Old Man Bull

Date Climbed:  May 23, 2018 Climbing Party:  Mike Everist, Robert Gowder, Aaron Dover R/T Mileage:  22 miles Elevation Gain:  6,131' I just recently completed a hike of Mt. Whitney and I wanted to share my experience. With my 40 th birthday on the horizon, something adventurous was in order.   Should it be an adventure race or a trip?   Races aren’t really my thing and trips usually just equate to sightseeing and eating in a different city.   I really enjoy hiking and adventure and thought what about Rainier??   I could get into that.   I began doing research on the routes and quickly realized I would want a guide. Many people do that trip unguided, but since my experience with glacial travel is non-existent Rainier would ultimately be out of the question.   I was disappointed to learn that the three guiding companies that guide up that mountain were all sold out by January. Bummer.   Enter Mt. Whitney.  ...

Date Climbed:  August 9, 2014 Climbing Party: Amanda Harnden, Aaron Dover R/T Mileage:  8 miles Elevation Gain: Approximately 3,900' Leading up to this weekend, this summer had been really busy for the two of us.  When we finally caught a break from everything and decided to take a weekend and go hike/camp in the Elk Range. Our sights were set on Castle and Conundrum Peaks.  The two peaks are connected by a very thin ridge line, and can be done in one hike.  So, after work on Friday (literally…at 4:10) we booked it up 285 to Buena Vista and over Independence Pass, through Aspen and into the woods to get ourselves ready for the early morning. The road in is actually the trail…it's conceivable to drive all of the way to 12,800' where the road ends. From there, your round trip hike distance would be 2 miles.  We camped at about 11,200' on a ledge overlooking a valley below.  It was a precarious spot, as it felt if we leaned too far over in the te...

Climbing Party:  Kit Dover, Amanda Harnden Elevation Gain:  3,062' Mileage:             6 miles round trip We had this hike in mind as a good training hike for Longs Peak the next weekend.  Dad was visiting from NH, and we wanted something that would give a good pump and some elevation. From Denver, take I-70 west and get off at exit 216.  At the end of the exit ramp, make a sharp right hand turn and drive down a dirt frontage road to the access gate to park. Continue past the gate along a dirt road that gently leads you away from the highway, and eventually turns into a trail.  Continue along the obvious trail in and out of small stands of trees until the trail disappears at the bottom of Dry Gulch.  Although there is no trail, once you leave the trees there are quite a few cairns that will help guide you up the first steep section (around mile 2).  Tis second mile will lead you out of the bottom of Dry Gulch. ...

Date:  August 17, 2013 Climbing Party:  Amanda Harnden For those of you who are curious about a Sawtooth Ridge / Kelso Ridge tale of the tape, you are in luck!  I will try to compare both routes in this post, and let you go from there. Torreys > Grays via Kelso R/T Mileage: ~7.5 miles Total Elevation Gain:  3,740 Bierstadt > Spaulding via Sawtooth R/T Mileage: ~8 miles Estimated Total Elevation Gain: 3,262' Trailheads/Access Both trailheads are easily accessed off I-70.  The Grays Peak trailhead is found at the top of a dirt road. If you are late to the show, you will end up parking quite a ways down this dirt road which will add significant distance and elevation to your hike.  It pays to wake up early and get a coveted spot at the top.  Also, turning around on this dirt road looks like it could be challenging at the end of the day! Advantage:  Sawtooth The Approach The 1.75 mile approach to the Kelso Ridge trail th...

Date: July 27, 2013 Climbing Party: Amanda Harnden R/T Mileage: 10.6 Elevation Gain: 4,826' Gerry Roach writes in his book that by taking the East Ridge of Mt. Yale to it’s summit is longer than the standard route, but that the additional length and effort is worth the solitude found on the route. He was right. For 5 hours and 12 minutes, we did not see one single soul on the trail – ahead or behind us. We arrived in Buena Vista the night before with the hope of finding a good spot to hunker down for the evening ahead of the 3:30 AM start time. We ended up settling in for the evening in the back of Amanda’s car at the Avalanche trailhead, which worked out great, as the trailhead was mere steps from where we were. We were on trail by 3:30, and started making our way up the Colorado Trail with the hope of finding Yale’s East Ridge trail, located 3.3 miles ahead. Our objective was summit at about 8:30, and get down as the weather forecast was calling for early morning...

Date:   July 20, 2013 Climbing Party:   Sabrina Langer, Martin Barnett, Katie Moser, Nathan Hankins, Zach Taylor, Rich Ostrosky, Chris Pierce, Becca Frager R/T Mileage: ~8 miles  Estimated Total Elevation Gain : 3,262’ Mt. Bierstadt is one of the most popular 14ers in the Front Range. It’s close proximity to Denver and paved access to the trailhead makes it a very attractive option for folks looking to get up high. Let me say this again…Bierstadt is a VERY popular 14er. Our group of 9 left the trailhead at 5:00 AM, and the parking lot was already nearly full. Lines of hikers could be seen going up the mountain ahead of us, and queuing up behind us. We were off, and summited Bierstadt just before 8:00 AM. On the way up Bierstadt From the summit of Bierstadt, we began the traverse of the Sawtooth Ridge. Picking our way down to the low point of the saddle was a lot of fun. This ridge traverse is mostly class 3 scrambling, requiring the standar...