview more or less, of what I’m talking about. I usually snap these pictures in the morning during the approach or after the climb on the way out, depending on where I can get the best shot of the entire mountain. For this post, a climb of Mt. Antero, the best photo I have was taken a couple of weeks ago when I was standing next door on Mt. Princeton. It’s a nice shot and I’m not too proud to recycle, so I present to you, once again, Mt. Antero.
Continue readingDiscovering the place I used to know
As I mentioned in a previous post, as a kid growing up in Colorado my knowledge of the mountains was pretty limited. The mountains were always there in the background, they just weren’t something my family chose to actively seek out.
Continue readingClub Huron
Next up on our 14er climb list was Huron Peak. At 14,003 feet Huron just makes the list of Colorado 14ers but what it lacks in altitude list-topping, it makes up for in remoteness and rugged beauty. Huron has the distinction of being the Sawatch 14er farthest from a paved road. What that means is that when you approach it from the lovely Lake Ann basin you are surrounded by nothing but wilderness for miles in every direction. No towns, highways or civilization of any kind are visible from Huron’s slopes. A perfect place for quiet seclusion.
Or so we thought.
Continue readingLa Plata Scramble
It’s mid-June and most of the snow has melted from the high country so it was time for our first 14er of 2021. I picked La Plata Peak as our objective for the day. La Plata Peak sits deep in the central Sawatch range near Mt. Elbert and Twin Lakes. At 14,336 feet, it is the fifth highest mountain in Colorado.
Continue readingThe Big Kahuna
It had been over a year since our last 14er climb and I was starting to crave altitude again so Ms. Seeking and I began laying plans for our next hike. The early snow delayed us but after a week of bright sunshine on the Sawatch conditions looked good enough for an attempt on Colorado’s highest peak, the Big Kahuna, Mt. Elbert.