7 Summits - Brandon and Kristine Chalk

Socked in on Silverheels

by Brandon Chalk | Sep 16, 2013 | Colorado 13ers

Despite a pretty bad forecast for Sunday, Kristine, the dogs, and I thought we’d still head over to Summit County and make an attempt on the high centennial 13er, Mt. Silverheels (13,822′). Its been a horrible week for Colorado, especially the Front Range and Rocky Mountain National Park, in terms of weather and the resulting flooding that has devastated thousands of folks’ homes and caused a few deaths. Its a very unfortunate and tragic natural disaster. Nevertheless, we wanted to get out for a hike, had a few errands in Silverthorne to do anyway, and thought Silverheels would fit the bill well assuming we wouldn’t be run off by the high probability of cold rains and thunderstorms. Plus, it was a relatively short hike at 6 miles roundtrip up the west ridge with 3,600′ of vertical gain – something within the realm of Rainier’s capabilities these days. We got going at around 8:30am and bushwhacked our way up to Beaver Ridge at around 12,000′. We couldn’t see Silverheels’ summit and the clouds were moving fast in and out of the valleys. It was very damp and chilly outside but fortunately it wasn’t raining – yet. There was even some snow on the slopes ahead. We descended a few hundred vertical feet down and crossed (jumped) Beaver Creek and started the long 2,000′ climb up Silverheels’ west ridge.

Kristine on the lower west ridge with the Beaver Creek drainage below

Thick clouds and snowy slopes

However, upon ascending the steep grass interspersed with boulders, the clouds came in and socked us in and it started raining. It was a pretty cold, steady rain for a good 45 minutes. The dogs got soaked as did our rain jackets. However, we kept going up thinking it would break a bit or perhaps we would get above the clouds. The sun came through ever so slightly a few times, but we were still thick in the clouds and it was still raining. Fortunately, the rain did stop once we reached Point 12,984′ but the thick clouds remained and navigating would have been tougher had we not had a due east heading to the summit.

A drenched Rainie and some grassy slopes

Kristine coming up the easy grass slopes around 12,000′

The remaining hike among grassy slopes and a bit of talus was pretty eerie with the clouds and the slopes seemingly went on forever since we had no idea if the next hump was the summit or the next or the next. However, at around 10:45am, we topped out at the summit cairn and we knew it was the summit with the summit register tube and the USGS benchmark for Silverheels.

I like the “gold” color of Silverheels’ USGS benchmark

Yep, Rainie knows this is the summit

Rainie on the summit of Mt. Silverheels (13,822′)

Kristine coming up to Silverheels’ summit with wonderful views all around 🙂

The Chalks on the summit of Mt. Silverheels (13,822′)

Views were non-existent and our shoes and gloves were soaked which made our extremities pretty cold. After a few pics, we headed due west in thick clouds and navigated carefully down the west ridge.

Kristine and the dogs heading back up to Point 12,984′ on the descent

Once we dropped below about 12,000′, we got below the clouds and the sun was shining and we were able to warm up

Kona happy we’re getting out of the clouds and into the sun

Cloud level

Rainie below the clouds with Beaver Ridge and the power lines visible below

Rainie below the clouds with Beaver Ridge, the power lines, and the jeep road all visible below

.Crossing back over Beaver Creek, we hiked the old jeep road for a bit before descending back to our car on Highway 9. A monster rain storm loomed on the horizon ever since we reached Beaver Ridge and it was coming our way. We tried to hurry it up for the final 1,000′ descent in order to not get drenched. We reached the car shortly after 12:30pm just in the nick of time (literally 10 seconds) before the rainstorm really hit. Silverheels was a fun hike and would even make a better winter climb, so maybe we’ll put it on the calender one winter and hopefully get better summit views next time around.

The Grand Teton

by Brandon Chalk | Sep 12, 2013 | Other Peaks

Its been a busy few weeks with my good friend Rob Schnare’s bachelor party out at Cannon Beach, OR over Labor Day weekend followed by a long overdue trip back to the Grand Teton in Jackson Hole, WY with my good friends Bill Larson, Reid Jennings, and Mike Santoro. The Grand is one of America’s most iconic mountains jutting over 7,000′ from the valley floor of Jackson Hole. The Grand holds a special place in my heart. It was in fact my first “real” mountain I ever climbed back in 9th grade or when I was around maybe 15 years old. My family always vacationed to Jackson Hole when my sister and I were in middle school & high school every summer for about two weeks at a time. This is where I fell in love with the mountains. My Dad and I would hike our brains out for two weeks during these wonderful summer vacations. Then, one summer, my Dad & I coupled with my good friend Art Pue and his father decided to do a father/son climb of the Grand Teton. We went guided through the highly respected & accomplished Exum Guides and took the one day rock climbing school before the two day Grand Teton climb. Unfortunately, Mr. Pue sliced his leg during the rock climbing school and couldn’t make the backpack into the Lower Saddle (11,660′). My Dad unfortunately got altitude sickness at the Lower Saddle during the night with a pretty bad headache and nausea and so remained at the Exum hut while Art and myself climbed to the summit via the classic Upper Exum ridge (5.7). It was the best day of my life thus far and it made me feel so good. We both couldn’t believe at the time we had climbed the Grand. It was like summiting Mt. Everest for us. This climb up the Grand really jump-started my passion for climbing and being in the mountains. Fast-forward to Labor Day weekend 2006. Kristine & I were good climbing buds at the time and we planned a trip to the Grand with other good friends J Weingast, Jesse Hill, & Lizzie Lokey. We climbed the really fun original Owen-Spaulding route (5.4) with Owen Chimney variation (5.5). The trip went very well with great weather despite the route being a bit crowded. It was after all a holiday weekend.

J, me, Kristine, Lizzie, & Jesse on the summit of the Grand Teton on September 3, 2006

Kristine & I on the summit of the Grand Teton together on September 3, 2006 before we started dating

My good friend Bill Larson, who is an engineer at Beaudin Ganze with me, had always wanted to climb the Grand. Bill does most of his work up in Jackson Hole so he has been up there at least twice a month for years now. Bill & I used to do a lot of climbing and mountaineering together back in the day when I first moved to Vail in 2003. Bill was even on our El Pico de Orizaba, Mexico trip in December 2004. He has since started a family and has two awesome young boys that have kept him pretty busy. Nonetheless, the Grand was always in the back of his mind and so we finally set a date and made it happen in September 2013. My good friend Reid was on board and Mike Santoro definitely wanted in as well. So, we would have two roped teams of two, which would be perfect. Since none of them had ever climbed in the Tetons, much less the Grand, we decided to do the original Owen-Spaulding route again with Owen Chimney variation since I knew it pretty well. Other than being a bit colder and perhaps more crowded, it really is no different than the Upper Exum from a technical perspective. It would work out well. Bill was already up in Jackson for work since Tuesday, so Mike & I left early Thursday morning from Vail and drove the 8 hrs to Jackson. Reid flew up from Denver and we all met out at the airport since Bill needed to return his rental car. We all shopped around town for last minute food and supplies and watched the Broncos & Peyton Manning demolish last year’s Superbowl champs at the Snake River Brewery. It was so very nice to be back in Jackson Hole since I have so many fond memories here with my family and friends. We all crashed at Bill’s Super 8 motel room and after a nice breakfast/brunch at the Bunnery in Jackson, we made our way to the familiar Lupine Meadows trailhead in the early afternoon. Billy had secured us two nights of backcountry camping at the Meadows (9,200′) about 4.5 miles in from the trailhead in Garnet Canyon. The backpack approach was great. The weather looked a bit threatening but held off until we were able to find a campsite and set up our tents. Apparently, bears have become more of a problem than I remember and everyone carries bear spray now and so Bill bought a bottle and kept it on him. Despite the fact that Billy wanted to see a Grizz (I sure as heck did not), fortunately any bears steered clear of us on the approach and on the way out.

The boys excited to enter Garnet Canyon with the Middle Teton behind

Garnet Canyon with the Middle Teton looming large

Negotiating the boulder field with decent size packs en route to the Meadows

The rain and hail (marble-size) let loose about 10 minutes after we set up camp

Once at our camp in the Meadows, it hailed marble-sized hail stones for a good 10 minutes at which point I was concerned for my Bibler tent. It soon let up and just rained for a good hour or two. Mike & Bill came into my Bibler with Reid & I and we all played the card game Hearts to our hearts’ content. The weather soon cleared a bit and it stopped raining. We got out of the tent and were greeted with amazing alpenglow from the setting sun bouncing off the clouds and Tetons. It created a real “glow” in Garnet Canyon and was absolutely awesome and such a treat.

The Grand Teton shrouded in clouds

Awesome alpenglow looking up into the South Fork of Garnet Canyon and the South Teton

Looking down Garnet Canyon to the valley floor

The Middle Teton

The boys admiring the view

However great the alpenglow moment was, we soon heard the search and rescue (SAR) helicopter’s blades whipping the humid air coming up into Garnet Canyon. We knew there had been some sort of accident. The chopper made a pass at a small cliff next to the waterfall below the campsite called the Ledges about 300 vertical feet above us on the trail to the Lower saddle. It then landed in the Meadows and dispatched a few SAR guys who quickly hiked up to the base of the small cliff. They were all there for a good two hours with us wondering what was going on.

