Hardman Hut Trip 2017

Our 2017 Hardman Hut trip wasn’t as “hard” as the previous year’s Hardman 2016 (maybe more of a “Softman” hut trip), but was loads of fun all the same. Jesse Hill booked and organized the huts and meals as  he did last year and yet again outdid himself. This year’s Hardman was in the beautiful Elk Range. Most of the gents skinned in the short 2.5 miles to the Markley Hut from Ashcroft Thursday afternoon. J, Brett, and I skinned in around 6pm arriving just in time for taco dinner at 7pm after a few inches of fresh snow had fell.

J and Brett on the approach to the Markley Hut

J and Brett on the approach to the Markley Hut

Taco dinner at Markley. Photo by Derek

Taco dinner at Markley. Photo by Derek

Joel, Derek, Jesse, & Mikey made some early morning runs on the other side of Express Creek in about 9″ of fresh powder while the rest of us made breakfast and drank coffee.

Early morning powder harvested by Mr. Gratz. Photo by Derek

Early morning powder harvested by Mr. Gratz. Photo by Derek

The next morning before departing to the Goodwin Greene Hut

The next morning before departing to the Goodwin Greene Hut

On Friday around noon we departed for the Goodwin Greene Hut. It was a nice skin up the road breaking trail a few miles before heading north of a drainage and over the Richmond Ridge plateau.

Joel and crew skinning up the Express Creek drainage

Joel and crew skinning up the Express Creek drainage

Nico plowing ahead in front of me here in this pic. Photo by Joel

Nico plowing ahead in front of me here in this pic. Photo by Joel

Mikey leading the pack

Mikey leading the pack

The crew at the 12,000' pass

The crew at the 12,000′ pass

Long ways to Aspen via Richmond Ridge

Long ways to Aspen via Richmond Ridge

A little bit of navigating over the broad, treeless plateau was necessary until we dropped a few hundred vertical down into the Difficult Creek drainage on the northeast side of Gold Hill to the hut.

The boys heading across the alpine plateau

The boys heading across the alpine plateau

Jesse, Mikey outside the Goodwin Green hut

Jesse, Mikey, Chuck, & Derek  outside the Goodwin Greene hut

It took us about 3 hours from the Markley to the Goodwin Greene hut, so not too bad. We had two nights at the Goodwin Greene hut, which was extra nice since we could ski tour all around the hut the following day (Saturday). I slept right next to the wood stove and with Mikey stoking it all night, it was an oven in there 🙂 J and I were sweating going to sleep. Anyway, a crew (Nico, Mikey, Brett, Derek, & Joel) went out around 8am to ski the northeast facing glades at the head of the Difficult Creek drainage. The rest of us drank coffee and made breakfast and then we set out to summit Gold Hill and ski down to meet the early crew. The 700′ skin up Gold Hill was fun and we could see the Grand Traverse racers on Richmond Ridge going from Crested Butte to Aspen.

J and Chuck skinning up Gold Hill

J and Chuck skinning up Gold Hill

Gold Hill summit (12,361'). Left to Right: Me, Jesse, Matt, J, & Chuck

Gold Hill summit (12,361′). Left to Right: Me, Jesse, Matt, J, & Chuck

Chuck, J, & I skied a pretty cool north-facing couloir line off the summit ridge down to the early crew while Matt and Jesse skied around.

Chuck skiing the Gold Hill north couloir

Chuck skiing the Gold Hill north couloir

Chuck a bit lower down

Chuck a bit lower down

We all skied down to the earlier group learning that after 3 laps they were heading back to the hut. Nonetheless, they beat us to the untracked powder on these lower glades.

Nico dropping the knee. Photo by Derek

Nico dropping the knee. Photo by Derek

Mr. Gratz testing the snow. Photo by Derek

Mr. Gratz testing the snow. Photo by Derek

Brett slashing as usual. Photo by Derek

Brett slashing as usual. Photo by Derek

Derek stacking turns. Photo by Joel

Derek stacking turns. Photo by Joel

Matt, J, Chuck, and I decided to skin up to another ridge to ski a steeper line through the trees that Chuck spied from Gold Hill.

Skinning up to the ridge with Gold Hill behind

Skinning up to the ridge with Gold Hill behind. The hut can also be seen in the lower center portion of the photo.

J skling the fun trees back down to Difficult Creek

J skling the fun trees back down to Difficult Creek

Matt & Chuck

Matt & Chuck

Once back down at Difficult Creek, Matt decided to head back to the hut while J, Chuck, & I decided to skin up another 1,000′ to the summit of  Gold Hill again and ski back to the hut.

Back at the bottom of the Difficult Creek drainage with Gold Hill in front of us

Back at the bottom of the Difficult Creek drainage with Gold Hill in front of us

J and Chuck reaching Gold Hill's summit for the 2nd time

J and Chuck reaching Gold Hill’s summit for the 2nd time

Looking over to 14ers Catle & Conundrum Peaks on the left and high 13er cathedral Peak on the ridge from the summit of Gold Hill. Racers can be seen below on Richmond Ridge

Looking over to 14ers Castle & Conundrum Peaks on the left and high 13er Cathedral Peak on the right from the summit of Gold Hill. Racers can be seen below on Richmond Ridge

14er Capitol Peak in the distance

14er Capitol Peak in the distance

Aspen Highlands and Highland Bowl

Highland Ridge and Highland Bowl on the far right

In order to ski to the hut, we had to ski the extremely steep & firm northeast face. “Oh well, I will just follow J and Chuck”, I thought. There was one short section of 50 degree snow, but eased to the 40s soon after. Even though the snow was very firm and a bit icy, I’m glad we did it.

Chuck skiing the northeast face of Gold Hill

Chuck skiing the northeast face of Gold Hill

Once back at the hut, we relaxed, I took a snooze, some played cards, etc. I went out later on that afternoon and did one more loop with Derek, Mikey, and Joel of the ridge/tree run to Difficult Creek to cap off the day.

The last supper at Goodwin Greene

The last supper at Goodwin Greene

A storm came in Saturday late afternoon/evening and visibility was to a minimum on Sunday morning when we were to depart. It was windy and low visibility for sure, but navigation was pretty easy especially since a few of us surveyed the terrain from the Gold Hill summit the previous day. Back to the car in just over 2 hours, we made our way on home.

