Our first big rock climbing group trip of the season began with a bit of bad weather. Our plans for a great day of climbing at X-Rock with students from The Logan School in Denver, a creative learning school for K – 8 kids were trampled on by the snowy/rainy weather (it’s May 19 by…
Check out this flyer for our BRAND NEW Kids Rock Summer Climbing Programs here in Durango, CO. Kids ages 7 – 14+ will have the opportunity to learn about rock climbing from the most qualified guides in Durango, and will get to climb outdoors at places like X-Rock, East Animas, Turtle Lake, and more! More…
Chris joined us for a hat trick weekend this last weekend of mountaineering, rock climbing, and ice climbing. The weekend started out with a attempt at Snowdon peak where Ben and Chris made it to the Naked Lady coular before having to turn back. So, with some extra daylight to kill, we took Chris to…
This last week, Jeff, Matt, Mike, Jamie and Jason joined Matt and I for what turned out to be a great time in the San Juans. The crew had a good range of experience. Some people had never climbed a mountain before and others had already done a couple of the ‘Seven Summits’. Everyone came…
Despite getting food poisoning from suspect airport food, Chris trooped through the weekend in style. Back in Ouray, Chris was able to overcome and conquer getting multiple pitches in between bouts of sickness. Way to hang in there Chris! The next day with Chris feeling much better, he was ready to up the ante with…
Allan joined me this past weekend to get some vertical ice climbing under his belt. Allan has climbed all over North and South America already, and will join us on our Cordillera Blanca trip in the heart of Peru. Artesonraju is a 6000 meter peak comprised of very continuous 50 to 65 degree snow and…
As if we aren’t lucky enough here in Durango! Already having access to some of the best backcountry skiing, ice climbing, rock climbing, alpine climbing, and wilderness in the country, we now have one of the most technologically advanced physical therapy clinics in the nation! I have recently discovered this gem in my fight with…
Dave and I got together this week to go climbing on some new terrain. We spent Monday morning in the ‘Grad School’ area of the Ice park. Neither of us had climbed in this area before and it was a nice change from the other areas we work in frequently. The routes here vary from…
For the second year in a row Roger, Michael and Brian got together in Ouray to fine tune their ice climbing skills with Gary and myself. Day 1 was spent in the Schoolroom of the ice park to dust off any cobwebs the guys had. We climbed a variety of routes from WI 3 to…
Srdja and I spent the last four days climbing everything in sight around Ouray, CO. Day 1:We started out in the New Frontier where Srdja quickly remembered ice climbing technique, made some v-threads, mock led some routes and was leading WI3 before the day was done. Srdja climbed 10 pitches. Srdja making V-threads. Day 2:The…
Chris’s total domination of the ice continued last weekend with an ascent of Whore House Hoses and more sending at the Ouray Ice Park. First off was the stunning three pitch line of Whorehouse Hoses. Though the other pitches are fun routes in their own right, the stunning first pitch is the main event at…
Last weekend, Eric, Adam, and Morgan joined me for a two day introduction to ice climbing in beautiful Ouray, Colorado. Upon meeting in the morning on Saturday, we geared up and headed into the Ouray Ice Park to begin our lessons. In an area called the “New Funtier,” a lesson on the basic techniques of…
Family and friends came together from all over the country to participate in one of SWAG’s winter mountaineering courses over the last weekend of January. We spent the first day at Cascade Canyon ice climbing, rappelling, and building ice anchors. Day 2 was spent hiking into our base camp on Engineer Mountain at 11,500 ft…
Jack from Atlanta and Kathy from New Jersey came out to the San Juans for four days of winter mountaineering. We were in Cascade Canyon for day one where we were able to learn ice climbing technique and review belaying and rapelling. On day two we drove North of Durango to Coalbank Pass at 10,600′…
Chris came out for a three day weekend to do some ice climbing. We spent the first day just North of Durango at Cascade Canyon getting some laps in. Then the next 2 days at the Skylight area in Ouray doing some multi-pitch. The backcountry ice in Southwest Colorado has formed up great this year…
It’s been awhile since we last updated the Blog, but that’s only because we’ve been incredibly busy in the last few weeks with mountaineering courses, ice climbing trips, and avalanche courses! It’s been a great start to the season here in the San Juans, and despite a somewhat slow beginning in terms of snowfall for…
Dispatch from Gary Falk about their recent successful ascent of Cotopaxi. More pictures to follow shortly! We put six out of eight climbers on the 19,347 foot summit of cotopaxi friday morning, and conditions were perfect for climbing; supportable snow, clear skies, and mild wind. Views of the eastern and western cordillera were stunning, featuring…
Today we climbed Rumiñahui’s Central peak (15,203) to acclimatize further. Starting at the beautiful Limiopungo lake, the climb took us roughly 4 hours to the summit and only 2 hours back due to some fun shoe skiing down some scree sections. Tonight we are at the Tombopaxi again and tomorrow we will be off to…
We climbed Pasochoa today, topping out at about 13,500ft. It is a beautiful hike beginning on a dairy farm, where we chatted with the owner who has been living there since 1937. The road from the farm to the trail, and from the town to the farm, rises up through the green hills and is…
Our first day in Ecuador was spent walking around its capitol city Quito. In our last trip, we loved to stay in cause our Borneo Lodge, which you can have a loon on borneoecotours.com/borneo-rainforest-lodge, was simply breathtaking. Our local guide Marcelo, who was born and has spent his entire life in the city, gave us a…