The chopper circling the Ledges campsites and the Grand behind

The SAR chopper preparing to land at the Meadows to drop SAR members off

Finally, two SAR guys walked past us and told us the poor guy had “pitched off” and did not make it. We really didn’t know what that exactly meant and obviously did not ask the SAR fellows, but we did read two days later that the 40 year old fellow from Boulder had been searching for a campsite in the same hail storm and had fallen off the small cliff. Unfortunately, he did not make it. Its moments like these that really are so very tragic and make you realize the seriousness and unforgiving power of the mountains. And not just the Tetons – really, any mountains. We all have to be so careful. The accident definitely put a somber mood around our camp, but we soon tried to psyche ourselves up for the next day and be positive for our upcoming climb. We had gotten two nights of camping just in case Saturday turned out to be too stormy for a summit day and by 11pm that evening I think we all were beginning to think we would be going for the summit Sunday. The rain really came down for a good hour, which did not help raise our spirits too much. Nevertheless, it stopped, we all tossed and turned, and got up around 2am for a 3am start. It was clear out and we could see stars, so we decided to go for it. We made good time up the trail past the Ledges and into the North Fork of Garnet Canyon in the dark by headlamp. Its a steep trail, that’s for sure, but everyone did well. Routefinding up this trail in the dark is never easy, but we found our way after getting off route once or twice. We made it to the fixed ropes, which are set up to provide an easy ascent of a 75 ft class 4/5 rock band. We soon hit the Lower saddle around 5am still in the dark no less. The wind picked up and Billy had a bad cramp in his leg so I quickly massaged his quad for him and I guess I had the magic touch as he soon after felt a lot better. There were definitely several other parties on the trail and stirring in the Exum hut at the Lower saddle and so we quickly headed up the trail to the Black Dike, a feature on the way up to the Upper Saddle. Now the route between the Lower & Upper Saddles is about as far from straightforward as it gets. It seems I go a different way each time I climb the Grand. Its especially tough in the dark. In 2007, it was light by the time we were heading up to the Upper Saddle which made things a lot easier. Nonetheless, we made our way up trying to avoid being too easterly towards the point where climber’s access the Upper Exum ridge. We followed a small climber’s trail between class 3 and 4 moves. I remembered certain features from before but again the dark really played havoc on our routefinding abilities. We then climbed a 10 ft class 4 slab onto a very loose scree field and followed another team of three up to a point below a 30 ft class 5 chimney up a very wet mini-waterfall of sorts. Sam, the leader of the group, ascended the chimney and I took off after him scoping it out for Billy, Reid, & Mike. I made it up and searched around, but did not remember having to make these moves at all from before, so I downclimbed the sketchy, wet chimney back to the boys. This downclimb was likely the most dangerous climbing I did all day. There was definitely a better way.

On our descent to the Lower Saddle from the Upper Saddle later in the day, I got a view of the class 5 rock I climbed and downclimbed (shown in red) in the dark early that morning trying to find a way through. Not recommended. We found a better way up the class 4 slabs I had ascended previously in 2007

We descended 100 vertical feet or so back to the short class 4 slab. By that time, it was getting light enough that we could see storm clouds in the distance and it was ever so lightly spitting snow on us. This again did not inspire confidence in us continuing our climb. We called it off for all of about 2 minutes when we looked up and it all seemed to be clearing and the snow stopped. We turned around and headed up and now that it was light enough, we found the class 4 slabs/chimney (maybe a low 5th class move or two) I remembered climbing in 2007 just to the right of the waterfall chimney I had climbed and downclimbed a few minutes ago. Now this familiar route did inspire confidence.

Taken later that day on our descent, this picture shows the class 4 slabs/chimney (maybe a low 5th class move or two) we ascended early that morning on the way to the Upper Saddle. We found a better way down to the right in this picture

We then all set off up the slabs/chimney for a few hundred vertical feet and topped out on more remnants of a faint climber’s trail, which eventually led to much easier access to the Upper Saddle.

Billy & Reid starting the class 4 slabs to the Upper Saddle I remember climbing last time in 2007

Mikey in an airy position

Billy & Mike climbing the class 4 slabs with a low 5th class move or two

Reid making his way to the Upper Saddle

Once at the Upper saddle, spirits were high again and we regrouped, got something to eat and drink, flaked out the ropes, and racked up for the technical portion of the climb. The views were incredible, better than I remembered, and the rising sun’s rays on the other peaks of the Tetons and Idaho were unbelievable.

The sun hits the southern Tetons

Clouds over Jackson Hole beneath Buck Mountain

The Middle Teton and Idaho to the west

Reid & I were the lead rope team while Bill & Mike were the second rope team. I went off and only placed one sling around a rock horn to protect the first Belly Roll pitch. I quickly built an anchor and belayed Reid up. Now, it was chilly out, especially on the west side of the mountain which receives no direct sunlight until later in the day. I climbed without my gloves but belayed with them on. The plan was just to leave all my gear in so Mike could efficiently lead for the second rope team. This worked out pretty well.

Mike leading the Belly Roll pitch (5.4) of the Owen-Spaulding route

We had to wait a bit for the team of three ahead of us. The longer we waited, the colder we got, but it is what it is. They were very nice folks and I chatted with them quite a bit as I was the closest one to them.

Bill coming up the Belly Roll pitch to the ledge between the Belly Roll & Belly Crawl pitches on the Owen-Spaulding route

I set out across the very exposed yet easy Belly Crawl pitch placing 3 cams total for the Belly Crawl & Double Chimney.

Exposure on the Belly Crawl pitch

Reid poking his head out from the ledge before the Belly Crawl pitch

I belayed Reid from on top of the Double Chimney and Mike soon followed Reid leading for his team. The climbing up until this point was at most 5.4. So, still technical with lots of exposure yet easy and fun climbing all the same.

Bill coming up the Double Chimney

Bill & Mike hanging out at the top of the Double Chimney

Just awesome low-level clouds in the canyons below

Mt. Moran looking stately in the distance on the right

I then told Sam to climb the awesome Owen Chimney instead of taking the Catwalk slabs around and they did just that. I hope they enjoyed it. I think they did. I took off up the fun 5.5 Owen Chimney placing two cams and clipping a fixed piton and set up an anchor at the top of the chimney and brought Reid up.

Looking down at the boys from about halfway up the Owen Chimney

Reid climbing the Owen Chimney

Mike was on Reid’s tail and then he brought Billy up.

Mike leading the Owen Chimney

Bill climbing the Owen Chimney

I think we had a pretty speedy and efficient method going here for sure. From this point, we coiled the ropes, stowed them in our packs, and set off scrambling up Sargeant’s Chimney and then the really fun upper class 3 slabs to the Grand’s summit. The last few hundred vertical feet to the summit are really fun, low consequential scrambling.

Bill on the upper mountain a hundred feet below the summit

Bill on the upper mountain a few hundred feet below the summit

Mike & Reid scrambling up the upper mountain’s fun slabs

I reached the summit around 10:15am and took a video of the boys topping out. It was a very special moment to see the three of them so excited and accomplished. I just love it.

Here is a short video of the boys reaching the Grand’s summit:

We stayed up top for a good half hour admiring the views, taking pictures, and soaking in the moment. The weather had really held off this day. We all felt very lucky and fortunate. It was a very pleasing summit.

The four of us on the summit of the Grand Teton (13,770′) on September 7, 2013

The Grand Teton summit marker – I guess its 5 ft higher than I previously thought 🙂

Billy & I finally on top of the Grand together

Billy, me, & Mikey on the summit of the Grand Teton (13,770′)

Reid & myself on the summit of the Grand Teton (13,770′)

Looking down at Mt. Owen (far left) and Teewinot (far right) from the northern edge of the Grand’s summit

Lowly Teewinot from the Grand’s summit

We soon gathered our gear and I wanted us down to the Upper Saddle by noon to avoid any possibility of storms settling down on us while we were still on the technical portions of the mountain. The scrambling down to Sargeant’s Chimney rappel went well and I quickly set up the first “warm-up” rappel.

Billy starting the Sargeant’s Chimney rappel

We all then scrambled down to the main 120 ft rappel, which dumped you back at the Upper Saddle. There was no waiting in line here like we did for an hour back in 2007. Mike and I set up the double-rope rappel and I was the first to set off with Mike bringing up the rear. The exhilaration you feel and fun you have on the 90 ft free-hanging portion of the rappel is definitely one of the technical highlights of the climb. Its just so much fun. The guys loved it.

Bill having a blast on the free-hanging portion of the big 120 ft rappel to the Upper Saddle

We then took a break, ate some snacks, drank some Gatorade, coiled and stowed the ropes, and de-racked our gear. We kept our helmets on for the descent to the Lower Saddle because of the potential for class 4/low 5th class moves and loose rock. No matter how hard we tried, I think we still got off route a bit and had to perform some class 4/low 5th class downclimbs and routefind quite a bit. Whatever. It is what it is. We eventually made it to the Lower Saddle and regrouped with some food and water. If the Tetons can’t teach you how to scramble, I’m not sure what mountain range can. If you can scramble here, I honestly believe you can scramble anywhere.

The Middle Teton Glacier as seen on the descent from the Upper Saddle to the Lower Saddle

Back at the Lower Saddle with the route to the Upper Saddle and Grand behind

The boys descending the fixed ropes below the Lower Saddle

We made it back to camp around 3pm, packed up, and started the backpack out around 4pm finally arriving back at Bill’s jeep around 6pm capping off a 15 hour day. Not too bad. I wanted us to head straight to Dornan’s restaurant’s rooftop deck in Moose for beers and dinner for good ole times’ sake. I always loved going here with my Dad and family and enjoying the great views of the Tetons. It did not disappoint. It capped off a wonderful 36 hrs in the Tetons with my great friends.

Cheers on the rooftop deck at Dornan’s!

Left to right: The Grand, Mt. Owen, Teewinot

The Grand: the birthplace of American mountaineering and the birthplace of my own mountaineering

We drove to Pinedale that evening after dinner, got a motel room and very quickly passed out, and then made the remaining drive home to Vail Sunday morning. It was good to be home, but sad to cap off a great trip with Bill, Reid, & Mike. I am so proud of these guys. It was an honor to be up on the Grand with them.