Chuck and I making our way across the Richmond Ridge plateau on Sunday morning. Photo by Joel

Chuck and I making our way across the Richmond Ridge plateau on Sunday morning. Photo by Joel

Our crew one year older and wiser, but just as giddy to all be together on another Hardman in the mountains

Our crew one year older and wiser, but just as giddy to all be together on another Hardman in the mountains

Looking forward to Hardman 2018!

Freya & Thor Towers

I’ve been a fan of Norse mythology for awhile now and everyone knows I’m a Gore fanatic. When J and I climbed the intimidating northern of the two east ridges called Asgard Ridge up Mt. Valhalla over two years ago, we always gazed upon the lower 12,000′ towers to our left while ascending Asgard. These towers are called Freya and Thor. There is a tower further on up the southern of the two east ridges of Valhalla called Loki, but honestly didn’t look nearly as interesting as Freya & Thor. I figure the next time we are up on Valhalla’s summit, we can go check Loki out. But, Freya & Thor looked like the real prizes in the basin in addition to the obvious Asgard Ridge. The veteran Gore hardman Stan Wagon from Silverthorne details his climb up Thor on his website and pioneered a one pitch 5.6 route up from the west col to Thor’s summit. Stan also details his west ridge climb/traverse up to Freya’s summit on his website as well. Stan gave me some approach beta on the simplest route to these towers via the Rock Creek TH north of Silverthorne. J and I approached Asgard Ridge via Boss Mine and some steep and pretty intense bushwhacking. I think the better approach to Asgard Ridge proper is to leave the Gore Range Trail and bushwhack south-southwest for a few miles outlined in the route marked below:

Approach to Asgard Meadows, Freya, & Thor

Approach to Asgard Meadows, Freya, & Thor

While Ryan, Mike, and I were targeting Capitol’s NW Buttress route on this spectacular fall day, 3 people on such a serious route with potential rockfall just didn’t seem like a good idea. So, I dug around in my mind for an alternate adventure and remembered these towers deep in the Gore at the head of South Rock Creek Basin. I was excited to get back in there for a visit. Mike needed a big day back in the mountains and it was a treat for Ryan and I to get out together in the Gore with a rack and a rope and see what we could do. We all met at the Rock Creek TH late Friday night and left the TH by 6:30am Saturday morning headed south on the Gore Range trail. We had Ryan’s 70m/8.4mm rope, an alpine rack, set of nuts, draws, and plenty of slings and biners. However, we did choose to leave behind the rock shoes in favor for just our approach shoes. I can tell you next time I will definitely be bringing rock shoes. It was not too bad bushwhacking at all for a few miles up to the grassy meadow slopes on the south side of Asgard Ridge. We descended a few hundred feet down loose rock into a small basin at 11,600′ called Asgard Meadows: a beautiful grassy/bouldery meadow-like basin with a creek running through it and granite towers rising above. It was perfect.

Ryan shooting me shooting South Rock Creek Basin and Freya & Thor Towers still a distance away on the far right in the picture

Ryan shooting me shooting South Rock Creek Basin and Freya & Thor Towers still a distance away on the far right in the picture. Photo by Ryan

Freya Tower is down low on the left. Thor Tower is in the center of the picture. Mt. Valhalla is the high summit

Freya Tower is down low on the left. Thor Tower is in the center of the picture. Mt. Valhalla is the high summit

Asgard Meadows with Freya in the center and Thor on the upper right

Asgard Meadows with Freya in the center and Thor on the upper right

Asgard Meadows with Thor at upper left and Asgard Ridge in the distance

Asgard Meadows with Thor at upper left and Asgard Ridge in the distance

Thor's east face is mighty impressive

Thor’s east face is mighty impressive

I do look forward to coming back to Asgard Meadows and setting up a basecamp to do a full day or two of alpine rock climbing. We were debating on what to attempt first as it was only 9:15am. I told Ryan & Mike Freya’s east ridge direct looked mighty tempting and that I’d like to give it a shot. Based on no prior information that I could find on the east ridge itself and in talking with Stan, we were not sure it had been climbed before. But, it looked doable even in approach shoes – we hoped.

Looking up Freya's east ridge from the base

Looking up Freya’s east ridge from the base

Getting set up

Getting set up

It looked like we could scramble up 50′ of 4th/low 5th class rock or so into a southeast facing dihedral, which seemed like it lent feasible passage up to perhaps a small ledge 80′ above.

Ryan on the initial scrambling

Ryan on the initial scrambling

I started up a crack system on south-facing rock east of the dihedral and soon realized I would prefer the comfort of a rope especially with approach shoes. It was getting into mid-5th class with big exposure. I downclimbed 15′ back to a small ledge and we roped up. I took off up our 1st roped pitch. It was indeed a pretty awesome pitch and after a 5.8 move on the face I made my way into the dihedral and definitely pulled a 5.8 move or two up to the small grassy ledge. I placed mostly nuts but a cam at each of the two cruxes. I set up an anchor system at a convenient grass ledge and brought Mikey and Ryan up to me all the while I scoped out how pitch 2 would go above me.

Me into the dihedral on pitch 1. Photo by Ryan

Me into the dihedral on pitch 1. Photo by Ryan

Mikey and Ryan following pitch 1

Mikey and Ryan following pitch 1

Ryan took the lead on pitch 2 up a 5.8 corner to the right. I hoped in the back of my mind that it went somewhere because it looked to be our only option with some protection to be had. He did awesome and found a nice belay ledge at the base of another headwall above to belay us up.

Ryan setting off up pitch 2

Ryan setting off up pitch 2

I thought this was a cool picture: my head, Ryan's feet

I thought this was a cool picture: my head, Ryan’s feet. The grassy meadows on Asgard Ridge’s south side we used on the approach can be seen in the background

Ryan climbing the right-angling crack into the unknown

Ryan climbing the right-angling crack into the unknown

Mikey following

Mikey following

I took the 3rd pitch lead which began with a funky unprotected stemming chimney for 25′ to a small ledge. I then balanced my way onto a very small corner on the right and was able to get a small Alien into a small pocket, but it definitely wasn’t reassuring. However, there were no other options. I then made a committing face climb move or two to the left and got a good jug and stance in order to get a much better #1 cam into a solid crack. It was then fun 5.6 climbing up to the top of the headwall and I built an anchor to bring the fellas up.

