Debacle on Beaver Brook Trail!

My friend Tiffany and I decided to hike the Beaver Brook Trail, one way. That meant placing one car at either end of the trail. The trail is fabled to have anywhere between 7 and 12 miles, however mostly I saw 8.9 miles in the trail guides. I didn't exactly tell Tiffany it was that long... Not until we were about two miles in... She had a feeling I had fibbed.

Tiffany

Either way the weather was amazing, 55 degrees and sunny! There wasn't enough snow to warrant snowshoes., so we wore traction devices. We brought both of our dogs, and let them run free, there was no one on the trail all day, just the four of us!

Looking northwest from the trail.

Interesting snow formation 6 miles down the trail.

I was given the chance to check out my new Soto micro regulator stove, which was amazing!!

Somewhere near mile six there was split in the trail, and we made the unwise decision of taking the most traveled trail... Which was the wrong one... We ended up one highway exit up from where we left the other car, which would have been an additional 3.6 miles... Making the 8 mile trip almost 12. Tiffany called a friend to come pick us up and drive us to the second car.

A lonely elk in the midst of a heard of Bison , looking for his friends. 

I should have come prepared with a trail map, which I usually would... I felt like a dope! However i've learned my lesson...

Afterwards we drown our stupidity next to a roaring fire, with a nice pint, at Golden City Brewing.

Climbing Snow and falling through snow, at St. Mary's Glacier

Snow climbing is one of my favorite things to do, and I was at St. Mary's Glacier four days earlier with a friend of mine, where I saw the loveliest, hard-packed, snow in a small couloir.

Lefthand chute.

The one of the lefthand side of this photo, it required crossing the lake, climbing the chute, then up and over the summit of Point 11,716, then glissaded down the glacier back to the lake. I decided this was a trip that I really wanted to do, so I invited one of my friends who is interested in mountaineering to come with me. I figured it was a good training climb for someone who had never used crampons/axe for climbing snow! 

We arrived at the trailhead at 7:00 am, gathered gear, and began the hike up to St. Mary's Lake. The lake was frozen solid, and we were able to cross easily after we strapped on our crampons. There was a brief lesson on crampon/axe technique, and we began the climb. 

Looking down the chute!

 The weather was gorgeous, and the snow was hard in most spot, however there were some wind blown areas with a hard crust, and tons of powder below. Once above the chute, the view was amazing, you could see clear over the glacier, and all the small people walking down below.

Sitting above the mouth!

The trek above the chute.

Looking across to the glacier.

Once we made it up over the summit, we had to cross a large snow drift area, I made it and settled on an exposed rock only to turn around and see my friend up to his waist in snow. I didn't help him out.

Stepped on a tree and fell into a drift. Haha. 

The glissade down was amazingly fast, and super lumpy... I had a few lovely bruises from that...but climbed up again to do it a second time. It was fun!

All in all the trip was a success, and I go to complete my snow climb that I wanted to! :)

Torn-up by Grizzly Peak

So a friend of mine mentioned that there was a trip going up Grizzly Peak via the standard route. He knew this was on my short list for winter ascents, so despite his warnings about the groups fitness level...I signed up for the trip.

I arrived at the approved meeting place, the four of us piled into one of our cars and made our way to Loveland Pass. It was a beautiful morning, and the sun had barely begun to peak over the ridgeline. I have gone hiking up in this area numerous times with no trouble, however the other three members of our hiking party were practically running up the slope!

Grizzly Peak from Loveland Pass.

They stopped maybe twice the entire trip to drink water/eat... I usually make regular stops so that I am able to stay hydrated and nourish my body. When I am out hiking, I've realized that my body just burns through calories, and I need to continually eat in order to keep my energy up! I decided not to let that ruin my trip however, I made an attempt to keep them in sight.

Once we climbed the first incline we headed towards an area called "Cupid"13,117ft, a small hump between Loveland Pass and the epic lines of Grizzly Peak. The long ridge line had the beginnings of a lovely cornice!

Right- Grizzly, Left Torreys and Greys.

Then we continued down over the side of "Cupid", over the jagged ridge line, to the final push up the ridge. The final ridge, was very steep, and I was already having problems with the altitude-- my mountaineering axe was a necessity. I was worried I wouldn't make it to the summit, however once of the trip leaders encouraged me. I slowly, but steadily made my way up the sharp ridge, to the summit.

The view was amazing on all sides, and Torreys and Greys felt so close!!

Torreys and Greys from the summit of Grizzly Peak.

I made it!!! Grizzly Peak 13,427 ft.

I was able to make the summit, however upon descent, I ended up having altitude sickness- slightly dizzy, nauseous, and unable to catch my breath. Granted it wasn't severe altitude issues- but it certainly made it difficult for me to complete the trek back to the car.

I've learned that drinking water is imperative, and so is eating. I also realized that I need to train a lot more before I go hiking with the likes of those guys again...but more training couldn't hurt. So that is my mission.

Escalating Englemann Peak, the unfinished saga or I was not in the mood.

The day began early, before the sun rose above the peaks. The frigid cold froze hair, and eyelashes. Englemann peak(13,362ft) lies up a steep road, and then off trail, in to the thick woods.

The sun had barely crested the horizon as we began up a trail with extreme avalanche danger...

Or so claimed the sign, there wasn't nearly enough snow to warrant an avalanche.

The snow was beautifully crystalized and fluffy, and stomping through the high drifts deeper into the woods was my favorite part of the trip. It was so cold that my hair, eyelashes, and balaclava were frozen! As the sun began to crest the peaks, it began to warm up, and the wind began to blow.

Once above tree line we stashed our snowshoes, and there was an AMAZING view of the surrounding peaks!

Parnassus Peak

Section of the Gore Range, the jagged peak in the center is "the Citadel", with Pettingell Peak on the right.

I usually do not have great difficulty with altitude, however I had already lost energy by the time we reached higher 12s. I made the decision not to summit, which is a difficult one to make, however I'd rather not have difficulties later in the trip. I sat down with another member of our party who had been up there multiple times, and had a cup of warm coffee, discussing geography.

One of the greatest scenes from our trip was the rest of the group descending from the summit-- everyone was wearing a different color, it was as if a rainbow was haphazardly climbing toward us.

 Though I didn't summit, it was a lovely trip, and I met some nice people! I also realized that sometimes I have limitations, just because altitude hasn't affected me on MOST of my trips, doesn't mean that it won't get me sometimes. I was still able to enjoy the beautiful scenery, and stomp around in the snow....which is really the point! :)

My mouth looks frosty!