A Chalk Family Gore Outing

by Brandon Chalk | Aug 27, 2013 | Camping, Colorado 13ers

Having made several trips back east this summer and with several more upcoming trips to Oregon and Jackson Hole, Kristine & I wanted to get out together with Rainier & Kona for a fun backpacking/dog-friendly peak bagging trip. We didn’t want the trip to be too much for Rainier and I thought this would be an appropriate length and we could tag as many summits as we think she could physically handle. She would follow us to the ends of the earth whether her body would allow it or not, however we are the ones who have to limit her. So, we turned to our favorite local Gore Range and backpacked 3 or so miles into a camp at about 10,500′ in the Pitkin Creek drainage accessed from East Vail on a Saturday afternoon. I have had my eye on a few unranked 13ers and high 12ers on the east side of the Pitkin Creek drainage for some time now and thought they would be good Rainier & Kona peaks, i.e. nothing too technical or “scrambly” – just a nice mellow, class 2 ridge run. The highest peak on the ridge is Mt. Solitude (13,090′) and we had great views of the ridge from our camp.

Looking up at the Solitude ridge from camp

Kona & I unfortunately walked into a beehive in the ground searching for a suitable tent spot and we both got stung several times – me on the ankle and her on the back and legs. The stinging soon subsided for me and Kona eventually felt better. Nevertheless, it was a fun evening and the weather really held off for all but about an hour of rain. Kristine & I were excited to break out our new Mountain Hardware EV3 high altitude expedition tent (not that we needed it for this summertime camping in Colorado), which I had recently pro-dealed and my parents had given it to me for my 36th birthday. It did very well in the rain and the 3-man tent is so very roomy for us and the dogs and all our gear. It will serve us well on many future expeditions in cold, dry climates.

My favorite ladies and the new tent behind

Me and Kona happy that the bee stings have subsided

Dog watch

Rainie and her hat

Our little camp at about 10,500′ in the Pitkin Creek drainage – who needs a home in Edwards when you can have this?

After the rain, I was able to get the fire started again for Kristine’s excellent s’mores roasting skills. After some yummy Kristine s’mores, we put out the fire and settled into our new tent with the dogs.

Our new, roomy tent

5am came early and after some oatmeal and coffee, we departed our camp for some bushwhacking up the steep western drainages coming down off the Solitude ridge. From the rain the previous night, the grass and willows were so extremely wet. We got soaked – our shoes, pants, gloves, everything. Fortunately, it wasn’t very cold out and we continued on just fine. Anyway, I spotted a decent looking gully interspersed with rock steps up to the saddle between Point 12,620′ & Skier’s Point (12,930′) and we aimed for this route. It was a steep, loose scree climb but we all managed to reach the saddle about 2,000 ft above camp.

High clouds over Vail & the northern Sawatch on a Sunday morning

The steep 2,000′ climb up from camp to the Solitude ridge

Kristine on the long, steep, & loose slope up to the Solitude ridge with East & West Partner Peaks behind in the distance

We all scrambled over moderate class 3 rock over to Point 12,620′ for some great views of the Pitkin Creek drainage and Vail ski mountain.

Point 12,620′ from the saddle with Skier’s Point

Point 12,620′

We then climbed up a few hundred feet to Skier’s Point and had excellent views again of our surroundings. It was a bit chilly with the high clouds as the sun couldn’t quite peak through to warm our damp bodies up.

Looking over at Climber’s Point, Mt. Solitude, & Vista Peak (right to left) from the summit of Skier’s Point

View south from the summit of Skier’s point to Vail ski mountain and Mt. of the Holy Cross beyond

Skier’s Point summit (12,930′)

Rainie & Kona on the summit of Skier’s Point with the northern Gores behind

Rainier was doing so well and I think she was having a great time. Like the good ole days. We brought a lot of water and snacks for the dogs. What really saps Rainie’s energy these days is the boulder fields and getting up and over large blocks and boulders. Its just not nearly as smooth and easy as it was for her a few years ago. There were a few of these sections interspersed with nice grass ridges on the way over to Climber’s Point, but for the most part she did extremely well. Climber’s Point was wonderful and we could look over to the east at Keller Mountain and its associated ridges, which we had climbed a few weeks prior.

Rainie on the summit of Climber’s Point (13,005′)

We could tell at this point Rainie was getting a bit winded and tired but decided to hike over to the next point on the way to Mt. Solitude over a small boulder field. The good news was that the remaining half mile to the summit of Mt. Solitude was mostly grassy ledges and gentle slopes. We all made good time along this scenic ridge to the summit of Mt. Solitude.

On the ridge to Mt. Solitude (behind me & Kona)

Me heading up to Mt. Solitude

Kristine & I were so proud of Rainie. However, she was beat and it was time to descend. The 5th peak for the day, Vista Peak, which was another half mile of ridge running to the north, would have to wait for another trip.

Rainie & I on Mt. Solitude’s summit (13,090′)

Close-up of Rainie & I on Mt. Solitude’s summit (13,090′)

Mt. Solitude summit (13,090′)

After signing us into the register on Mt. Solitude, which I noticed had several recent signatures of familiar folks, and a few pics, we headed down to the low point between Mt. Solitude & Vista Peak and descended steep but grassy slopes down for about 1,500 ft.

Mt. Solitude summit register

Rainie heading down Mt. Solitude’s west slopes back to camp

By the time we got back to camp around 11:30am, the dogs were pooped. They ate and rested while Kristine & I packed up camp and loaded up our backpacks. The 3 mile backpack out was pretty hot but we all made it back to the car around 2:30pm. It was a great 24 hrs out with Kristine and the dogs and it was a fun camp and loop of a few peaks for all of us. In the past, I had backpacked all the way into Pitkin Lake a few times and climbed the Partner Peaks from a camp there, but now we know we can access a few worthwhile peaks on the way into Pitkin Lake – peaks that are fairly mellow and dog-friendly. Yes, Rainie, was a bit tired and stiff after her big day, but its nothing that some cold river swims can’t cure. She swam her little tail off.

Our camp and loop is shown in green on the map below (the red route denotes the standard route up East Partner Peak):

Our route in green from camp

Zodiac Ridge

by Brandon Chalk | Aug 20, 2013 | Colorado 13ers, Colorado Traverses

My good friend J Weingast and I were successful on a traverse this past weekend we had long wanted to attempt in our favorite range in Colorado – the Gore Range. What makes this range so special to us is the fact that it does lie in our backyard just to the north of Vail, sees very few visitors, especially up higher on the peaks themselves, and has some of the most rugged terrain we have encountered making for fun and exciting climbs and ridge traverses. We had done several traverses in the Gores, all of which were so fun and memorable. However, the almost “mythical” Zodiac Ridge was always in the backs of our minds. This ridge is really pretty secluded. It can only be seen from a few perspectives as it lies deep in the heart of the southern Gores between the Silverthorne massif to its north and Red Peak to its south. On a recent weekday camping extravaganza, Zodiac Ridge could be seen in all its glory from our camp up high on a perch southeast of Benchmark Peak on Vail Mountain. Seeing the ridge from up high at a distance was amazing and unforgettable. And to know J and I were going to attempt it in a few weeks time made us that much more excited (and apprehensive). Zodiac Ridge comprises numerous spires/gendarmes that just like sharks’ teeth straight to the heavens. Its got to be one of the more rugged ridges in the state. Each spire (9 in total) is named for a animal or configuration in the night sky, i.e. the Zodiac. Per a very knowledgeable and accomplished local acquaintance, the Zodiac Spires were named in Mark Addison’s article in the January 1957 issue of “Trail & Timberline” magazine of the Colorado Mountain Club recounting his two trips and naming of the Zodiac Spires in 1956. This local acquaintance helped both J and myself out by giving us his beta from a few of his climbs of the Zodiac Spires in 1984.

The named Zodiac Spires on Zodiac Ridge as seen from the west

As J and I really only wanted it to be the two of us on the ridge since we had no idea what we would be really getting into and we always feel super comfortable and confident with one another on traverses and climbs such as this, several of our good friends, Kristine, the dogs, etc all decided to join us up at the small ponds we dubbed the “Zodiac Ponds” at the base of the south face of the peak called Zodiac View (12,505′). These ponds are a bit off the beaten trail to Gore Lake, which makes the area so much more secluded and special. It is an absolutely wonderful place to camp and spend some time. Our friend Keith Webber joined J and I on the 6+ mile backpack with 3,000′ of vertical gain into the Zodiac Ponds on Friday afternoon. We took our time due to the heavy loads (climbing rope, rack, webbing, slings, shoes, helmet, camping gear, etc), but that was just fine as it gave us more time to enjoy the scenery and not to wear us out for the next day.

J and the “graveyard” on the way up the Gore Lake trail

Other good friends, Sarah Webber (Keith’s wife), Kristine, Rainier, Kona, etc were to backpack in on Saturday and stay overnight. After a good blackened Qdoba burrito over a roaring campfire and some good campfire chat, we headed to bed anticipating an early morning start.

Zodiac Ridge from our campsite at the Zodiac Ponds

Our campfire

Our basecamp at the Zodiac Ponds

Cancer (right) & Capricorn (left) in the alpenglow

Right to Left: The north side of Capricorn, Gemini Twins, Taurus, Scorpio, Libra, the south side of Sagittarius

I can’t take enough pictures of this awesome ridge

I woke up at 5am to my alarm and woke J up shortly after. We tried not to make much noise so as to let Keith sleep, but alas he sleeps like a log. We left camp at 6am, boulder-hopped along a boulder field and aimed for a long, steep grassy slope leading up to Red Peak’s north ridge. I figure a good and proper ridge traverse is defined as linking a ridge between two prominent peaks on each end. Thus, in my mind, I would like to summit Red Peak first before heading north along Zodiac Ridge. This is exactly what we did. J said he was glad he didn’t know beforehand how far Red Peak’s summit was away, but he didn’t have much ground for telling me that as we were on the summit of Red Peak by 7:15am – only an hour and 15 minutes after we left camp.