Mikey climbing the headwall up to me on pitch 3. Photo by Ryan

Mikey climbing the headwall up to me on pitch 3. Photo by Ryan

Another view by Ryan. The stemming chimney is immediately behind the large slab of rock in the foreground

Another view by Ryan. The stemming chimney is immediately behind the large slab of rock in the foreground

Mikey on pitch 3 with Ryan below

Mikey on pitch 3 with Ryan below

Young Ryan making quick work of pitch 3

Young Ryan making quick work of pitch 3

A wider shot

A wider shot

I belayed Mikey around the small tower I sat upon for the pitch 3 belay to a very small col just west of me. I lowered Ryan down to this same col and then after gathering my anchor gear, I downclimbed the 15′ to the saddle. We all scrambled up another 100′ to the base of our pitch 4. It looked to be a nice angling hand crack and Ryan took the reins.

Ryan coiling the rope after pitch 3

Ryan coiling the rope after pitch 3

The scramble up to pitch 4

The scramble up to pitch 4

Me belaying Ryan on pitch 4

Me belaying Ryan on pitch 4

Ryan getting into the meat of pitch 4

Ryan getting into the meat of pitch 4

I think we agreed there were some 5.8 moves on this hand crack

I think we agreed there were some 5.8 moves on this hand crack

Mikey making his way on the right-angling, slightly overhung hand crack

Mikey making his way on the right-angling, slightly overhung hand crack

From the top of pitch 4, it was easy and fun class 3/4 scrambling to the 12,121′ summit of Freya.

Ryan almost to Freya's summit

Ryan almost to Freya’s summit

Mikey almost there. It had been awhile since Mikey had scrambled, so he was back in the game by this point

Mikey almost there. It had been awhile since Mikey had scrambled, so he was back in the game by this point

Summit of Freya (12,161'). Photo by Ryan

Summit of Freya (12,121′). Photo by Ryan

Looking due west from Freya's summit down its "standard" west ridge to Thor

Looking due west from Freya’s summit down its “standard” west ridge to Thor

Summit of of Freya (12,161'). Man, what a day!

Summit of of Freya (12,161′). Man, what a day!

Looking down Freya's east ridge from the summit

Looking down Freya’s east ridge from the summit

Well, whether someone had climbed the east ridge before or not, just not having any prior beta or even knowledge that it would go was exciting in itself. Plus, it was a solid 4 pitch alpine route on granite in a spectacular setting. Hard to beat. Here is a route overview of our route:

Freya East Ridge route. Red designates our unroped scrambling sections

Freya East Ridge route. Red designates our unroped scrambling sections

What was almost equally as fun and exciting as our east ridge route up Freya was the descent down Freya’s standard “west ridge” to the Freya/Thor col. This is the route Stan Wagon and his partners climbed in 2010 rating the one crux move at 5.6. We didn’t rope up for this ridge, but it sure was some awesomely exposed scrambling. Makes Capitol’s standard knife-edge look like a catwalk and not very exciting. This was the best scrambling of the day by far.

Mikey heading off on Freya's west ridge

Mikey heading off on Freya’s west ridge

Mike and I approaching the knife-edge portion. Photo by Ryan

Mike and I approaching the knife-edge portion. Photo by Ryan

Freya's knife-edge

Freya’s knife-edge. Photo by Ryan

Such a great ridge

Such a great ridge

Mike and Ryan on Freya's west ridge

Mike and Ryan on Freya’s west ridge

Meke on a very exposed downclimb

Mike on a very exposed downclimb

Ryan at the same spot

Ryan at the same spot

Easy walking

Easy walking

One final climb up on the west ridge

One final climb up on the west ridge

Finishing up Freya's west ridge. Photo by Ryan

Finishing up Freya’s west ridge. Photo by Ryan

Looking back

Looking back with Asgard Meadows down to the left

We took a well-earned break at the Freya/Thor col for a PB&J and some Gatorade. I am not sure what time it was, but maybe between 12-1pm. Anyway, we decided to go for Thor Tower as well. We took Stan’s route up the loose southeast-facing couloir to the saddle west of Thor’s summit. What really excited me about coming back to this area were some of the seemingly solid 300′ crack routes on Thor’s south face visible on our approach up the couloir. Rock shoes and a bigger rack are a must on the next trip.

This large dihedral on Thor's south face was especially interesting

This large dihedral on Thor’s south face was especially interesting

Climbing up Thor's southeast couloir. Freya's west ridge can be seen behind

Climbing up Thor’s southeast couloir. Freya’s west ridge can be seen behind

Then, we traversed north along ledges to Stan’s 5.6 crack route. Ryan decided to scope out a different route to the right (south) of Stan’s route and described it as an airy 5.4 pitch. I tagged the rope on my harness and climbed Stan’s 5.6 crack, found his old webbing and rap ring at the top, and belayed Mikey up to me.

Ryan on his airy route

Ryan on his airy route

Me climbing Stan's 5.6 crack

Me climbing Stan’s 5.6 crack. Photo by Ryan

Me belaying Mike up. Photo by Ryan

Me belaying Mike up. Photo by Ryan

Mike climbing Stan's 5.6 crack up Thor Tower

Mike climbing Stan’s 5.6 crack up Thor Tower

Stan's old webbing and rap ring. Ryan added another piece of webbing through the rap ring.

Stan’s old webbing and rap ring. Ryan added another piece of webbing through the rap ring.

It was then easy scrambling to the summit where we saw Stan’s cairn and small glass jar with his card in it.

Stan's card

Stan’s card

Their summit register

Their summit register

As I didn't have a pen, I added a patch off of my pack. Its a made-up "Expedition" just for fun as our mountain cabin in NC is called Chalk Hill :)

As I didn’t have a pen, I added a patch off of my pack. Its a made-up “Expedition” name my dad thought up just for fun as our mountain cabin in NC is called Chalk Hill 🙂

Looking down Thor's east ridge to Frey'a west ridge below

Looking down Thor’s east ridge to Freya’s west ridge below

The Valhalla amphitheater from Thor's summit

The east amphitheater of Mt. Valhalla from Thor’s summit

The section of ridge between Valhalla & Hail Peak I have yet to scout

The section of ridge between Valhalla & Hail Peak I have yet to scout

Summit of Thor (12,500' or so)

Summit of Thor (12,500′ or so)

We stayed on the summit for a good 20-30 minutes and enjoyed the wonderful views and weather.

Ryan rapping

Ryan rapping

Me rapping

Me rapping

We descended down the other side of Thor’s west col towards the beautiful lake at about 11,900′. While loose in spots, it wasn’t too bad at all. Then, we continued to descend another 300′ of boulders back down into Asgard Meadows.

