Old Man Bull

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...

To get there:  If you are familiar with how close Red Rocks is to Denver, then you know how close this is!  Just head to the Red Rocks Amphitheater entrance #4 which is located a few hundred feet west of the intersection of CO74 and CO8 (on CO74), and you will see what looks like a game trail on your left, and room for about 4-5 cars on your right.  That game trail looking path is what you're after.  It's not marked, but tis the only obvious trail you will see. Mt. Morrison - A beastly front range hike!  Red Rocks Amphitheater below Mt. Morrison is located in the small town of Morrison, Colorado, and served as the last hike I did before my surgery.  I figured it might be a good test, kind of a then and now snapshot of where I was physically then, and what direction things are going.  The trail we did must have originated as erosion, as it more or less leads you directly up to the summit ridge.  It's steep, and filled with what my father call...

Date:                    July 4, 2013 Climbing Party:    Zach Taylor, Nathan Hankins R/T:                      9 Miles, 3,300 gain Following our weekly Wednesday meeting, Zach, Nathan and I bolted up the I-70 corridor to the Herman Gulch exit (218) to camp at the Herman Gulch trailhead.  We had our sights on Pettingell Peak via the East Ridge for a fun class 3 scramble, and to get a little more familiar with the area.  We had our eyes on the west ridge of Quandary, but this was more attractive as it was closer, in territory, and none of us had been up in this drainage before. After getting our camp set up, and conversing with a motorist who had stopped for a safety break, we hunkered down in the parking lot for a few hours sleep.  The jake-braking semis coming out of the tunnel all through the night ensured we all got quality rest before our hike. At...