Looking down at Red Buffalo Pass & Demming Peak to the south from Red Peak’s summit ridge

J coming up to Red Peak’s summit

It was a nice morning – quite cool due to the whispy clouds. The Zodiac Spires to the north looked like a long ways away and pretty intimidating. We looked over at Mt. Silverthorne and East Thorn, the 13ers comprising the Silverthorne massif at the Zodiac Ridge’s northern terminus, and they all looked very far away.

Zodiac Ridge and surrounding peaks to the northwest from Red Peak’s summit

Zoomed-in shot of Zodiac Ridge from Red Peak’s summit

The Silverthorne massif

Red Peak summit (13,189′)

We left the summit and sped down Red Peak’s north ridge to the base of the most southern and largest of the Spires, Cancer. Cancer is likely the largest of the Zodiac Spires with Capricorn next door coming in at second largest. Now, I am a Cancer so I figured at least this Spire would take good care of me.

Me at the start of the most southern Zodiac Spire, Cancer

We climbed the south face/ridge directly to Cancer’s summit over really fun and airy class 3 and class 4 rock.

J climbing Cancer’s south ridge

J doing his thing

J on the summit of Cancer with our future behind him up to Mt. Silverthorne

From afar at the Zodiac Ponds, it almost looked like perhaps we could scramble down Cancer’s north ridge. We did scramble quite a ways over class 4 rock until we came to a ledge with severe drop-offs on every side. Well, we donned our harnesses and gear, I withdrew the webbing and slings from my pack, and we looked for a secure anchor. The one boulder we had in mind seemed fine, but after a tug on the rope and webbing, it was definitely teetering – bad idea. However, the large boulder below provided a solid anchor and I tied my first 10 ft piece of webbing around it with a water knot. J rappelled first while I made sure the rope and anchor were secure. I went second and we landed on a small ledge 80 ft below, which after a few airy maneuvers, provided access to the saddle between Cancer & Capricorn.

J rappelling off the north ridge of Cancer to more manageable ground

J rappelling off the northeast side of Cancer to more manageable ground

Me rappelling off Cancer’s northeast side

Well, the first big Spire was behind us and we continued on up the really solid class 3/4 rock to Capricorn’s summit ridge, which entailed an actual summit cairn.

Me scrambling up Capricorn's south ridge with our rappel ledge and rappel route off Cancer show behind

Me scrambling up Capricorn’s south ridge with our rappel ledge and rappel route off Cancer show in red behind

Me on top of Capricorn with Cancer behind me to the right and Red Peak in the distance behind me to the left

Now, we knew there was going to be a big rappel off Capricorn’s north ridge because of what we saw from a distance. We were just hoping our one 9.8mm/60m rope would be enough or that there was a ledge to build an anchor and set up a second rappel station. We traversed the summit ridge to the northern end and figured we could scramble down about 30 ft to another large ledge. We did so only to find serious drop-offs on every side. J spotted a small ledge 30 ft down the north ridge at which point I believe we could get the rope to reach the ground. So, we found a good rock horn to loop the rope around and each of us rappelled down to this extremely airy ledge. I again looped my second 10 ft piece of webbing around a solid boulder on the small ledge, we pulled the rope from above, and set up the second rappel by looping the rope through the webbing and throwing the ends. At the last second, we could tell the ends barely reach a rock ledge which provided easy access to the next Spires, so we were good to go. J again went first.

J on the second rappel off Capricorn’s north ridge

J rappelling Capricorn’s north ridge

Me rappelling Capricorn’s north ridge

This was a full 90 ft rappel and a mostly free-hanging rappel, which added to the excitement. We were “hooping” & “hollering” and we could hear the same from Keith who at that time had just summited Zodiac View across the basin and was obviously having a ball watching us on the ridge. I thought to myself how cool it would be to have front-row seats to watching climbers traverse these Zodiac Spires. I’m very glad Keith decided to pack in with us on Friday and summit Zodiac View this morning. We then pulled the rope after I got to the ground, coiled the rope, and continued onto the Gemini Twins, which were right next door. Gemini Twin (south) comprised really two summits with a steep gully separating the two. A short class 3/4 scramble up for only about 30 ft put me on the west summit and J on the east summit.

J on the east summit of Gemini Twin (south)

I then traversed over to the east summit where J was and while we could have maybe down climbed the gully to the north, we just found a rock to rappel off of since we were already in the rappelling mode and mindset.

Me rappelling down the east summit of Gemini Twin (south)

Gemini Twin (north) was next which consisted of a fun class 3 scramble up to a notch and a nifty low 5th class 15 ft dihedral on its north side to access the summit.

Me traversing over to Gemini Twin (north)

J climbing up to Gemini Twin (north)

Wer found a pretty cool 15′ dihedral (maybe low 5th class) to access the Gemini Twin (north) summit without pulling out the rope and rack

J on the summit of Gemini Twin (north)

J heading down into the 15′ dihedral from the Gemini Twin (north) summit

After the down climb off Gemini Twin (north), we scrambled up to the base of Taurus’ southwest face and scoped out a potential route. From afar, this face looked almost too vertical to scramble up and may warrant a rope. However, upon closer inspection, it looked to be some of the most solid & fun class 4 rock for about 80 ft to its summit ridge – something akin to Crestone Needle’s class 4 summit pitch after traversing from Crestone Peak. This scrambling was a delight and one of the highlights of the Spires for me.

J climbing Taurus’ southwest face

J on the class 4 rock of Taurus’s southwest face

Taurus’ summit ridge was very narrow, exposed, and exciting and I joined J on the northern end of the lengthy knife-edge scoping out a rappel station. I found a good location for a single sling, fed the rope through it, and off we went down Taurus’s steep north ridge for about 80 ft.

J at the northern end of Taurus’s extremely airy knife-edge ridge

J rappelling off Taurus’ north ridge

Me about to rappel off Taurus’ north ridge

We then ascended steep terrain up to Scorpio, which is overhanging on all sides except the north ridge. We wrapped around to its north side and quickly suited up for J to lead the 40 ft to its summit. My forearm tendonitis is still in its prime, especially in my left arm, and I needed to lay off the harder climbing as much as possible. Well, then I probably shouldn’t be traversing Zodiac Ridge, but I can’t pass that up because my forearm tendons are inflammed, now can I? No way. Nevertheless, J placed a few pieces of gear and topped out on Scorpio’s airy summit. I think we’d both agree the pitch we did was 5.6/5.7 – we never put on our rock climbing shoes. Our trail shoes were sufficient. J brought me up and soon after found a sufficient rock horn for a rappel back down to our packs.

J approaching the overhanging Scorpio

J beginning his trad lead on Scorpio’s north side

The crux up Scorpio was getting up on the bulge J is on in this picture

J climbing Scorpio

J on top of Scorpio

Self-portrait atop Scorpio

Zodiac View (12,505′) to the right with the Zodiac Ponds (11,500′) and our basecamp at lower left as seen from Scorpio’s summit

J rappelling back down off Scorpio

Next up was a lengthy class 3/4 scramble up very solid rock to the summit of Libra. This was some of my most enjoyable scrambling as well.

J scrambling up Libra’s south ridge

Looking back at Scorpio and our 5.7ish route up it

J climbing Libra’s great south ridge

Per the beta we had read, there was a knife-edge traverse to the slopes of Sagittarius. I think J & I always enjoy a good knife-edge and this one didn’t disappoint. Very airy positions and great rock.

After topping out on Libra, we had this awesome knife-edge traverse over to Sagittarius

J working the ridge

J in an airy position on the knife-edge traverse

J having a ball on the Zodiac Ridge

Me skywalking on the knife-edge ridge between Libra & Sagittarius

Libra’s summit to the left with Red Peak dead center in the distance and Zodiac Ridge at right

J coming down off a really fun class 4 scamble up this spire between Libra & Sagittarius

J coming down off a really fun class 4 scramble up this spire between Libra & Sagittarius

We then managed the class 2 slog up to Sagittarius’ summit. By this point, we were starting to feel the wear and tear of the day. However, the weather was holding and we were feeling good.

The mellow class 2/3 slopes up to Sagittarius’ summit

Self-portrait atop Sagittarius

We found two old pitons at the top of Sagittarius’ north facing gully, which we pulled on and realized they were very solid. I fed a sling through the pins and chicken-headed it while feeding the rope through the sling. We rappelled only about 40 ft down to safer terrain, coiled the rope, and stowed it away in the pack.

Two old pitons at the top of the north gully of Sagittarius, which we used as rappel anchors

We were only one Spire away from having climbed them all and we knew Aries was probably the easiest. However, it wasn’t a let down at all. It was a fun class 3 scramble up its south side to a great summit with wonderful view of all the Spires to the south. We were both excited to be here and were somewhat amazed that the weather held and looked like we’d make it all the way to Mt. Silverthorne.

The mellow class 3 slopes up the final Zodiac Spire, Aries

Me excited to be on top of Aries, our final Zodiac Spire

J & I on top of Aries

Parting shot off the summit of Aries looking south down Zodiac Ridge to Red Peak

The downclimb off Aries’ north ridge had some interesting moves

We down climbed the exciting north ridge of Aries and made the slog up steep grass and talus to a weakness in the Mt. Silverthorne massif’s south face – a small gully with large solid boulders. This is when your second wind needs to kick in for sure. The gully was pretty fun class 3 climbing with a class 4 move here and there, though none of it very exposed.

