I was not going to mess around with climbing Capitol Peak. By consensus it’s the most difficult Fourteeneer. Many climbers have died attempting it. I took days of classes from the Colorado Mountain Club; backpacked & camped for a week of nights; and hiked, scrambled, & climbed multiple mountains....
A Grumpy Day on Mount Lindsey
I didn’t like Mount Lindsey and it didn’t like me either. After Crestone Needle we’d backpacked down the South Colony Lakes Road in a rush to be able to drive & find a campsite near the Lily Lake trailhead before it got dark. We did make it with daylight...
Little Bear Peak
The best part of climbing Blanca and Ellingwood in 2016 was the knowledge that I would never have to walk that Lake Como road for the rest of my life. It’s rocky, it’s long, it’s unpleasant. But somehow, there I was again, walking up that rock-strewn abomination of a...
Chicago Basin 1: Sunlight & Windom Peaks
We finally reached the Siesta Motel in Durango after the long car ride from Denver, stopping only for a Thai lunch in Poncha Springs. We were four — Julie, Jake, Marina, & myself — and we had a coal-fed steam train to catch in the morning. The plan? Ride...
Maroon Peak
Before we hiked Maroon Peak, the folks who I asked about the climb all said, “It’s a long day.” Every one, exact words. Heeding their advice, we arrived at Maroon Lake Trailhead at 04:00. Marina, Kevin, and I camped at Silver Bar — down the road between Maroon Lake...
Crestone Peak
For Crestone Peak, I wanted to come in via the Cottonwood Creek approach. Why? Well, I’ll go to lengths to avoid people on the trail and the descriptions of this approach included such words as “arduous,” “difficult wayfinding,” and “testy sections with a heavy pack” — not words that...
Uncompahgre & Wetterhorn Peaks
For the first Fourteeners of the 2018 season we traveled across Colorado to the San Juan mountains. Uncompahgre & Wetterhorn Peaks are relatively close together and near the town of Lake City, which we had not visited. One of the reasons why I like to do Fourteeners is that...
