2010.05.16 A SPECIAL DAY ON LONGS PEAK

This post is going to focus on Jarrett Luttrell, who with the descent of Longs Peak on Sunday 5/16 became the 1st person to snowboard (and the 8th overall on some form of snow-sliding device) all of the Colorado 14ers. I had the chance to meet and climb with Jarrett on Culebra Peak last spring and I was immediately impressed by his snowboarding ability and humble, laid-back style. After conquering Capitol Peak, the most difficult of the 14er descents the week before (see Jarrett's intense trip report here), Longs Peak was the lone remaining hurdle. Luckily, I got a hold of Jarrett to pass along congratulations and managed to jump on board with his attempt on Longs.

After leaving a car at the Wild Basin trailhead on the south end of Rocky Mountain National Park, Jarrett, Brennan and I started off from the Longs Peak ranger station at 3:45 am. During the summer, this trailhead would be overflowing with cars and climbers going for the summit, but we didn't see another person until the end of the day. From year's past, I'm pretty familiar with the trail and we made quick progress towards the Chasm Lake turn-off and our first views of the impressive Diamond face.

Sunrise on Meeker and Longs:

We chose to ascend the Loft couloir (splitting Meeker and Longs), skinning up steep slopes before switching over the crampons to traverse on the narrow snow ramp to avoid the cliff band at the the top.

Jarrett skinning towards the snow ramp serving as our exit from the Loft couloir:

As expected, we had some trouble finding the proper route towards Clark's arrow, which indicated the correct downclimb into Keplinger's couloir. Fortunately, both Brennan and I had climbed this route before which helped save some time. We did encounter two sections which required some class 4/5 moves including a sporty chimney that we debated about descending for a while.

Jarrett downclimbing on some mixed terrain:

This led us into Keplinger's couloir on the south side of Longs Peak, which we would climb for the next 1,000 feet. Heavy snowstorms had blanketed the area with two feet of snow earlier in the week, and we quickly encountered deep, heavy, unconsolidated snow that made bootpacking a chore.

Jarrett climbing the upper sections of Keplinger's couloir:

By this point, I was completely gassed and could only take a few steps before doubling over to catch my breath and rest my legs. Brennan recovered from a bout with altitude sickness earlier in the day and Jarrett pushed on with determination in the lead through thigh-deep snow towards the Homestretch and up to the summit.

Jarrett admires the snow-filled Homestretch to the summit:

We reached the summit at 2 pm, much later than anticipated, but the windy morning kept temperatures cool enough that warming snow and wet slides weren't a great concern. We extended congratulations to Jarrett and wasted no time clicking into skis and snowboards for the descent. We opted against a descent of the north face due to unknown snow conditions, instead retracing our path back to the south side and Keplinger's couloir which would provide nearly 2,800 vertical feet of quality skiing.

Jarrett making his last first turns down a Colorado 14er:

Brennan is all smiles:

Myself enjoying some open turns (Photo - Jarrett L):

Brennan banks a turn (Photo - Jarrett L):

Negotiating around rocks or linking up snow patches is the norm for this descent, but we enjoyed continuous snow on the upper sections thanks to the recent storm. The couloir seems to never end, as after every twist or turn, more snow lay beneath our feet. After enjoying soft, but heavy and tiring snow for the entire descent we reached the bottom of the couloir. The Wild Basin trailhead and our car shuttle lay 6 miles to our east, so we set off blazing a trail through the forest in that general direction.

Satisfied after an excellent descent on Colorado's most iconic 14er (Photo - Brennan M):

The ski descent off the summit down the Homestretch linking to Keplinger's couloir:

The south side of Longs and the Wild Basin area is among the least travelled areas of the park, but Brennan had previous experiences hiking, backpacking, and getting lost in the area, so he was able to guide in the general direction and follow the trail during some difficult turns. Exhausted and with aching feet we finally arrived back to the car at 7:30 pm, capping off a 14.5 mile and 16 hour affair with 5,400 vertical feet climbed.

Once again, congratulations to Jarrett on his amazing accomplishment and much thanks for inviting me along for the adventurous finale.

2010.05.01-02 MAY POWDER DAYS

Although the calendar turned to May last weekend, winter was in full-swing throughout Colorado. Despite a relatively light year in terms of snowfall, a series of spring storms has made up for previously subpar conditions, providing excellent skiing conditions which hopefully last for a few more weeks.

On Saturday, I met up with Joe and his friends for a circuit route at Berthoud Pass. We braved some strong winds on the ridges at high elevations, but the 4 north-facing couliors all provided deep powder and mid-winter conditions.

Joe getting deep & steep:

Touring towards the last run of the day, Chimney chute, after harvesting the slopes behind:

On Sunday, I made a solo trip towards a peak/line that caught my eye last spring: the southeast face of Hagar Mountain (13,185 feet). Fortunately, there was barely a breath of wind and the snow held off just long enough to provide enough visibility for the descent.

Hagar (left) and Citadel on the approach from Dry Gulch:

On the summit of Hagar Mountain:

Preparing to ski the southeast face:

I could just make out the terrain features through the flat light at the start of the line, but I unintentionally ventured from my intended route about halfway down. However, the snow was a perfect blend of powder and corn so I didn't stop to adjust and enjoyed nearly 2,000 vertical feet of skiing back to the creek bed.

My line down the southeast face:

With the ski descents of Crystal and Hagar complete, that's 2/3 of my goals completed for the spring season. Only North Maroon outside of Aspen still remains. Hopefully the plans will materialize in coming weeks to take on this classic!