Looking back down our class 3/4 gully to access the Mt. Silverthorne plateau. Aries & Sagittarius can be seen below

It was great to get to the Silverthorne plateau. We decided to drop our packs and quickly traverse over to East Thorn, a prominent 13er above the town of Silverthorne with steep faces on all sides. The class 3 scramble up to East Thorn’s summit was very fun, though taxing on us. It would be fun to climb East Thorn by another, steeper ridge route someday.

We decided to continue the scrambling up the west ridge of East Thorn (13,333′)

J making some fun moves to the summit of East Thorn

J on the summit of East Thorn (13,333′) with Mt. Silverthorne behind

Me on the summit of East Thorn

The east side of Zodiac Ridge as seen from the summit of East Thorn

A snicker’s bar and gatorade provided some key energy to get us back to our packs. We picked up our packs and made our way up to the mighty Mt. Silverthorne’s summit and had lunch at the lower southern point. It was now about 1:30pm and it was time to eat. We were starving.

Self-portrait on the summit of Mt. Silverthorne (13,357′)

East Thorn from the summit of Mt. Silverthorne

After some good bread, cheese, and tuna, we headed down Mt. Silverthorne’s class 3 west ridge to the southern ridge leading to the unranked 12er, Zodiac View. I honestly couldn’t believe the weather was holding for us as this is typically the monsoonal period. It felt more like a late fall day with the weather patterns. We decided to leave Zodiac View’s summit for the next day when all the ladies and pups could join us. The views of Zodiac Ridge were absolutely amazing from this ridge and the entire way down into the basin leading back to the Zodiac Ponds and our camp.

Zodiac Ridge on our descent down Mt. Silverthorne’s class 3 west ridge

J and I on the descent

Zoomed-in shot of Capricorn's north ridge, which we descended in 2 rappels as shown

Zoomed-in shot of Capricorn’s north ridge, which we descended in two rappels as shown in green and red

Zoomed-in shot of the Gemini Twins

Zoomed-in shot of Taurus. We climbed the class 4 right skyline with knife-edge ridge traverse to the summit and rappelled off the left (north) side

Right to left: Scorpio, Libra, Sagittarius

Keith had a great fire waiting for us when we rolled into camp around 3pm (9 hours after we began). Our good friends Joel Gratz, Alec Hall, and Andrew Annunzio were there as well and all greeted us and congratulated us on a successful day up on the Zodiac Ridge and accompanying 13ers. Joel, Alec, and Andrew had dayhiked in to our camp and had arrived a few hours earlier. Joel and Andrew had even hiked up to the Zodiac View-Mt. Silverthorne saddle. It was great to see these guys. We all sat around on a rock outcrop trading stories and laughing. We were all eagerly awaiting the arrival of Kristine, Rainier, Kona, Sarah, and our friend Lauren McKeone and her dog, Scout. Joel, Alec, and Andrew left around 5pm and ran into the girls and dogs on their way out. It was so awesome to have all the ladies up at camp for Saturday night, especially Kristine, Rainier, & Kona of course. We built up a great campfire, heated up burritos, made freeze-dried food meals (which were actually good), and enjoyed some vino and a little help from Jack Daniels (courtesy of J). It was a nice evening.

Lauren & Scout at basecamp

We woke up not too early in the morning, enjoyed some oatmeal and coffee, and all decided to hike up to Zodiac View for the 360 degree views of our awesome surroundings. Everyone did extremely well even on the loose talus hiking the last couple hundred vertical feet. Rainie may be 10.5 years old, but she sure is a trooper and still a great hiker.

Zodiac View from the rocky tower J and I climbed up

J making things interesting as always

J checking out Gore Lake from the rock tower

The views atop Zodiac View were amazing – would you expect anything less with that name?

J and Rainie on the summit of Zodiac View (12,505′)

Looking down at Zodiac Ponds and the rock tower at right from the summit of Zodiac View

Looking down at the Zodiac Ponds and the rock tower at right from the summit of Zodiac View

Our route up to the Silverthorne plateau from Aries is shown in red

Our route up to the Silverthorne plateau from Aries the previous day is shown in red

Zodiac View summit (12,505′)

Me & Rainie on the summit of Zodiac View with Zodiac Ridge behind

Sarah & Molly on top of Zodiac View (12,505′)

Kristine & Kona on top of Zodiac View (12,505′)

The ladies on Zodiac View with Red Peak standing tall in the distance

Zodiac Ridge one last time

We then descended to the Zodiac View-Mt. Silverthorne saddle and headed down east to the upper basin below Zodiac Ridge.

Rainier among beautiful surroundings

Parting shot of the ladies & Scout with Zodiac Spires on the hike back to camp

After packing up camp, made our way back to the Gore Lake trail essentially pretty close to the route we forged on the way up, and back out the long 4.5 miles to the Gore Creek/Deluge Lake trailhead in East Vail. The heavens absolutely unleashed its fury on us in the form of a torrential downpour for a good hour and a half. It actually felt good to be hiking in the rain again, though Kona would have begged to differ. It didn’t matter, though. We were going to be in the warm confines of my car soon.

It was a big weekend full of fun, excitement, ridge runs, family, and good friends in the heart of the Gores. Can’t get much better than that. I’m very happy and grateful that traversing Zodiac Ridge worked out for us because I honestly didn’t know how good our chances were at completing this ridge. Now, I guess, maybe we should see if we can do the traverse north to south instead of south to north? Ah, shucks, let’s leave that for another year.

Mt. Katahdin

by Brandon Chalk | Aug 13, 2013 | Other Peaks

On the to-do list for some time now for the Chalks & Oelbergers has been to climb the highest peak in Maine together, Mt. Katahdin. At 5,267′, Katahdin dominates the surrounding terrain and is actually the northern terminus of the 2,000+ mile Appalachian Trail (AT). Thanks to Ken Oelberger and his fantastic expedition organizing skills in securing parking passes and doing the route research. As Ken & Dianne Oelberger have retired to their beautiful home on the ocean in Maine and thus becoming true “Mainers”, it was only fitting that they climb the highest peak in Maine. Kristine flew back to Maine on a Wednesday while I did so the following Friday. We all went sailing that Saturday, which was so much fun. Ken even let me handle the “rutter” of his pride & joy sailboat, which Thomas & I think he should name. Every sailboat needs a good name. I guess he trusted me somewhat even though I had absolutely zero sailing knowledge before I stepped aboard his boat. After some good quality time with all the Oelbergers (including Kristine’s sister, Carrie, her husband, Thomas, and 2 year old son, Kai), Ken, Dianne, Kristine, & myself packed up at the Oelberger residence on a Sunday and headed out for northern Maine and Mt. Katahdin. We took two cars as Kristine & I would continue on into Canada and Quebec City for a few days to visit our great friend, Rob Casserley, and his wife, Marie-Kristelle Ross. Rob & Marie-Kristelle (MK) met us at the Big Moose Inn in the small town of Millinocket at the base of Katahdin on Sunday evening. Rob & MK took the road less traveled from Highway 201, which comes down due south from Quebec City into Maine, on about 50 miles of dirt roads, but in the end they found their way to Millinocket. It was so fantastic to catch up with Rob & MK. It had been awhile since we had all seen each other. Ken & Dianne stayed at the Big Moose Inn while the rest of us camped at the campground just next door. We had a big campfire and cooked our homemade Kristine burritos on the fire and had a good ole evening.

The alarm sounded at 5am and we met Ken & Dianne at the Big Moose around 6am. It was a dreary day and started to rain a bit on the way into the Baxter State Park gate entrance and the Roaring Brook trailhead. The rain and cold definitely didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Nonetheless, we headed out up the trail in the dismal rain and fog. We had an inkling that the skies could clear once we got to treeline due to the 40% chance of rain today for the area. However, once we reached Chimney Pond, 3.3 miles up the trail, the wind and rain picked up and the visibility was next to nothing.

Ken, Dianne, & MK posing with Katahdin in the clouds

There were lots of folks on the trail standing around at the shelter at Chimney Pond snacking and trying to get out of the rain and cold. We all decided to turn around and head down and to try again the next day (Tuesday) which promised a much better weather forecast. Now the trails in the northeast are significantly different than the trails out here in Colorado. They are not just your smooth dirt trails. They comprise boulders and rocks at about every step and are tough on the legs and joints. Some sections are so “bouldery” that I would be hesitant at all to trail run these trails. The slick nature of these boulders with the rain really added to the difficulty and considering what we climbed the next day beyond Chimney Pond, I am so glad we turned around this first day.

Rob, MK, & Kristine in good spirits on the hike out to the car despite the rain and cold

We made it back to the car around lunchtime and headed into Millinocket for come coffee and meandering around. We went to a cool little upstairs cafe for a few hours and ran into some folks who had just completed a thruhike of the AT in a little under 5 months. We were all very impressed by the thruhike achievement and when you think about it, it truly is so amazing. I have heard most people who set out to thruhike usually end up dropping out for one reason or another. Even Rob having 8 Everest summits under his belt and numerous other 8000ers and mountains around the world seemed very impressed. Rob, MK, Kristine, & I were later talking about how cool it would be to attempt an AT thruhike someday, but we wondered if we would get bored or if our joints would hold up for that. Who knows. I guess we’d never know until we tried.

We then headed back to the Big Moose Inn, watched Rob slither into his wetsuit and swim 2 miles in the lake next door in prepartrion for his upcoming ironman triathalon in Canada, and then had a nice dinner at the tavern adjacent the Inn.