The small lake at 11,900' between Asgard Ridge and Thor Tower

The small lake at 11,900′ between Asgard Ridge and Thor Tower

Back in Asgard Meadows

Back in Asgard Meadows

I so wish I had these mini-10' walls in my backyard for Sawyer to learn on :)

I so wish I had these mini-10′ walls in my backyard for Sawyer to learn on 🙂

Ryan spotted this northwest buttress on Rain Peak across the valley. Maybe a future climb

Ryan spotted this northwest buttress on Rain Peak across the valley. Maybe a future climb

We refilled with water and relaxed for a bit. It was 3pm now and we (at least me) should be probably heading on out. We reascended 300′ or so back up the scree/boulder slopes to the grassy meadows along Asgard Ridge’s southern flanks and cruised on home arriving back to the trailhead by 5:30pm for an 11 hour RT day. Thanks to Ryan & Mike for helping to make this day one of my most memorable Gore adventures in a long time.

Cruising beautiful Gore meadows at 12,000'

Cruising beautiful Gore meadows at 12,000′

Soaking it in

Soaking it in

Avalanche Peak North Ridge

I first noticed this cool looking peak with a few towers on its north ridge during our traverse between the Harry Gates hut and the Peter Estin hut this past April. Then, I come to research it a bit and find out it is named Avalanche Peak. However, what intrigued me were the towers along its north ridge.

Avalanche Peak from the Lime Creek plateau area as seen this past April. The two prominent towers on its north ridge are visible

Avalanche Peak from the Lime Creek plateau area as seen this past April. The two prominent towers on its north ridge are visible

I recruited my very young friend and new co-worker, Dylan Friday, who just graduated from Penn State, to come exploring with me. I was also excited to climb at Lime Creek Canyon afterwards. Being young and 22 years old and having not previously scrambled all that much, Dylan was up for anything I had in mind. We left my house at 4:30am and were hiking up the Eagle Lake Trail from Woods Lake maybe by 6:30am. The most wonderful aspect about this area is the remoteness and lack of people. In fact, there was not a single other soul we saw once we left the trailhead. I don’t have too many stats for the day as I really don’t follow that info very closely nor track it, but I always have a mental picture of what distance we traveled and how much vertical gain. The Eagle Lake Trail was good to Eagle Lake and then faded out somewhat. We lost the trail a few times and had to find it again, but the minimal trail certainly made for faster progress than not having any sort of trail at all. After some bushwhacking and maybe 4.5 miles of trail, we made it to Fairview Lake at around 10,700′. I really knew nothing of this ridge as I cannot find any previous beta on it. But, that makes it more intriguing to me and, to put it simply, more fun. Accessing the ridge from Fairview Lake looked to be semi-straightforward up loose gullies, ledges, and class 3/4 rock.

The towers on Avalanche Peak's north ridge come into view from the Lime Creek Valley

The towers on Avalanche Peak’s north ridge come into view from the Lime Creek Valley

The north ridge as seen from a higher plateau above Fairview Lake

The north ridge as seen from a higher plateau above Fairview Lake

It was around 8:30am now when we began bushwhacking up the lower flanks of the north ridge ascending loose gullies and grassy ledges. We ascended around the northeast buttress of the ridge for easier passage than directly up the northern cliff bands. Armed with only helmets, we had to keep the scrambling at low 5th and below, unfortunately. In retrospect, I wish I had brought a small rack and my 30m/8mm rope. Usually I do take some gear for unknown ridges, but I dropped the ball on this one. Oh well. Next time.

Dylan with Fools Peak in the distance

Dylan with Fools Peak in the distance

You gain vertical very quickly. Fairview Lake below

You gain vertical very quickly. Fairview Lake below

Steep gullies with fairly solid granite ensued

Steep gullies with fairly solid granite ensued

Some fun scrambling on mostly solid rock up to the ridge proper

Some fun scrambling on mostly solid rock up to the ridge proper

Dylan on the ridge

Dylan on the ridge with Fools and Eagle Peaks in the distance

We hit the ridge and were welcomed by a chilly west breeze. I always love trying to stay on the ridge proper and we scrambled up to almost the next small tower’s summit until I realized there was no way to get down the other side without a rappel. So, we downclimbed and went around the first small tower to the east.

The view looking at the potential rappel down the south side of the first small tower. I can't imagine how long that large rock has been teetering there on that ledge

The view looking at the potential rappel down the south side of the first small tower. I can’t imagine how long that large rock has been teetering there on that ledge

We scrambled up to a small saddle and viewed the route up the first of the two large towers that can be seen from the trailhead and beyond.

1st large tower

1st large tower

Dylan scrambling up the north ridge of the 1st large tower

Dylan scrambling up the north ridge of the 1st large tower

Really fun, solid stuff

Really fun, solid stuff

Everything was great until we reached a ledge and a 20′ tall headwall that easily went mid-5th class with questionable rock and absolutely no way around either side. Darn! Would have been very doable with an alpine rope, gear, and some sticky rubber approach shoes. But, with only running shoes and a helmet – nope. We downclimbed the north ridge of the 1st large tower and bypassed it on steep ledges to the east and up to the saddle between the 1st & 2nd large towers.

The 2nd large tower comes into view

The 2nd large tower comes into view

The south ridge of the 1st large tower, which appeared to be definitely downclimable

The south ridge of the 1st large tower, which appeared to be definitely downclimable

On the way up the north ridge of the 2nd large tower

On the way up the north ridge of the 2nd large tower

Bypassing a gendarme en route up the 2nd large tower

Bypassing a gendarme en route up the 2nd large tower

Easy but fun scrambling

Easy but fun scrambling

Looking over at Avalanche Peak's true summit from the top of the 2nd large tower

Looking over at Avalanche Peak’s true summit from the top of the 2nd large tower

We descended easy slabs and scrambled up class 2+ terrain to Avalanche Peak’s summit.

Reaching Avalanche Peak's summit

Reaching Avalanche Peak’s summit

Beautiful high alpine lakes and rugged peaks looking east in the Holy Cross Wilderness

Beautiful high alpine lakes and rugged peaks looking east in the Holy Cross Wilderness

Looking down the north ridge from the summit

Looking down the north ridge from the summit

Lime Creek Canyon from Avalanche Peak's summit. I looked forward to a few routes here in a few hours time

Lime Creek Canyon from Avalanche Peak’s summit. I looked forward to a few routes here in a few hours time

Avalanche Peak summit (12,803)

Avalanche Peak summit (12,803)

After maybe 20 minutes, we followed what I believe to be the “standard” route up Avalanche via its mellow west ridge. No trail at all, but easy boulder-hopping and grassy fields.