2010.04.16 ALASKA - THE GREAT LAND

Tomorrow marks the start of a week-long ski mountaineering trip into the heart of the Alaska Mountains. I'll be arriving in Anchorage on Saturday afternoon and driving 2+ hrs north to Talkeetna. The following morning (weather-dependent), we'll be boarding a small aircraft modified for glacier landings and enjoy a short (~30 min), but spectacular flight over and into the heart of the Alaska range.

Talkeetna Air Taxi:

We'll be landing on a small offshoot of the enormous Kahiltna glacier, unofficially known as the Pika Glacier. Located about 30 miles south of the highest mountain in North America, Denali Peak, this area has been dubbed 'Little Switzerland' for the spectacular alpine setting reminiscent of the Alps.

Little Switzerland:

The plane will leave and we will set up our basecamp at 5,600 feet. For 5 days, we'll be free to explore the beautiful soaring rock buttresses and surrounding glaciers for ski descents ranging from 500 - 2,500 feet. On Friday, the plane will return and we'll sadly be brought back to reality.

I've created and annotated a Google Map with a few areas of interest, including the Pika Glacier which will be my home for the next week. Simply click on the link and you should be directed to the custom map: Alaska - Pika Glacier. I highly recommend selecting the terrain or satellite views for topographic perspectives of the areas. You can also use the toolbars to zoom in on these areas.

2010.04.10-11 TENMILE TWO-FER...PART II

The north face of Crystal Peak (13,850 feet) can be seen in full as you pass Copper on I-70 and has been on my list of must-do ski descents. Based on reports from previous years, I knew that a continuous line from the summit existed through a narrow couloir. So with hopes for decent coverage in a lean snow year, Andy and J joined me along with the dogs, Rainier and Kona for an attempt on the peak.

Crystal's north face from Highway 91:

There is no official trailhead on the north side of Crystal, so a car was left along highway 91 around where we estimated that we would emerge at the end of the day, then shuttled back up to the Mayflower Gulch trailhead. However, we quickly realized that we actually started at the Clinton reservoir trailhead, one gully to the north of our intended start. Fortunately, this didn't put us too far out of the way and we quickly found our way into the correct area which required only about a 600 vertical feet and 0.5 mile detour.

J climbing into the sunrise:

First views of Crystal Peak and its false summit in the far distance:

Despite already reaching an elevation of over 12,000 feet, we still had to travel for ~2.5 miles across several gullies before finally reaching the summit. The constant traversing was frustrating as we had to reclimb to gain any lost elevation and progress seemed slow. After a steep skin up the final pitch on quickly softening, yet sticky snow, we reached the summit around 12:30 pm.

J bootpacking a short section with the impressive north face of Pacific Peak as the backdrop:

Without a cloud in the sky, the sun was blazing but a light wind kept the temperatures cool. We hoped that the shady north face would soften up enough to avoid skiing hard- and wind-packed snow.

Peering down the north face of the summit:

Fortunately, the conditions were much better than expected (at least on the upper portion of the route), as a few inches of soft snow remained from the storm earlier in the week. Andy and I started down the route to ensure safe passage before giving J the okay to descend with the dogs. Although we skied cautiously to avoid any variable conditions, Rainier and Kona charged downhill with little hesitation.

Myself starting the descent (Photo - J W):

Rainier charging down the steep slopes:

Andy skis soft snow in a gully before funelling into the tight couloir:

Andy and J admiring our route down the north face:

A closer look at the line:

After staring repeatedly at Crystal Peak over the past years, this ski descent more than exceeded my expectations. Good snow, a steep fall-line, and tight coulior all contributed to the high quality of this route. We skied through the basin and down the river bed with soft, collapsing snow while taking our best guesses as to where the car was parked. Surprisingly, we emerged pretty close, with only a 1/4 mile downhill walk needed to reach some cold beers and the end of an excellent and much anticipated day.

A complete view of the route (courtesy Google Earth):

Many more photos, including some great shots of the dogs, can be found here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/derek.drechsel/20100411CrystalPeak#

2010.04.10-11 TENMILE TWO-FER

With the ski mountaineering trip to Alaska only one week away, I needed to get in some conditioning and test my new AT boots, Dynafit Titans. So I ventured into the Tenmile range last weekend to accomplish both these tasks during a beautiful spring weekend.

On Saturday, Devon and I headed up Quandary Peak, a 14er just south of Breckenridge as a warm-up for more challenging peaks to come later in the season. With this ascent I've now hiked to Quandary's summit four times via the standard east ridge route and descended three times on skis. Although the route isn't very challenging, it provides some great turns in spring snow and over 3,000 vertical feet of quality skiing.

Alpenglow on the upper slopes of Quandary Peak (14,265 feet):

Devon approaches the summit:

I've had the chance to test out my new AT boots already, but this was the first time taking them out for an extended tour. I'm happy to report that they are a huge upgrade over the alpine boots I've been slugging around with for the past few years. The Dynafit Titans are among the burliest and stiffest AT boots on the market currently, but they remain much lighter and agile than I expected. Plus, I greatly appreciated being able to increase ankle flexion by using a walk mode for the first time.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to use the Titans as my exclusive footwear for skiing, as the lowered cuff makes it feel as though I'm sometimes falling out of the boot. Also, there is a little bit of awkwardness between the pressuring of the boot and ski response that results from the lack of unibody plastic construction of the boot (including the interchangable alpine and AT/vibram sole blocks). For the backcountry, the Titans receive my support for anyone looking for a hard-charging boot without much compromise.

Admiring the Dynafit Titans and views of the Tenmile range:

With my legs, lungs, and boots feeling good, I set my goals for Sunday a bit higher, but only a few miles to the north...