Colorado: Exploring the Ute Trail

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Escape to the high country of Rocky Mountain National Park

A bull elk resting in a cool breeze on Trail Ridge, overlooking Ute Trail.

Story and photos by Kim Fenske

Rocky Mountain National Park is a major tourist destination. Recognition of that fact alone has been enough to deter me from visiting the area during the summer season for decades. But this year I decided to to spend a few early summer days with some friends at the Moraine campground.

Trapped in the valley between Trail Ridge Road and Longs Peak with temperatures soaring above a hundred degrees in the lowlands east of the Front Range, I was committed to any plan that took me to the highest elevation available. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, hiking, recreation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: A spring hike on twin 14ers

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Kim Fenske hikes Shavano and Tabeguache

Kim Fenske on the summit of 14,155-foot Tabeguache Peak, with Shavano in the background.

The summit of Tabeguache Peak from the saddle to Mount Shavano.

Story and photos by Kim Fenske

Rising from the lowlands west of Salida, a giant mountain marks the path to Monarch Pass. This cornerstone of the lower Arkansas River Valley is Mount Shavano, 14,229 feet, southernmost peak of the Sawatch Range.

Mount Shavano is named after a great leader of the Tabeguache band of the Utes. Across a saddle from Mount Shavano rises the dramatic summit of Tabeguache Peak, 14,155 feet, protected by a wide ring of boulders and broken cliffs. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, hiking, recreation | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Colorado: Climbing La Plata Peak

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Exploring Colorado’s 14ers

Mount Elbert and Mount Massive are visible north of La Plata Peak’s summit.

Story and photos by Kim Fenske

Piercing the sky like a giant sundial over the Arkansas River Valley, 14,336 -foot La Plata Peak has an impressive knife ridge pointing southward toward Mount Oxford, Mount Belford, Missouri Peak, and Huron Peak.

La Plata is the fifth highest peak in Colorado, joining its slightly taller neighbors Mount Elbert, 14,433 feet, and Mount Massive, 14,421 feet, as leading skyscrapers of the Central Mountains.

The La Plata Peak Trailhead is a few miles west of Twin Lakes on the road to Independence Pass.  The trailhead parking area is a small pad beside the highway. La Plata Gulch, the valley at the base of La Plata Peak, is accessible by a road crossing Lake Creek on the south side of Colorado Highway 82. The trail registry and entry into the forest is on the left side of the road.

A ptarmigan on La Plata Peak begins to change to summer colors.

(more…)

Filed under: Colorado, hiking, recreation, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Colorado: A winter climb of Huron Peak

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Try, and try again …

The Three Apostles.

Moonset over Clear Creek Valley.

Story and photos by Kim Fenske

When I woke up after a night with temperatures in the teens, the sun was not yet in sight.  Despite giving myself the comfort of two down sleeping bags, I still needed a significant boost to generate enough heat for the trail. After boiling a liter of water for a giant chocolate mocha coffee, I ground my legs into low gear and hiked up the road from the mining ghost town of Winfield toward the Huron Peak trailhead two miles from my camp. After the first mile, my leg muscles were loose and sweat began to seep through my base layer.  An hour later, I arrived at the trailhead.

A lesson in patience, this was my fourth attempt to reach Huron Peak, 14,003 feet, in winter.  From Clear Creek Reservoir, Chaffee County Road 390 is maintained only eight miles to the abandoned mining community of Vicksburg, across from the trailhead to Mount Oxford, Mount Belford, and Missouri Peak.

On my first attempt, in mid-March, I parked at Vicksburg and hiked on the snow-covered road for five miles to Winfield, then busted trail through powder that was sometimes waist-deep for a mile toward the trailhead before turning back. The twelve-mile hike was primarily a scouting mission to determine how easily I could approach the trailhead with a four-foot base of snow in the forest. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, hiking, recreation | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Climber injured in Torreys slide still in ICU

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Bob Berwyn
A wet snow avalanche on Peak 6, Tenmile Range, Breckenridge Colorado.

A wet snow avalanche on Peak 6, Tenmile Range, Breckenridge Colorado, photographed May 23.

Multiple severe injuries being treated in Denver; avalanche threat persists in backcountry

SUMMIT COUNTY — A climber who was injured in avalanche late last week on Torreys Peak is still receiving intensive care for multiple severe injuries, according to a May 24 post from some of his friends at 14ers. com. The discussion thread on the popular forum also includes several photos of the avalanche scene. Another photo thread has been posted at Flickr.

According to preliminary report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, the climber was glissading down a snowfield on Torreys east face when the avalanche caught him and carried him down about 800 vertical feet over two rock bands. Two other parties saw the slide and called 911, triggering a major rescue mission by the Evergreen-based Alpine Rescue Team. (more…)

Filed under: avalanches, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 5,571 other followers