The 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. 

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Ivy League

Way back in the 1860’s and 1870’s, back before Colorado even became a state, survey crews from what is now called the U.S. Geological Survey fanned out across the Rocky Mountains to catalogue, measure, map and name the mountains.  Imagine that, being given the authority to name mountains!  Most of the names we use to this day came from those 19th century surveys.  

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Do that hoodoo that you do

One of the most interesting things about living in Colorado is the variety and abundance of geology all around you.  If you venture outside anywhere in the mountains, you’re bound to find strange rock formations, fossils, crystals, and all manner of other minerally things.  As a non-geologist I don’t know what ninety percent of it is but I find the whole thing fascinating and I’m slowly learning about it as I go.

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La 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. 

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