Looking back at Avalanche Peak from its mellow west ridge

Looking back at Avalanche Peak from its mellow west ridge

The large towers along its north ridge

The large towers along its north ridge

We followed the west ridge below treeline and bushwhacking through heavy timber until we came to a limestone cliff and descended a steep gully for 700′ back to the Eagle Lake Trail. For pretty much the entire descent we were off-trail, but it went fairly quick. We then hiked the remaining mile and a half back to the trailhead on the good Eagle Lake Trail arriving around 1:30pm, just about 7 hours after we began. I do look forward to going back and exploring this ridge more in depth.

Avalanche Peak and the two large towers as seen from the trailhead

Avalanche Peak and the two large towers as seen from the trailhead

Our approximate journey. Maybe 10 miles RT and we probably did 4,000' of vertical gain

Our approximate journey. Maybe 10 miles RT and we probably did 4,000′ of vertical gain. Click to enlarge

After a sandwich, we rolled over to Lime Creek Canyon and climbed a few routes. However, I really didn’t think climbing a peak would wear me out for climbing afterwards. I was wrong. I guess I’m not 22 anymore. I felt better that Dylan was tired climbing as well. I was definitely not on my A-game, but led a 5.10c and then led one of my favorite routes there called Tears on the North Wall (5.11a). Dylan did great to follow both routes.

Me leading Tears (5.11a)

Me leading Tears (5.11a)

Anyway, it was nice to climb a few routes in the afternoon at one of my favorite cragging areas. I guess I never realized how even a 7 hour peak climb tires me out until I try and climb 5.11 immediately following said climb. I’ll chalk it up to gettin’ old 🙂 Back in Edwards by 5pm to go to the playground with Sawyer, Kristine, and the dogs. It was a good day.

Skiing Deming Mtn

There is a classic Gore Range ski descent dubbed the “Deming Drop” on the 12,902′ Deming Mountain’s north face. I have alway had this on my tick list and recruited Derek and Mikey to join me to attempt this ski two Saturdays ago on June 4. And, come to think of it, I had actually never summitted Deming so that was task #1. Then, we would evaluate the couloir and see here the day took us. And, as usual, we had our K9 companions Kona and Derek’s dog Maude. Though, in retrospect, at the end of the day, we realized its not a line for dogs as its pretty darn steep and is just a bit too serious of a line to feel comfortable taking dogs down it.

Early morning light from the Meadow Creek trail

Early morning light from the Meadow Creek trail

Derek & Maude slept at the Meadow Creek TH outside of Frisco, Mikey came from Denver that early morning, and Kona & I left my house at 3:15am arriving at the TH around 4am. We were hiking up the dry steep trail by 4:18am in trail shoes and skis and ski boots on our backs. We finally reached snow line around 10,500′ after maybe 2 miles and got the load off our backs by switching to ski boots and skinning. I had heard it took other friends about 4-5 hours to reach Deming’s summit and thus the shortly after 4am start. Fortunately, we were able to stay on top of the semi-frozen snow as it was still very early. We crested into the meadows and got our first glance of the east face of Deming.

Deming Mountain. We ascended up the moderate east slopes on its right flank

Deming Mountain. We ascended up the moderate east slopes on its right flank

We continued skinning up the broad drainage and ascended the east slopes of Deming. Short steeper skinning pitches  broke up the longer mellower slopes.

The sun crests and it really heats up

The sun crests and it really heats up

Derek & Maude

Derek & Maude

Derek, Maude, & Mikey ascending the east face with Buffalo Mtn behind

Derek, Maude, & Mikey ascending the east face with Buffalo Mtn behind

The upper east face of Deming

The upper east face of Deming

Gorgeous view of Red Diamond Ridge. J and I traversed this ridge last summer

Gorgeous view of Red Diamond Ridge. J and I traversed this ridge last summer

Deming Mountain's USGS summit marker

Deming Mountain’s USGS summit marker

Kona and I reached the summit just before 8am, dropped my skis, and went over to check out the Deming Drop. It took us 3 hrs and 45 minutes to reach the summit and actually we all expected the ascent to take us longer. The couloir was steep, especially the first 50-75′ or so. My buddies Ben Conners & Brian Miller estimated this top pitch at around 50 degrees in their book Climbing & Skiing Colorado’s Mountains: 50 Select Ski Descents. This top pitch was in the sun as it faced east and was warming up just nicely. However, most of the couloir was still in the shade at the point of where it mellowed to 40-45 degrees below the steepest pitch to the bottom.

Looking down the Deming Drop

Looking down the Deming Drop

I figured a good hour’s wait would get the entire couloir in the sun and make it nice and soft and much safer than it would be in the shade and hard and icy. Kona and I went back to the summit and welcomed Derek and Maude and then Mikey maybe 5 minutes later. We snacked and took pics and enjoyed a rare windless and warm Gore summit.

A beautiful summit

A beautiful summit

Derek & Maude on the summit of Deming Mtn (12,902')

Derek & Maude on the summit of Deming Mtn (12,902′)

Me & Kona on the summit of Deming Mtn (12,902')

Me & Kona on the summit of Deming Mtn (12,902′)

And all of us on Deming's summit

And all of us on Deming’s summit

Looking over at West Deming. Joel, Kristine, Kona, & I skied this peak 's really fun and mellow southwest face last spring

Looking over at West Deming. Joel, Kristine, Kona, & I skied this peak ‘s really fun and mellow southwest face last spring

9am rolled around and we hiked over the summit ridge tundra to the top of the couloir. Much to my surprise the deeply inset north-facing couloir was still in the shade pretty much the same as it had been. The steepest upper pitch was really baking in the sun. I was definitely a bit disappointed and knew better than to ski a 40+ degree couloir which has not been warmed by the sun. We continued to wait until 9:45am and the sun was slowly creeping down the steep rock walls of the couloir, but hadn’t hit the bottom 1,200′ of the couloir yet. Mikey had a deadline of 3pm back in Denver and the longer we waited the more Derek and I admitted it was a bit more of  serious couloir than we thought especially with dogs in tow. But, gosh, I wanted to ski it so bad, but likely would have needed to wait another hour or two. By the time we would have hiked back up to Deming’s northeast ridge and skied down the entire approach would be so very slushy making travel very slow and Kona and Maude would have an epic time through the deep wet snow. Derek and I were thinking about just waiting, but ultimately the dog factor sealed it for us and we all went back to the summit and skied the super fun east face of Deming. The Deming Drop would have to wait for next year!