The man, the myth, the legend – Rob Casserley looking good for his upcoming triathalon

MK & Kristine on the dock watching Rob swim

Ken & Dianne retired to their cozy room at the Inn while the kids walked back over to the campsite to have a brief campfire with some crazy Canadian mega marshmellow roasting before retiring to our respective tents. 5am came way to early once again and we were quick to get on the road back up to the trailhead for round 2. Despite our strong percolated coffee, I think MK and I were definitely falling sleep in the back of Ken’s car on the way to the trailhead. We just couldn’t wake up. However, once we all got moving in the nice early morning weather, we all felt more energetic.

Mt. Katahdin model map showing the various routes at the Chimney Pond trailhead. Our route up then Saddle Trail is shown in red

Mt. Katahdin model map showing the various routes from Chimney Pond. Our route up the Saddle Trail is shown in red

This day’s weather was a complete 180 from the previous day’s weather. Moderate temperatures and sun had replaced the miserable rain, cold, and wind. It was great.

Gorgeous Maine streams and forests

On the trail to Chimney Pond

Newly constructed log bridges

Mt. Katahdin from Chimney Pond was such a sight to see, one we did not have the previous day due to the socked in clouds and fog. For the east coast, Katahdin sure is a steep mountain on many sides. I’ve climbed many of the southern states highpoints (Mt. Mitchel in NC, Clingman’s Dome in TN, Brasstown Bald in GA, and Mt. Rogers in VA), but Katahdin really is so much more gnarly and thus exciting. I am sure there are some technical rock and ice routes up this peak. It would be fun to come back at some point and attempt a technical route on this awesome peak.

Baxter Peak on Mt. Katahdin from Chimney Pond

There were lots of folks on the trail this day due to the good weather and we noticed the hike to Chimney Pond was popular among families with kids. However, we saw several kids make it to the summit, which was great to witness.

The young gals at Chimney Pond

The boys at Chimney Pond

Ken & Dianne at Chimney Pond

After a nice break at Chimney Pond, we signed the ranger’s register and continued on up the Saddle Trail which took us up to the ridge and saddle between Baxter Peak (the highpoint of Mt. Katahdin at 5,267′) and Hamlin Peak (4,751′) to the north. The trail was very very “bouldery” and there were small sections of class 3 scrambling, i.e. using your hands for upwards progress. Ken & Dianne did wonderful on this scrambling despite having never been accustomed to this type of “hiking” at all in their lives. No doubt Rob, MK, Kristine and I were all so very happy to be here with Ken & Dianne. It took awhile to get up to the saddle, but we all did and took a nice break.

Dianne & Ken taking a break on the steep Saddle Trail with a gorgeous backdrop

Rob “monkeying” around

Beautiful Maine scenery from the Saddle Trail

Dianne working the steep Saddle Trail

Scenic shots abound

Dianne in good form on a class 3 section

The ladies

The gals finish off the scrambling to the saddle

We then continued the remaining 1 mile up Baxter Peak’s north ridge on a good trail, albeit “bouldery”, to the summit. The views along the ridge were phenomenal and we reached the summit around 1:30pm.

The crew heading up Katahdin’s north ridge

The Oelbergers are excited!

Ken making his way

Rob about 24,000′ below his “normal” hiking altitude

It was very exciting for me to watch Ken & Dianne top out on the top of Maine. They were very proud of themselves as they should be.

Dianne is so excited she seems to be levitating

Mother & daughter on Maine’s highest peak

The gals just before Katahdin’s summit

The views down Katahdin’s north-northeast face were awesome all the way down to Chimney Pond.

Looking down at Chimney Pond from the summit

Chimney Pond zoomed in from the summit

We could see climbers on the so-called “knife-edge” over to Pamola Peak (4,902′), a sub-summit of Baxter Peak. We were thinking of descending the knife-edge ridge over to Pamola Peak and down the Dudley Trail to Chimney Pond while Ken & Dianne retraced their steps down the Saddle Trail. However, we absolutely decided not to do this after experiencing the steep, complex, and scrambly nature of the Saddle Trail on the way up. I don’t think any of us were about to let Ken & Dianne descend that trail on their own. The knife-edge ridge and Pamola Peak can definitely wait another day in another year in the future.

People on the knife-edge ridge over to Pamola Peak. Another day in another year for sure

We spent around 30 minutes up top enjoying the views of beautiful Maine with all its dense forests and countless lakes. We took several pictures with the famous Mt. Katahdin summit sign as well. I grabbed a summit rock for us and one for Ken & Dianne as well. It was also so fun and memorable to share another summit with Rob & MK.

The Oelbergers & Chalks on the summit of Mt. Katahdin

The whole crew on the summit of Mt. Katahdin

Rob, MK, Kristine, & me on the summit of Maine

Ken & Dianne on top of Maine

Scenic summit shot of the countless lakes and dense forests of Maine

Beautiful terrain

I think we all knew the descent could take some time, so we got going. Ken & Dianne did extremely well on the steep descent down to Chimney Pond from the saddle. Rob, MK, Kristine, & I were not going to let anything happen to these two stellar mountaineers.

Coming down the Saddle Trail close to Chimney Pond

Typical trail terrain

We all took a long break at Chimney Pond looking back up at Katahdin and then continued on down the Chimney Pond trail. When we passed the Basin Pond, I saw a good outlet through the thicket to the water’s edge and decided to take a dunk. Dianne wanted to check out the cold bath I was about to take and was nice enough to take a few pictures of me. Burr. It was a cold one. It took my breath away, but definitely was rejuvenating. Its always as if I just drank a pot of coffee. That’s how energized I feel.

Lake dunk in Basin Pond on the hike out. I’m always nervous at this point

Burrr…..

We eventually made it back to the car around 7pm for an 11 mile and 12 hour roundtrip day with approximately 4,000′ of elevation gain. I know Ken & Dianne’s feet were hurting, as mine were, after such a long day on difficult terrain, but they had made it. We quickly departed the trailhead and headed back to the Big Moose Inn. We needed to get on the road to Quebec City as quickly as possible so we packed up camp, grabbed some coffee, and headed out around 8:30pm. I was sort of envious of Ken & Dianne’s relaxing evening of showering, a good beer, eating a nice meal at the Inn, and hitting the sack early. However, we wanted to get to Quebec with Rob & MK to maximize our time with them as we were to return to Maine on Friday.

After making it through border control, we finally arrived at Rob & MK’s wonderful new home on the south side of downtown Quebec City and the St. Lawrence River around 2:30am. Rob was so excited to have us there, he immediately got to baking a new loaf of bread until 3am. We had a great time in Quebec with Rob & MK. From biking around the downtown area, seeing the Ross family flat in the city where MK lived while attending university, visiting & hiking the awesome Montmorency Falls outside the city, going on an adventure run with Rob through cross-country trails and backroads while the ladies went to hot yoga, it was all good fun and quality time together.

The 275 ft high Montmorency Falls outside Quebec City

Montmorency Falls

Looking down Montmorency Falls from the suspended bridge above

Kristine, MK, & Rob on the suspended bridge

Rob & MK

Kristine & me

Parting shot of the four of us

We then left Quebec City and Rob & MK around lunchtime on Friday and made the 6 hour drive back into Maine and the USA and to the Oelberger Residence. Kristine & I then flew home to Colorado on Sunday after spending two more nights and a day with Ken, Dianne, Carrie, Thomas, & Kai filled with cornhole and lobster/crab roll sandwiches. Yum. All in all, a wonderful trip back to Maine & a new adventure for me at least up to Quebec to visit great friends. Maybe in the future we can join Ken, Dianne, Rob, & MK on more hikes and summits in New England.

Keller Mountain Loop

by Brandon Chalk | Jul 29, 2013 | Colorado 13ers, Colorado Traverses

Keller Mountain is one of the prominent peaks of the Gore Range and has a really fun and enjoyable class 3 scramble up its east ridge.This route & peak had been on my tick-list for awhile and is even featured in David Cooper’s Colorado Scrambles book. As Kristine and I had our friends Brett & Maura’s wedding in Parker (south Denver) last Saturday evening, we decided to check out Keller Mountain on the way down. Reid Jennings also joined us for the climb. I believe we set off up the North Rock Creek trail around 7am and made speedy time up to the Boss Mine at 2.2 miles. We then steeply climbed up the mine ruins over dirt, talus, and an occasional trail to reach the treed east ridge. Breaking through treeline, we then saw the beginning of the boulder-strewn slope leading up to the first point along the east ridge.

Kristine making her way up to the starting point for the east ridge scramble

We passed a team or two on the way up and began the fun class 3 scrambling along Keller’s east ridge up and over Point 12,847′, a sub-summit of Keller, and then on along to Keller’s true summit.

The classic east ridge scramble to Keller’s summit

Mt. of the Holy Cross framed by North Traverse Peak (left) and the end point of the Keller Mtn Ridge, Point 12,860′ (right). We ended up reaching the saddle between these two peaks and descending back into the North Rock Creek drainage

The Gore Grand Traverse from the northeast. Grand Traverse Peak on left and North Traverse Peak on right

I think any of us would highly recommend this east ridge route to folks who are looking for a fun and enjoyable class 3 scramble in the Gores. We pretty much stayed ridge-proper the entire time, which maybe had a class 4 move here and there, but one can definitely keep it at class 3 by slightly dropping to either side of the ridge crest.

Scrambling with other climbers on Point 12,847′ behind

Kristine having fun

Reid

Along the east ridge

Another downclimb on the east ridge proper

We then topped out around 10am on Keller’s summit and enjoyed the views.

Keller Mountain summit (13,085′)

Instead of backtracking the east ridge, we decided to continue on along the ridge towards the southwest over a few more unranked & unnamed summits. It was a fun scramble over to Point 13,055′ and then further on over class 3/4 rock to the lower Point 12,860′ from which we dropped down to the saddle with North Traverse Peak, the northern terminus of the Gore Grand Traverse.

