Travels and Vagabonds
Costa Rica
After many years of dreaming and saving, things finally came together for a trip down to Costa Rica. Aiming for the beginning of the dry season, Alexis and I set off for a week in a location that is 10 degrees above the equator.
Continue reading “Costa Rica: Pura Vida”
Longs Peak
Kiener’s, Colorado’s most classic mountaineering route is what was described by others as we summitted Long Peak in mid-august. Kiener’s ascends the dramatic east face of Longs Peaks, involving snow climbing, ledge traverses, technical roped pitches, and classic scrambles above the sheer diamond face.
New River Bridge
The last Saturday on the East coast, I took a trip down to Wild and Wonderful West Virgina to explore around Summersville and the New River. Alexis has done this several times already and had the entire itinerary lined out (WITH NO DEVIATIONS!).
Chicago Basin
The weekend of July 4th, I scrambled to get my work done after some catastrophic failures in the office. This allowed me to venture off into the wilderness and test my mountain survival skills in the Chicago Basin. Continue reading “Chicago Basin (Windom and Sunlight) (14er)”
Here be thy evil rocks
The last adventure before business week would took over was a spur of the moment “Find a way to get to the giant rocks above Manitou” hike. I found out that these big towering boulders would be referred to as GOG and MAGOG, which is biblically known as evil. I parked at Jimmy’s house and we decided on a plan of attack. Since we didn’t know if a formal trail existed at the time, we created a “best guess” plan. Continue reading “Gog and Magog Rocks”
Mountains in Charlotte
Traveling to see Alexis again, I got to experience more of the culture found in Charlotte. I requested that many fun activities be lined up pre-my arrival to the gold rush city of North Carolina. She made good on the promise and even had outdoor adventures planned. Continue reading “Touring around Charlotte”
Flatirons of Boulder
The Flatirons of Boulder beckoned me again this August. Ben had planned out a climb of another one of the five most recognized flatirons in Boulder. There was also talk about trying another climb, but we wouldn’t know until the day of the climb. The task ahead for the weekend would be 4-5 pitches on the Seal, and cracky 5.8 high on the ridge. Continue reading “Boulder: Trad Climbing Seal Rock and Devil’s Thumb”
Many moons ago, Ben had a great idea for a mountaineering trip up the great volcanic peak of Mount Rainer. It took many hours of planning on his part and some serious commitments from others in the group to make this a reality, but this summer it finally happened. A group of four unguided climbers made they run on Rainier, the Icy Jewel of the Northwest. Continue reading “Seattle: Mount Rainer (14er) (the mountain)”
One of the last weekends in July, everyone (Lindsey, Alison, Jimmy, Z, Dave and myself) finally had a flexible enough schedule for us all to climb Mount Lindsey (14,042 ft) together. Although the drive to the mountain was a great adventure on its own, we all were able to meet up at the same location around the same time (even though some left hours ahead of the others). The first dirt road was a lot of fun driving in at night. Not knowing how steep the dropoffs were or how deep the streams were added to the excitement. On a couple occasions, I needed to get out and wade though the water to make sure the Blazer would make it.
Continue reading “Mount Lindsey (14er)”
Bottomless Pit of Pikes Peak
On Memorial Day, after a weekend of being very unhealthy, a small party of us decided to the hike Pikes Peak from the Westerly side. This came to be after a late night call on Sunday from Ben and Amanda looking for a hike. After deciding not to do the hellish 26 mile trek that is Barr Trail, we set off in the morning for the Crags of Pikes Peak.
Continue reading “Pikes Peak (14er)- The Crags/Devil’s Playground Route”