Joe came out to Colorado for a mountain climbing vacation. He started out his trip in the San Juans and then is heading up to the Maroon Bells and Rocky Mountain National Park to round out his trip. The objective in the San Juans was the beautiful Arrow Peak. Joe was on a tight schedule…
From September 15 – 26 Nate will be taking his Alpine Exam with the American Mountain Guides Association. A separate Blog has been set up to chronicle the trials and tribulations of his endeavor. You can follow Nate’s Blog by clicking here. Subscribe to the blog by clicking on the link at the bottom of…
After getting rained out prior in the season, the Karch family returned for a trip into Ice Lakes Basin of the San Juan Mountains. We met under blue skies in Durango and drove to the trailhead at the end of S. Mineral creek road. The hike up entailed gaining 2,500 feet in 3.5 miles. Ted took many…
This was an incredible journey! We spent eight days playing in the great outdoors in Southwest Colorado! This included climbing at a local crag, climbing one of our great 13ers in the area (Snowdon Peak), and then traveling into the backcountry of the great Weminuche Wilderness to visit Chicago Basin, the 14ers there, and end…
Just completed a busy week, the headline of which was a backcountry trip into Stormy Gulch for a climb of the E. Ridge of Storm King Peak, along with the E. Ridge of E. Trinity with Andrew K. and Marty L. The trip began with a road trip into Beartown via Silverton and Stony Pass. …
Jim and Jill from New Jersey climbed Snowdon today, which was their first mountain ever. Jill, who has done marathons all over the world and is currently training for one in New Jersey and Jim did a great job having never climbed before. They both were in great shape which allowed us to be on…
Climbed Vestal Peak via the Wham Ridge with Pat from El Paso, TX this week. We did the trip as a 2 day climb, riding the train to Elk Park and hiking into Vestal Basin on Day 1. An alpine start on Day 2 got us up and down the Wham Ridge and back to…
Ed from Omaha came out to Durango for a few days in Chicago Basin with training for Rainier in mind. Ed will start climbing Rainier on Saturday, and wanted to get a little more elevation under his belt than the 900′ that is Omaha. Colorado is perfect for gaining altitude experience. We slept at about…
After what seemed like some unusually wet weather in June, we have been having perfect blue skies. Making the temperature in Durango hot and the weather in the mountains great. So Thursday we headed out and climbed Snowdon Peak which was the first peak ever for the two texans! A proud summit for a first…
After a quick flight 2/3 of the way across of the US, Dave from New York and I, hopped the Durango – Silverton Railroad with our heart set on Vestal’s North facing Wham Ridge. The train offered a great introduction of the views to come of the San Juan Mountains and a time to eat donuts and coffee.…
Last Friday, Aaron, Bill and I ran in for a 1 day ascent of Vestal Peak’s Wham Ridge. Without the aid of the train, this is accomplished by accessing the Colorado Trail on top of Molas Pass, and descending to the Animas River for about 3.5 miles and 2000 vertical feet. Then it’s 5.5 miles…
Climbed Snowdon Peak via the West Buttress with Max today. No matter how many times I do this climb, I always enjoy the combination of aesthetics and relatively good rock quality (for the San Juans anyway). One of the best weather days of the summer so far with barely a hint of the typical afternoon…
Last week, Garry from Florida came to Durango on his vacation out west to climb his first peak. Garry had some multi-pitch climbing experience so the objective was the beautiful Wham Ridge on Vestal Peak. We took the Durango Narrow Gauge Train to Elk Park and then hiked up to Vestal Basin to camp. The…
The other trip I guided on Mt. Rainier, along with fellow SWAG guide Gary Falk, was a climb of the ultra classic Liberty Ridge. This is certainly one of the most sought after routes on the mountain, and is well deserving of it’s classic status. An approach from the White River Campground leads to lower…
I just completed a short stint of guiding on Mt. Rainier for Rainier Mountaineering Inc. (RMI). The first trip I led, along with fellow SWAG guide Gary Falk was a Kautz Glacier Expedtion Skills Seminar. In total, the seminar includes 6 days of instruction and climbing on the less popular, though classic, Kautz Route. The…
Last week, Patrick from Texas came up for a few days of alpine training in the San Juans. A few days of rock climbing in the Durango area were followed by a couple of mountain days to help establish a solid foundation of alpine skills. He’ll be joining us later this summer for an ascent…
Loyal client Valari W. recently completed, and successfully, summited the Moose’s Tooth in the Ruth Gorge/Denali National Park, via the Ham ‘n Eggs Couloir. She was led by our guide Chad Peele and the group experienced great weather, but “sporty” conditions on the route. Some of the ice pitches did not lend themselves well to…
Out in the mountains for a few days with a crew from the Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM. A group of 7 soldiers from the 21st EOD came to the San Juans for some mountain training. We combined a few days of rock climbing with a couple of days in the mountains, acquiring basic rock…
Great weekend in the San Juans. About 6 inches of snow on Saturday gave way to perfect weather on Sunday. Did an overnight on Engineer Mtn. with Ian from CA, and Nick from NYC. The conditions on the NE Ridge of Engineer are just about perfect right now. Generally stable snow and great cramponing led…