Reid & Kristine along the ridge to Point 13,055′ with Keller’s summit behind

Reid topping out on Point 13,055′ framed by Keller Mountain (left) and Point 12,847′ (right) along Keller’s east ridge

Looking south from Point 13,055′

Reid along the fun ridge to Point 12,860′

Reid

Connecting ridge from Point 12,860′ to Climber’s Point (13,005′)

Looking southeast from Point 12,860′

We then figured we could drop into the North Rock Creek drainage from the saddle and make our way bushwhacking through the thick willows and forests once we got below treeline. We passed an isolated lake right at treeline in the upper basin which was gorgeous.

Isolated lake high in North Rock Creek drainage

Grouse

However, the bushwhacking that ensued through the willows exceeded our expectations and not for the better. The willows were so thick we were stepping on branches and not even earth. I was actually getting a bit concerned with our timing with regards to making the wedding if we didn’t come upon some sort of a trail. As fortune would have it, we got through the willows, dropped down to a boulder field, and fortunately found a cairned faint trail leading the direction we wanted to go. Another hour along this faint trail got us to the Boss Mine from where we continued on the North Rock Creek Trail back to the cars arriving around 2:30pm. I feel fortunate we found that faint trail in the North Rock Creek drainage because with anymore bushwhacking, we would have likely not made the wedding. I think we all enjoyed making the Keller Mountain climb a loop and extending the ridge traverse all the way to the saddle with North Traverse Peak. It was a fun outing. Total stats was approximately 12.5 miles and 7.5 hrs roundtrip with maybe 4,300′ of elevation gain. And, we made the wedding just fine.

The Crestone Traverse

by Brandon Chalk | Jul 16, 2013 | Colorado 14ers, Colorado Traverses

The famous Crestone Traverse, one of Colorado’s 4 great fourteener traverses, is truly a celebrated classic scramble. Its even described in David Cooper’s Colorado Scrambles book. This traverse links the two famous and more difficult 14ers, Crestone Needle & Crestone Peak, down in the Sangre de Cristo Range. However, the traverse stays primarily on the west side of the ridge and does not follow the ridge proper for good reason. Following the ridge proper would entail serious class 5 climbing and likely many rappels. And, this traverse is supposed to be a scramble.

Crestone Needle (left) & Crestone Peak (right) as seen from Humboldt Peak back in 2009

Despite having climbed Crestone Needle & Crestone Peak each twice over the years and attempted the traverse once back in October 2007, I have always wanted to get back and finish it. That cold October day back in 2007 was full of routefinding issues not to mention a high fever I was running thus all contributing to us bailing off the traverse down a rocky couloir to the west.

Derek & I on the summit of Crestone Peak in late October 2007 before our failed attempt on the traverse

Derek & I on the summit of Crestone Peak eating KFC in late October 2007 before our failed attempt on the traverse

My good friend Reid Jennings had been asking me to go with him down to the Crestones and do the traverse as he had not climbed these peaks. I was definitely in as I wanted to finish the traverse as well as help Reid fulfill his 14er goals. Good friend Derek Drechsel, who was with me on the original traverse attempt and who has since finished climbing all of Colorado’s 14ers, wanted to go back. Lastly, Mike Santoro joined us as he is an avid rock climber with me and wants to really get into the 14er frenzy, especially the more scrambly ones. Mike & I drove down from Vail and met Reid & Derek at the new South Colony Trailhead around 10:45pm Friday night as they were coming from Denver. Since Derek & I were last in the Crestones for Ryan “Baba” Aldrich’s 14er finale on Humboldt Peak in July 2009, the forest service had closed the upper half of the 5 mile long 4wd South Colony Lakes Road and installed a new trailhead and gated the road adding an extra 2.6 miles each way for the climb.

Ryan “Baba” Aldrich’s 14er finale extravaganza on the summit of Humboldt Peak in July 2009

Due to the extra mileage and the strong chance for thunderstorms brewing before noon, I suggested we leave the cars around 2:30am and that’s exactly what we did despite only having gotten an hour or two of solid sleep. We made good time to the upper trailhead where we had parked all those times before covering the 2.6 miles and 1000′ vertical gain in just less than an hour. We made good time in the dark to the vicinity of Lower South Colony Lake and made the turn off for Broken Hand Pass. The moderate class 3 scrambling up to Broken Hand Pass (12,850′) was easy enough in the dark. The issue with going up Broken Hand Pass is that you then have to descend over 500′ down to Cottonwood Lake before starting up the Red Couloir of Crestone Peak. It started getting light enough once we reached Cottonwood Lake to see our ascent route ahead up the fun class 3 Red Couloir.

Reid & Mike in good form climbing the Red Couloir on Crestone Peak

The Blanca Group with the Sand Dunes at lower right

Mikey have a ball in the Red Couloir

We reached the top of Crestone Peak just after 7am, which I believe was the earliest in the day I have ever stood atop a 14er. The early morning misty clouds engulfed the final few hundred feet of Crestone Peak, which definitely gave an eerie yet magical feel to the summit. Everyone was excited, especially Reid & Mike, for whom this was a new 14er summit.

Crestone Peak summit (14,294′)

The San Luis Valley 6,000′ below

We didn’t dabble too long on the summit as we had to descend back down the Red Couloir a few hundred feet to find the exit for the traverse. Derek & I had spotted the cairned exit on the ascent and so we begin the fun walking on exposed grass ledges interspersed with some scrambling to start the traverse.

Me checking out the exit in the Red Couloir to start the traverse

The easy first half of the traverse across grass ledges and short gullies

Crestone Needle and its north ridge comprising several gendarmes looking ominous through the clouds

The weather so far was on our side and we made good time up the class 3 rock gully to the mid point of the traverse at the base of the ominous Black Gendarme – a 200’+ tower of crestone rock.

The fun class 3 gully that leads to the base of the monstrous Black Gendarme

This is where Derek, me, and our crew got all turned around 6 years ago. However, I knew the route now much better and the climbing from here on out went like clockwork. We ascended a short (maybe 10′) 5.2 crux to enter the steep gully immediately to the south of the Black Gendarme. After some class 3 climbing up the gully to the notch where we could peer 2,500′ down to Upper South Colony Lake, we hopped on an exposed but short knife-edge ridge to access the class 3 Z-ledges (named so because of the zig-zag nature) which eventually led up to the final class 4 summit pitch. These ledges consisted of pretty fun scrambling and were definitely much mellower than they appear from down below the Black Gendarme. Everyone was doing extemely well and all making good time.

The Black Gendarme which begins Crestone Needle’s north ridge. The 5.2 technical crux is shown to the Black Gendarme’s right (south) followed by a class 3 climb up the gully to a mini knife-ridge

The final 500′ up to Crestone Needle on the Crestone Traverse (picture taken back in July 2009)

Mike ascending the 5.2 technical crux of the traverse just to the south of the Black Gendarme

Though low 5th class, this crux is only about 10 ft

Derek showing us how its done on the mini knife-ridge

The class 3 Z-ledges

The Z-ledges are really fun class 3 climbing which spit you out at the base of the final class 4 headwall up to Crestone Needle’s summit via the north ridge

Mike loving the crestone conglomerate holds

Derek enjoying the scrambling

The final class 4 summit pitch up Crestone Needle’s north ridge is what this traverse is all about. Good climbing on solid crestone conglomerate rock up a steep 100′ pitch with some awesome exposure and alot of air under your feet all help to make this a memorable scramble. The airy position of this summit pitch definitely adds to the intensity and excitement. I said for Mikey to start up first as he reached my position at the base of the summit pitch shortly followed by Derek.

Derek & Mike climbing the class 4 summit pitch up to Crestone Needle

I knew Reid and/or others may want to be belayed on this pitch, so I brought my 30m/8mm rope, harness, a selection of cams and slings just in case, which I am always more than happy to do. I want my buddies to feel comfortable climbing these pitches and if it helps ease their minds so they can climb well, I am all for that. I knew Reid may want a belay for this pitch as it is very exposed. He definitely agreed and so we harnessed up and I climbed the pitch with one end of the rope tied to my harness.

Me almost to the fixed webbing atop the class 4 summit pitch on Crestone Needle

I anchored myself into the webbing which was in place slung around a rock and belayed Reid up the pitch. It was fun for me watching him climb up the class 4 rock with the incredible air beneath his feet.

Reid climbing the class 4 summit pitch

This pitch is so awesome. Classic crestone conglomerate climbing in a very airy position

I was getting pretty cold with the wind and 14,000′ air temperature with just my shorts on (not all that smart, I know), but Reid topped out in no time and I took him off belay. We then stowed the gear in our packs and scrambled up the final easy ridge to the summit where we joined Mike & Derek.

Reid on the short scramble to the summit of Crestone Needle

It was a celebratory summit for all, but we didn’t stay too long because of the wind and cold. The Crestone Traverse had taken us about 2 hrs summit to summit.

Crestone Needle summit (14,197′)

We then descended the class 3/4 east gully on Crestone Needle’s south face the entire way down to the trail leading back to Broken Hand Pass to complete the full loop. I had forgotten how fun this Crestone Needle east gully climbing really was – even going down.