Derek & Maude

Derek & Maude

Me skiing Deming. Photo by MIke

Me skiing Deming. Photo by Mike

Derek opening up some wide GS turns on the upper east face

Derek opening up some wide GS turns on the upper east face

Derek with Eccles Pass beyond

Derek with Eccles Pass beyond

Mikey with Peak 1 and Peak 2 in the distance

Mikey with Peak 1 and Peak 2 in the distance

Kona finishing up the east face

Kona finishing up the east face

We then put our skins back on and headed up to Eccles pass for some more views and a few more turns.

Reaching Eccles Pass (11,900') with Deming's east face behind

Reaching Eccles Pass (11,900′) with Deming’s east face behind

The snow got really sloppy down in the Meadow Creek basin and the dogs were struggling to stay afloat. Not to mention it was pretty hot as well. Nevertheless, we reached snow line, traded skis and boots for trail shoes, and made it back to the TH at around 1pm. We were bummed not to ski the Deming Drop, but glad we made the right call. Spring skiing is ll about timing. Next time we will get a later start knowing the couloir gets sun late. And, oh yeah, leave the dogs at home 🙂

Sawyer’s Halloween & Uneva Circuit

Sawyer had her 1st real Halloween this year. She was only 2-3 weeks old last Halloween. We didn’t trick-or-treat, but we did everything else: carved pumpkins, costumes, and a great Halloween party. Next year we will trick-or-treat.

Carving pumpkins

Carving pumpkins

These big orange things are fun

These big orange things are fun

Sawyer in her dog costume that Dianne & Ken gave her

Sawyer in her dog costume that Dianne & Ken gave her

Vets and our dog

Vets and our dog

Hiking with Ken & Dianne

Hiking with Ken & Dianne

Family pic

Family pic

Learning to stand on her own two feet

Learning to stand on her own two feet

Lounging around

Lounging around

She likes this "standing up" thing

She likes this “standing up” thing

Loving her dogs

Loving her dogs

Sawyer loves burying her face in Rainie's fur

Sawyer loves burying her face in Rainie’s fur

And, of course, Kona tries to give Sawyer kisses

And, of course, Kona tries to give Sawyer kisses

Recovering from a fairly serious right elbow infection called Olecranon Bursitis brought on by dirt getting into a cut on the elbow joint’s bursa sac (as a result of off-width crack climbing), I was anxious to get out a bit longer than an hour hike or run. I couldn’t really climb, so Kona and I just went for a snowshoe up at Vail Pass. In retrospect, I should have brought the skis, but it was a good recon mission to the peaks north of Vail Pass, the highest of which is Uneva Peak (12,522′), which we frequent quite a bit in the snowy months. There was even another subtle 12er I had never visited dubbed “Sneva” that I thought I would pay a visit. Getting an alpine start of 11:30am, Kona and I followed a decent track up into the small bowl below Uneva Peak that provides very mellow and low-consequence backcountry skiing even during high avalanche periods.

Uneva Peak (at far right) with its false summit in the center of the picture as seen en route to Point 12,363'

Uneva Peak (at far right) with its false summit in the center of the picture as seen en route to Point 12,363′

We had never been up on the summit of Point 12,363'

We had never been up on the summit of Point 12,363′

Looking over at Sneva from Point 12,363'

Looking over at Sneva from Point 12,363′

30 minutes later we were on Sneva (12,242') having descended maybe 400' to Uneva Pass and up another 400'

30 minutes later we were on Sneva (12,242′) having descended maybe 400′ to Uneva Pass and up another 400′

Looking east to Frisco and Lake Dillon from Sneva's summit

Looking east to Frisco and Lake Dillon from Sneva’s summit

Red Diamond Ridge as seen from Sneva's summit

Red Diamond Ridge as seen from Sneva’s summit

Looking at Uneva Peak from Sneva's summit. I asked Kona if she wanted to go summit Uneva again for the nth time. She said she wanted to as it was such a nice day :)

Looking at Uneva Peak from Sneva’s summit. I asked Kona if she wanted to go summit Uneva again for the nth time. She said she wanted to as it was such a nice day 🙂

Back on Point 12,363'

Back on Point 12,363′

Kona and Uneva's final pitch to its summit

Kona and Uneva’s final pitch to its summit

Uneva Peak summit (12,522'). Always good to be on this little summit. One of the very few times I can remember essentially no wind

Uneva Peak summit (12,522′). Always good to be on this little summit. One of the very few times I can remember essentially no wind

And, Sneva from the summit of Uneva with the Tenmile Range behind

And, Sneva from the summit of Uneva with the Tenmile Range behind

With that little 5 hour outing up high in the snow, I am a little more excited for the winter months. However, I still want to do more climbing in the desert and get this elbow all better.

A map of our snowshoe jaunt. About 5 hours roundtrip, maybe 8-9 mile and roughly 3,000' vertical gain

A map of our snowshoe jaunt. About 5 hours and 8-9 miles roundtrip with roughly 3,000′ vertical gain

Red Diamond Ridge

After a little hiatus from Gore ridge traversing (primarily due to two little lovely ladies entering our respective worlds in the past 9 months), J and I finally got back out together and completed another solid ridge run in our favorite range. Honestly, I think my last Gore ridge run was before Sawyer was born on Rockinghorse Ridge with Brian Miller and Dillon Sarnelli, so I was excited to get back out, especially with J. We make a good tandem on these gnarlier ridge runs. We both love the route-finding, the exposed scrambling and alpine climbing feel, and the unknown – well, as unknown as you can realistically get this day and age. I had been corresponding with Stan Wagon on other Gore outings and adventures when I remembered he said he had traversed Red Diamond Ridge on the Red Peak massif and recalled it as one of his favorites and has done it three times since he and Bill Briggs’ likely first traverse of the ridge in 1994. I inquired as to the best approach for Red Diamond from Stan and the other beta I received was that he did use a rope. It was good enough for J and myself. The full Red Diamond Ridge stretches from the East East Red summit (12,885′) west over fairly mellow terrain to East Red (12,945′) and then west again through the “meat and potatoes” of the traverse to the main Red Peak summit (13,189′). I’ve seen Red Diamond up close a few times from Buffalo Mountain’s summit as well as from the north on Rain Peak’s east ridge and indeed it looked to be challenging. Even though the gnarliest section of Red Diamond between East Red and Red Peak is not even three-quarters of a mile, it is chock-full of spiciness.

Red Diamond Ridge on the Red Peak massif as seen from Rain Peak's east ridge in early May 2014

Red Diamond Ridge on the Red Peak massif as seen from Rain Peak’s east ridge in early May 2014. The far left peak is East East Red with What Big Eyes You Have Couloir dropping below its north face and the far right peak is the main Red Peak summit. East Red is the highest bump in the ridge’s center. Click to enlarge

After a not so great few hours of sleep the night before (like very little to none at all), I had trouble getting out of bed at 4:15am. However, I was determined to make this happen as J and I had not gotten out much together in the last while. And, with babies in our lives now, you have to make the most of what you got when you can. I felt sort of haggered most of the day from a lack of sleep, but still thoroughly enjoyed our outing. I mean what’s not to be excited about when adventuring in the Gores, right? I was completely gutted when I realized driving over Vail Pass that I left one of my most precious items in my car when we transferred to J’s car at 5:30am – my big Canon SLR camera. I was kicking myself as its always with me on my adventures. However heavy it is, its always worth carrying for the high resolution pics. Unfortunately on this day, we would be without it and rely on iphone pictures as our documentation. C’est la vie. I still have yet to be a phone picture convert – maybe I never will. I hope not.

We left the standard Buffalo Mountain Trailhead (Ryan Gulch Trailhead) around 6:30am and made good time up to the four-way intersection, stayed straight on the trail, and started descending down another mile to South Willow Creek and the intersection with the Gore Range Trail.  Per Stan’s recommendations, we left any signs of trail at this intersection (until Red Buffalo Pass 6.5 hours later) and continued due north through dense woods and began the off-trail bushwhacking. It actually wasn’t bad bushwhacking at all. Just a nice walk up through the woods albeit steep at that. We pretty much ascended Eat Red’s east ridge proper the entire time at times walking atop the steep southern cliffs above the South Willow Creek drainage all the while staring down Buffalo Mountain’s Silver Couloir.

J on East Red's east ridge looking down into the South Willow Creek drainage with Buffalo Mountain's north shoulder to the left and Deming Mountain in the distance

J on East Red’s east ridge looking down into the South Willow Creek drainage with Buffalo Mountain’s north shoulder to the left and Deming Mountain in the distance

We eventually broke through treeline and were able to view our options. We could have just remained on East Red’s east ridge over a few more bumps and another 1,500′, but we decided to descend a hundred vertical feet or so and cross the Middle Willow Creek basin to gain East East Red’s summit as a first objective. This was a beautiful basin with wildflowers galore. It cannot see much traffic.

Me crossing Middle Willow Creek drainage with East East Red's summit far above at top center. Photo by J

Me crossing Middle Willow Creek drainage with East East Red’s summit far above at top center. Photo by J

Looking down into the Middle Willow Creek drainage with Buffalo Mountain to the left from East East Red's south slopes

Looking down into the Middle Willow Creek drainage with Buffalo Mountain to the left from East East Red’s south slopes

We then made a 1,500′ climb up steep grass to east East Red’s summit topping out about 2 hours and 30 minutes after we began around 9am. I felt like we were making pretty good time. I wanted to be home my mid-afternoon so Kristine could go on a bike ride earlier than later in the day, but it turned out it needed to be an evening ride due to my lateness and ability to never seem to realize that things, especially traverses, take longer than they look like they will on a map 🙂 Very sorry about that, babe.

View of the Silverthorne massif as seen from the East East Red summit (12,885')

View of the Silverthorne massif (center), Snow Peak (left), and Rain Peak (right) as seen from the East East Red summit (12,885′)

J down to the left and Red Diamond Ridge stretched out in front of us from East East Red's summit

J down to the left and Red Diamond Ridge stretched out in front of us from East East Red’s summit

Nevertheless, it was a gorgeous morning and we made our way over the mellow bumps for approximately 3/4 of a mile to East Red’s summit arriving around 9:30am.

Easy cruising between East East Red and East Red. Photo by J

Easy cruising between East East Red and East Red. Photo by J

There were log poles sticking up from every little point along this section of ridge

There were log poles sticking up from every little point along this section of ridge. Photo by J

East Red summit (12,945')

East Red summit (12,945′)

Looking at the "meat and potatoes" of Red Diamond Ridge from East Red's summit over to Red Peak

Looking at the “meat and potatoes” of Red Diamond Ridge from East Red’s summit over to Red Peak

We didn’t stay long on East Red’s summit as we knew we had the bulk of the day ahead of us. Some minor class 3 scrambling led us down and up to the top of a large tower and a cliff edge. This was not downclimable at all. We could have rappelled and saw a few large solid blocks in which to anchor too, but we didn’t feel the need. We backtracked a hundred feet and found a class 4 downclimb to the south to reach the tower’s western base.

Initial scrambling. Photo by J

Initial scrambling. Photo by J

J at the top of the tower with Red Diamond Ridge laid out in front of us

J at the top of the tower with Red Diamond Ridge laid out in front of us

J on the class 4 downclimb on the tower's south side

J on the class 4 downclimb on the tower’s south side

J making a few airy moves to get back on the ridge proper from the ledge on the tower's south side

J making a few airy moves to get back on the ridge proper from the ledge on the tower’s south side

Looking east at the tower from below and our downclimb

Looking east at the tower from below and our downclimb shown in red. Click to enlarge

A relatively walkable section ensued until we came to some knife blade looking spires which were mighty enticing to try and climb, but for time’s sake and the fact that they looked extremely unstable as well as not gaining us anything (vertical-wise) because we needed to drop down anyway, we skirted just below them to the ridge’s north side on some class 3/4 rock.

J staring down these spires

J staring down these spires

Our approximate route just to the north of the spires

Our approximate route just to the north of the spires as seen from across the low point saddle of the traverse. Click to enlarge

It was then maybe two hundred feet of class 3/4 downclimbing to the low point saddle between East Red and Red Peak.

Me starting the descent down to the low point saddle of the traverse

Me starting the descent down to the low point saddle of the traverse. Photo by J

J almost to the low point of the traverse with the class 3/4 headwall that we downclimbed behind

J almost to the low point of the traverse with the class 3/4 headwall that we downclimbed behind

Me at the shady saddle. Photo by J

Me at the shady saddle. Photo by J

We then discussed our options as the direct route west of the low point looked to be extremely hard trad climbing and we only had a light alpine rack. Nevertheless, we spotted a steep gully feature about 10′ down to the saddle’s north that provided a weakness – the only weakness it seemed. To avoid a large boulder in the gully, which completely blocked upward progress, we strayed to the right and climbing a hundred feet of exposed 4th class/low 5th up a dihedral back to the ridge proper.

Me climbing the dihedral. Photo by J

Me climbing the dihedral. Photo by J

Looking down the dihedral and J on a ledge

Looking down the dihedral and J on a ledge

After a restful grass ledge, we glanced up at our next objective. A large 5th class looking tower with serious exposure on all sides. We searched for a viable route and I found a good looking 50′ dihedral on the tower’s northeast side in the shade. We scrambled to a very small ledge and roped up. The dihedral was probably no more than 5.4-5.5, but the exposure was very serious – thus the rope and rack. J and I were asking ourselves if we were getting a bit “conservative” in our old age, but then realized that we weren’t at all. I don’t believe we would have ever thought of free soling that especially not knowing if the holds were secure. I mean we’re family men now! A few good placements and we were up on the tower’s summit.

Me leading the 5.4-5.5 dihedral halfway through the traverse

Me leading the 5.4-5.5 dihedral halfway through the traverse. Photo by J

What came next looked to be simple enough until we realized the downward sloping nature of the ramp with very little holds on rock laden with lichen and big time exposure and drop offs on either side. Yes, we wanted the rope again. J belayed me from the tower’s summit and I placed a cam halfway down, set up an anchor where suitable at the end of the ramp, and brought J down to me.

J coming down the sloping ramp. There were some very awkward moves in here including a butt scoot with horrible holds

J coming down the sloping ramp. There were some very awkward moves in here including a butt scoot with horrible holds

We then downclimbed some class 4 rock to a small notch and made our way up to some nice grass ledges once again. What followed was a westward traverse over class 3/4 rock on the ridge’s north side as going to the ridge proper would not have gained us anything (vertical-wise). Plus, again, the ridge proper looked completely unstable with teetering blocks. This westward traverse on the ridge’s north side eventually led us down to another small saddle.

J coming out of the notch with the end of the downward sloping ramp behind

J coming out of the notch with the end of the downward sloping ramp behind him

The class 3/4 westward traverse

The class 3/4 westward traverse

J making headway

J making headway

The large headwall in front of us had a leftward-trending steep grass ramp that we took hoping it would lead somewhere. The ramp was downclimbale if we got completely stuck, but easier ground above it gave way to some exposed but doable low 5th class climbing on the ridge’s north side to the summit of this headwall tower.

The large headwall with the leftward-trending grass ramp we climbed

The large headwall with the leftward-trending grass ramp we climbed

Me on the ramp. Photo by J

Me on the ramp. Photo by J

J and the exposed north side of this large headwall tower

J and the exposed north side of this large headwall tower

From this point on the ridge proper, delightful class 3/4 scrambling continued pretty much the rest of the way up to the summit ridge plateau of Red Peak. There were many lines to choose from, but in general we stayed on the ridge crest or slightly on the north side.

J on the class 3/4 scrambling that ensued

J on the class 3/4 scrambling that ensued

Sort of a "Where's Waldo?" picture. Can you spot me? Photo by J

Sort of a “Where’s Waldo?” picture. Can you spot me? Photo by J

We were both saying to each other at this point that we felt pretty beat and just plain exhausted. We both believed we were a bit more tense (mentally) on this traverse than others. Obviously, being tense leads to expending extra energy. I chock it up to being just out of scrambling practice. It had been awhile. Nevertheless, we topped out on Red Peak’s summit ridge and traversed a few more ups and down before cresting the main Red Peak summit.

J and Red Diamond Ridge behind

J and Red Diamond Ridge behind

Red Peak summit (13,189') comes into view

Red Peak summit (13,189′) comes into view

A bit more scrambling

A bit more scrambling

Red Peak summit (13,189'). Our second summit of this peak. The first time was when we traversed the Zodiac Spires 2 years prior

Red Peak summit (13,189′) with the complete Red Diamond Ridge behind us. Our second summit of this peak. The first time was when we traversed the Zodiac Spires 2 years prior

It was a fine summit. However, it was a bit breezy and thus chilly. We had our sandwiches and some Gatorade and water and then continued west to descend the south ridge down to the beautiful Red Buffalo Pass where we took a much needed rest.

Descending Red Peak's south ridge to Red Buffalo Pass (left) with Deming Mountain and West Deming in the distance

Descending Red Peak’s south ridge to Red Buffalo Pass (left) with Deming Mountain (center) and West Deming (right) in the distance

It was such a gorgeous day and there wasn’t hardly a chance of any storms on the horizon. At this point, I got a text from good buddy Dillon Sarnelli who was on the Tenmile Traverse just on the other side of Buffalo Mountain and I70. What a day to do that traverse as well. Congrats to Dillon and Zambo. I had much more energy now and we cruised out the Gore Range Trail into the South Willow Creek drainage.

Red Diamond Ridge as seen from the meadows  east of Red Buffalo Pass

Red Diamond Ridge as seen from the meadows east of Red Buffalo Pass

It was a beautiful deproach until we made the right turn onto the South Willow Creek trail split (where we had left the confines of any trail 6.5 hours earlier) and started the few hundred feet of vertical gain back up to the four-way intersection. We just decided to book it and broke a good sweat and cruised back to J’s Volvo arriving at around 3:30pm for a 9 hour day.

I have no idea on the roudtrip mileage and vertical. Its probably somewhere in the 12-13 mile day with maybe 4,500′-5,000′ of vertical gain with all of the ups and downs, but who knows. I really don’t keep track all that much anymore. Its not what’s important. What’s important is that J and I got out again together in our favorite range and tackled a ridge we had long wanted to do and did it safely. We still felt like we were the only ones out there all day despite the few parties we encountered closer down in the valley on the Gore Range Trail and Buffalo Mountain Trail. Its special to us that we can still feel that sense of solitude. It may not always be the case. The mountains are indeed getting crowded. But, hopefully the Gore will continue to inspire and challenge those that seek adventure, relative solitude, lofty summits, and gnarly ridges. Many thanks to Stan for pioneering this ridge 2 decades ago. We both agreed it is one of the finest of Gore ridge traverses.

Our Red Peak massif loop shown in red

Our Red Peak massif loop via Red Diamond Ridge shown in red