Descending the east gully of Crestone Needle on its south face

Mike & Reid almost back to Broken Hand Pass with Crestone Needle’s east gully behind

We all eventually made it back to Lower South Colony Lake around 11am and soaked our feet for half an hour. We arrived back at the cars around 1:30pm for an approximate 13 mile roundtrip day with 6,000′ of vertical gain. After an awesome deli sandwich in Westcliffe, we said our goodbyes and congrats and went on our respective ways back to Vail & Denver. The next day Kristine was planning a hike with our good friend Lauren McKeone and all the dogs up the familiar Villa Ridge on the high 13er Drift Peak (13,900′), so I joined them on the fun hike. We started hiking around 8am or so and returned to the car around 12:30pm for a wonderful half day hike with all the ladies – 2 humans and 4 dogs. I am a lucky guy. It was all of their first summit of Drift Peak which made it extra special.

Kristine & Lauren climbing above the clouds on Drift Peak’s Villa Ridge

The clouds seeping through the notches in the Drift Peak-Wheeler Mtn ridge

Scout & Lauren on the summit of Drift Peak (13,900′)

The Chalks on the summit of Drift Peak (13,900′)

Birthday Camp & Father Dyer Peak-Mt. Helen Traverse

by Brandon Chalk | Jul 1, 2013 | Colorado Traverses

Well, my birthday was last week (June 24) and my only wish was to go camp at my most favorite camping spot on the planet – on the summit of our local Red & White Mountain (11,200′). Kristine made me a wonderful filet dinner on my birthday which surpassed that of the Sheridan Chophouse down in Telluride. It was absolutely awesome. Most of my good friends tend to be younger than I am, and many continually remind of that fact that I am older than they are, but good Kristine always reminds me I am still young. In fact, at a recent wedding down in Tampa, FL, with my good college friends and fraternity brothers, some 20 something kids came up to me after the 80s ballad blaring reception and and said “Wow, you guys rock. How old are ya’ll?” I thought it was hilarious and responded by saying “Well, most of us are in our mid 30s, but we are all your age (or younger) at heart.” Anyway, some pics of our Thursday night camp up on Red & White Mountain’s summit are below:

Kristine & Sarah hiking up to Red & White’s summit plateau

Kristine, Sarah, & our “clown” tent

Mikey, Rainier, J, & Kona watching the sunset

Alpine glow on Eagle’s Nest, Mt. Powell, and Ripsaw Ridge in the Gores

Sunset from Red & White Mountain

Sarah & Keith enjoying the view

Kristine & Kona

A great campfire and outstanding views of the mountains, valleys, & constellations

Wanting to do a scramble or couloir climb on Saturday, our Crestone Traverse climb changed to a Holy Cross Couloir climb and then finally to a shorter scramble over in the Tenmile Range near Breckenridge mainly due to the ever-changing weather forecasts around the state. We’ve been constantly heading over to the Tenmile & Mosquito Ranges this spring for adventures and they never disappoint. These peaks are high in elevation, are close in proximity to Vail, there are great skis and climbs, and most trips make for great single half-day or day outings. Mikey, J, & I met Reid at the Spruce Creek trailhead around 6:30am and had a great morning ascending the classic scramble up the the east ridge of the high 13er, Father Dyer Peak, and then making the fun traverse over to the low 13er, Mt. Helen, and back down to the trucks. This loop was just what the doctor ordered – short enough to avoid the incoming thunderstorms and really fun scrambling high on ridges. The loop was about 7 miles and 4 hours roundtrip with maybe 3,500′ of vertical gain. This was good scrambling practice for Mikey & Reid in preparation for the Crestone Traverse as I hope to take these guys down there in 2 weeks if the weather forecast looks favorable for the Crestones. Enjoy the following pics of our Father Dyer Peak – Mt. Helen outing:

Father Dyer’s east ridge in full profile above Lower Crystal Lake. This ridge is really fun and easy class 3 scrambling

The boys on Father Dyer’s east ridge

Reid topping out on Father Dyer’s east ridge

Father Dyer summit (13,615′) at 8:15am. Notice the storms in the sky behind us. This wasn’t too inspring but fortunately the storms skirted us

J on some solid rock on the traverse to Mt. Helen

The boys on a class 2 section of the traverse

The more difficult center portion of the traverse involves class 3/4 scrambling if you stay on the ridge proper, which we did for maximum fun

J on a potential low 5th class downclimb

Mikey enjoying this scramble

Reid

J sky walking on the traverse

One more tower and then the difficulties ended all too soon before the Father Dyer Peak-Mt. Helen lowpoint at the saddle

J enjoing a tower view along the ridge traverse

Reid and the difficult portion of the ridge behind him

Mt. Helen summit (13,164′) around 9:30am

Looking back at Father Dyer Peak and the traverse to Mt. Helen. Pacific Peak is in the distance on the left side of the picture

Father Dyer’s east ridge as seen from Mt. Helen’s summit

Pacific Peak

by Brandon Chalk | Jun 24, 2013 | Colorado 13ers

Kristine & I were trying to come up with a peak to climb on the way down to Denver for our friend Jesse Hill’s annual summer solstice party and the high centennial 13er, Pacific Peak, fit that bill perfectly.

Pacific Peak just out like a shark's tooth as viewed from the east in Mohawk Lakes Basin

Pacific Peak juts out like a shark’s tooth as viewed from the east in Mohawk Lakes Basin

I had always wanted to climb the classic steep north couloir of Pacific Peak, but this day was just as enjoyable and fun as that climb would have been since we could take the dogs and we wouldn’t have to get up as early to hit the snow conditions just right. Plus, with a late night solstice party to follow, the more we could sleep in, the better. Rainier was somewhat sick last week (upset stomach), which made Kristine & I worried. After some new food, which was hopefully easier on her stomach, she got better. The realization I came to while debating the normal route vs the north couloir climb was that I want to spend as much time with Rainie as I possibly can in the mountains and on adventures because you never know how much time left you have with your loving pet. The steep, technical stuff can wait. Obviously, Kristine & I will still do these kinds of routes (to keep the blood flowing), but if there is a Rainier-friendly peak we can do and she is healthy and up for it, we will continue to do just that. Spending time with her in the outdoors and on adventures has been one of my most favorite activities in the past decade – something I will not always be able to do. The north couloir of Pacific can wait. We already have it on the agenda for next spring.

Lower Mohawk Lake

Rainie enjoying Mohawk Lake with Pacific Peak in the distance

After sleeping in a bit, the four of us began hiking at the alpine start time of around 9am. Pacific Peak and the Mohawk Lakes basin was all new terrain for us, except Kona, which was a fun aspect of this hike. Kona had climbed Pacific with our group of friends last summer while Kristine & I were in Australia. The Mohawk Lakes Basin is gorgeous and there are numerous lakes along the way making this a great basin for the pups to keep cool. The route then ascends up to the east ridge of Pacific Peak via a 30-35 degree snow gully where Kristine & I donned our microspikes on our trail runners and used our ice axes. From the top of the east ridge, it was a simple hike alongside the highest lake in Colorado (and possibly the entire United States), Pacific Tarn (13,420′), followed by some class 2+ scrambling towards the summit. Total stats for the route from where we parked was about 7 miles roundtrip and about 3,000′ of elevation gain. It was a really fun 5 1/2 hours of hiking with Kristine and the dogs and I was proud of Rainie. She had an absolute blast and still has the peak bagging mojo. And, yes, the dogs were pooped for the party, which was all part of our plan as well. Enjoy the pics of our hike up Pacific Peak below:

We used the snow gully at far left in the picture to access Pacific’s east ridge

Kristine climbing the 30-35 degree snow gully

Rainie observing me taking pictures of Kristine in the snow gully

Kristine trying to get a sun tan on her legs for our Bald Head Island, NC beach trip with my family over July 4

The lower portion of Pacific’s north couloir before it doglegs up to the summit

Rainie & Kona almost to the summit

The highest lake in Colorado, Pacific Tarn (13,420′), and 14er Quandary Peak in the background from Pacific’s summit

Kristine topping out on Pacific’s summit

Looking north to Crystal Peak, which we had summited and skied 3 weeks prior

Looking south to Atlantic Peak

Kona on Pacific’s summit

After a short 50 vertical foot scramble down from Pacific’s summit, I got a good luck at the upper section of Pacific’s north couloir

Pacific Peak (13,950′)

Me & Rainie on Pacific’s summit

Kristine, Rainie, & Kona on Pacific’s summit

Rainie heading down to Pacific Tarn while we glissade in the soft snow

Rainie & Kona heading back down the upper portion of the snow gully to Mohawk Lakes Basin

The Stratostier

by Brandon Chalk | Jun 10, 2013 | Rock Climbing

In the last week or so, I’ve made the trek up to the Stratostier, aka Wolcott’s Upper “Upper” Tier, several times with Kristine & friends to check out and climb the few established routes. However, there is so much more potential for new routes up there from crack lines to sporty face climbs. Maybe we’ll have to see what we can do in the next few years in terms of new routes up on the Stratostier. For now, enjoy some of the pics below from last week:

Kristine climbing Illumination (5.8) – quite a hard 5.8 in my opinion

Kristine again on Illumination (5.8) at the Stratostier

Me leading Lazarus (5.8+). However, I give this a 5.8++ rating as the roof seams like a really tough 5.8/easy 5.9 sequence of moves

Lazarus sequence of pics #2

Lazarus sequence of pics #3

Lazarus sequence of pics #4

Lazarus sequence of pics #5

Lazarus sequence of pics #6

Lazarus sequence of pics #7

Lazarus sequence of pics #8

Kristine working Lazarus (5.8++)

Many thanks to Dianne Oelberger who graciously videoed me up one of my favorite sport climbs on Wolcott’s Upper Tier called Osso Bocco (5.11-). I don’t think I’ve ever had someone video me while rock climbing so I enjoyed critiquing myself. I have been having some tendonitis in my right forearm, thus the shaking out of my arm quite a bit. Maybe I shouldn’t do these crimper-type climbs and let the arm heal, but its just so hard not to. Hope you enjoy the video: