Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Colorado 2018

Trip Summary: June 11 - June 20, 2018
1) Flight to Denver, mountain biking in Avon, and travel to Glenwood Springs
2) Biking on Glenwood Canyon Trail
3) Solo summit of Castle Peak via the North Face Couloir and rock climbing in Glenwood Springs
4) Rest day and mountain biking in New Castle
5) BLM river cleanup and float north of Vail, and Strawberry Days
6) Rock climb 2-pitch, 5.10a, 175 ft "Slabtastic" in East Elks and mountain biking in New Castle
7) Backpack to Snowmass Lake
8) Attempt to climb Snowmass Mountain via East Slopes but turned back and hiked out
9) River float down Glenwood Canyon and Glenwood Hot Springs
10) Travel to Denver and flight home

Sunrise over Snowmass Lake, viewed from the base of Snowmass Mountain.
I first have to make a disclaimer on this post: I started writing this post almost 2 years after the trip itself, so my recollection of events is no longer as strong. However, I will do my best to convey a complete and accurate description of my trip and draw on pictures and video where possible. I had planned this trip to visit Alan and adventure in the mountains of Colorado almost 6 months in advance, but by the time I actually flew into Denver I was financially tight. Staying with Alan, we were able to get up to many adventures outside for free (as we already own the gear), and we made several home cooked meals including burgers and pizza. I think this trip was the lowest-cost mountain adventure trip I've ever been on.

45 ft walls at Earth Treks Golden Climbing Gym.
I flew into Denver on a direct flight and landed at 7:30 am. I was planning on taking the Bustang West Line at 5:15 pm from Union Station to Glenwood Springs, where Alan would pick me up when I arrived at 9:30 pm. Alan lived in New Castle, about 15 minutes away from Glenwood Springs, and worked at the BLM office in Silt. In any case, I had not put any thought into how I was going to occupy myself during the day; I think this was partly because I was so low on money that I simply couldn't afford to do anything in Denver, and so I avoided thinking about it. Once I got off the plane, I sat down and pulled out my phone. I joined the Denver Social Climb Facebook group and posted to see if anyone wanted to go rock climbing. As the minutes ticked by, Alan messaged me and suggested I check out the Earth Treks Rock Climbing Gym in Golden. We also discussed my plan to travel by bus, and he offered to leave work early and drive to meet me in Vail. This would allow me to take an earlier bus which left at 2:45 pm but only went as far as the Vail Transportation Center. He would bring mountain bikes and knew some trails nearby we could ride.

Bustang West Line at Vail Transportation Center.
Armed with a plan, I picked up my luggage from baggage claim and road the RTD A Line train from the airport to Union Station. From there I boarded a RTD W Line train to the Jefferson County Government Center Station and it was a quick half mile walk to the climbing gym from there (but while carrying all my luggage). When I arrived, I checked in and stored my luggage, and started bouldering. The gym was huge! I had never seen a gym this large before. The walls were 45 ft high and routes arched up pillars and across the underside of arches along the ceiling. There were multiple levels of smaller walls, and an extensive bouldering area. I bouldered for quite a while, working on progressively harder problems up through V4.

Mountain Biking in Avon - Wild Ridge Sample Trail (5.5 miles, 1000 ft elevation gain)


Alan and I biking on Wild Ridge Sample Trail.
I ate some snacks I had brought with me for lunch and then packed up and left. After arriving at Union Station, I went downstairs to the bus terminal and boarded the Bustang. It heads out of Denver on I-70 and the drive was beautiful. I arrived at Vail a little before 6 pm and grabbed a burger and fries from a food vendor for dinner. A little while later Alan arrived, and drove a short ways to a trail in Avon called Wild Ridge Sample Trail. We set out a little after 7 pm and made it up onto a prominent hill for a fiery sunset. The sky was lit up in oranges, reds, and yellows from the haze from forest fires. And while we were taking in the sunset, we noticed a grass fire across the creek from where we had parked our car! In just moments, trees were ablaze, and we were concerned the entire hillside, which was populated intermittently with houses, was going to go up as the fire was rapidly spreading. I was also slightly concerned about Alan's car, but within minutes a fire truck arrived and they started putting it out.

Sunset from the ridge - the haze is smoke from forest fires.
The ride was a difficult 5.5 miles, with 1000 ft of vertical elevation gain. At the top of the ridge, Alan pulled a couple of beers out of his backpack. We toasted to another adventure, and after a few sips I immediately started puking. The exertion coupled with beer and the high altitude was not a good combination. After getting a laugh out of my inability to hold down my beer, we raced the enveloping darkness back to the car. We then drove the remaining hour and a half to Alan's house. He had a house with two other roommates, and it was quite spacious and nice. I set up an air mattress, took a shower, and went to bed.

Glenwood Canyon Trail - paved bike path in Glenwood Canyon


Glenwood Canyon Bike Trail.
The next day, Alan rode his motorcycle to work and I borrowed his car to drive in to Glenwood Springs. I loaded up a mountain bike and drove to a neighborhood near downtown. I hopped on my bike and started biking around town, intending to ultimately hop on the Glenwood Canyon Trail. When I got to the river, I ran into another mountain biker and he offered to show me the way to the trail as he had the day off and was also just out biking for fun. We rode an elevator to reach the pedestrian bridge crossing, and continued east along the north side of I-70 through a few tunnels. After crossing to the south side of I-70 and passing through a slightly confusing spot amidst a neighborhood, he then went on his way and I continued biking along the path. I rode to Grizzly Creek Rest Area and then returned. I put in about 20 miles of biking total. I then returned to New Castle and made plans to hike a 14er the next day. Alan came home and we made frozen pizzas for dinner and I went to bed early.

Castle Peak (14,265 ft) - day climb up North Face Couloir Route


View of the other mountains in the Elk Range (Maroon Bells, Pyramid, Snowmass, and Capitol) from the summit of Castle.

The beginning of the hike to Castle Peak.
I set my phone alarm for 2:30 am, but unfortunately slept through it and didn't wake up until 3:45 am. I had wanted to get an early start since I was planning on ascending a snow-only route and I wanted to climb while the snow was still hard. After briefly debating whether I should still go, I decided that since the weather was going to be fair all day that I may as well attempt it. I borrowed Alan's Prius, and set off towards Aspen, a little over an hour's drive, around 4 am. On the way, I realized the energy drink I had downed was inducing some BM, and I started desperately looking for gas stations - but everything was closed as it was so early! I knew of the public restrooms in Wagner Park in central Aspen, and I raced there. Unfortunately they were locked! By that point it was 5:45 am and a Shell gas station had opened, and things were okay.

Waterfall.
I then drove south along Castle Creek Road to the trailhead for the North Face Couloir Route of Castle Peak. Along the way, a brown-haired black bear scrambled across the road in front of me and then squeezed through a wooden fence into the woods to my left. I felt a little bad that I had made him feel such a sense of urgency, since he had some trouble squeezing between the horizontal boards. Once on the other side of the fence, he turned to face me, and I rolled down my window to get a better look. After looking at each other for a few minutes, he started walking away into the woods, and I continued driving to the trail head. After this encounter, I decided to keep the bear spray accessible while I was below the tree line.

The snowfield on the headwall. I ascended left of center.
I parked the car at the lower trailhead and began hiking. The sun was up by now and the trail meandered a long ways through the treeline. I came across a jogger who was one of the few people I saw on the trail all day. After emerging above the tree line, I continued following the jeep trail through a valley around several peaks, gaining significant elevation. I reached a snow-covered headwall and put on my crampons, and eventually came to a bowl below Castle Peak and Conundrum Peak. There was a small, icy blue lake where the snow melt had collected that was simultaneously beautiful and eerie. I found the couloir but could see that the snow did not extend all the way to the summit ridge - there was a gap about 2/3 of the way up. I decided I would try the climb anyways, and try to cross the gap if I could.

Looking up the North Face Couloir.
The couloir was fairly steep, inclined about 40 degrees. An ice axe and traction were definitely required. As I climbed, the snow began to soften in the sun and I found myself postholing up to my knees. I worked towards the edge of the snow to avoid sinking as much, and when I reached the end of the snow I had a decision to make. The couloir was filled with scree, and looked unpleasant to climb with a high risk of rockfall, but I could make out some solid rock outcroppings about 75 feet ahead. I decided to try climbing to that and see
Me climbing up the North Face Couloir.
how it felt, and make my decision there. Once I reached that solid rock, I found myself in the precarious position of being quite scared of what I had just climbed, but completely unwilling to descend. Looking down, the couloir was steep, and down climbing felt more dangerous as my feet would slam into the loose scree with more force than when climbing up. I could see the summit ridge and the standard route trail about 200 ft to my lef tand decided to traverse. I started cutting across the steep face, careful with every step to let the sliding rock settle. When I reached the ridge, I felt a huge relief. That route had definitely melted out for the summer.

Looking down the couloir at the small lake in the bowl below.
From here it was only a few more minutes to climb up the trail along the ridge to the summit. As I approached the summit, I saw a marmot look up at me in surprise and bound away. It was surprising to see such a creature up here at 14,000 ft, but I also noticed a weathered log. The only way it could have ended up there was if someone actually carried that log to the summit. I took in the surrounding views, and could see the other mountains of the Elks a few miles away. The Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak were prominent in the foreground with their reddish color, and Snowmass Mountain, blanketed in snow, and Capitol Peak both jutted up behind. After texting my girlfriend and Alan, and a quick phone call to my mom from the summit, I then started down the standard route.

Solo summit of Castle Peak (14,265 ft)!
The descent down the Northeast Ridge was much easier than what I had come up. I passed another climber on his way up, and when I reached the snowfield I started glissading. I managed to get two very long glissades, about 1000 ft each, and rapidly descended in minutes what had taken me over an hour to hike up. When I got to the jeep trail, I saw a motorbike. I took off my crampons and started hiking back down. I had thought that I had already consumed my large 3 L Camelbak water reservoir, so I was drinking sparingly from my small 1.5 L reservoir. As such, I was a little dehydrated... and as I found out later, it was for nothing! My 3 L reservoir was full when I got back to the car! Anyways, on my way down I passed a party with two dune buggies were having lunch and enjoying the view of the mountains. They offered me a ride, but I politely declined and continued my hike.

Descending the standard Northeast Ridge route.
A little while later, while I was making my way down the jeep trail and had almost reached the treeline, the dune buggies came up behind me on their way down. "Do you want a ride?" one of the women asked. The guy driving then looked at me as I hesitated and said "Get in!" I had never ridden in a dune buggy before, so I took them up on their offer. I got in the back seat of the second dune buggy, a 4-seater Can-Am. The couple I rode with were visiting their friends who lived in Aspen and owned these 2 dune buggies. I strapped myself into the harness and snapped shut the fabric door and we began driving down. 

The suspension and tires were unbelievable - the ride was smoother than it was walking over the jumbled boulders on this path. I looked over the steep mountainside to my right, as we cruised along bouncing over boulders at up to 8 mph, and it occurred to me that if we slipped off and rolled down the mountainside - my body would probably stay inside the vehicle, but I wasn't sure I would be alive! After a quick creek crossing and faster going on the less rugged terrain below the treeline, we were back at the trailhead. I thanked my new friends and exchanged numbers and pictures, and then started heading back towards Glenwood Springs. I was pretty happy about a successful first solo summit of a 14er! The round trip distance was 13 miles with 4,600 ft elevation gain. After posting a peak condition report on the 14ers.com, Bill Middlebrook commented to say he saw me climbing up and the going looked difficult. He is the founder of 14ers.com and an accomplished mountaineer, and apparently had climbed the Conundrum-Castle traverse while I was ascending. The climb wasn't free from unnecessary risks, however. I reflected on how I had ended up in a situation where going down was less preferable than going up, and how I could prevent ending up in such a predicament again. I think it would be wise in the future to study the standard route as a backup plan if planning on ascending by a non-standard route. I also learned my lesson about snow-only routes: They should only be climbed if they're completely covered in snow!


Puoux - single-pitch sport rock climbing area near Glenwood Springs, CO

Rock climbing.
Alan and his friend Nate were headed to Glenwood Springs for some rock climbing, so I agreed to meet them there. We found a couple of routes in the Puoux area, and I top roped a 5.7. I was too tired to lead or do any more serious climbing, so I kept Nate's dog company and watched them get in another route before dark. We grabbed some ice cream at Kaleidoscoops for dinner and stopped by Nate's apartment, and then drove back to Alan's in New Castle. It had been a very long day and I was exhausted. The next day, I stopped by Alan's BLM office for a quick tour and continued on to the Walmart in Rifle to purchase a new SD card for my phone, a waterproof case for our upcoming kayak trip, and some rain pants which I had left at home in Austin. I then drove back to New Castle and Alan met up with me and we went mountain biking around his neighborhood. We took Medaris Ditch to Salty Dalty and made a loop of Pubview and Medaris Ridge. After a quick shower, we biked to a dinner party with some of Alan's work friends before turning in for the night. 

Upper Colorado River - kayaking and trash cleanup from State Bridge to Two Bridges 

Alan posting a fire warning notice at BLM campsite.
The next day we planned on floating the Upper Colorado River. I went with Alan to the BLM office in Silt, and I registered as a volunteer and we picked up the inflatable kayaks and other gear. Alan and one of his younger coworkers took a BLM truck and I drove Alan's Prius, and we headed east on I-70 to Wolcott and then north on 131 for an hour and a half. This was officially a workday, and I was along as a volunteer - we were tasked with cleaning up some campsites in the area before floating the river, where we would pick up trash and monitor other outfitters operating on the river. When we arrived, we drove through the campsites and cleaned out the fire pits and collected trash into garbage bags. Alan posted a warning related to the fire danger, and then we headed to the State Bridge boat ramp where 131 crosses the Colorado River. We unloaded the kayaks and tasked Alan's coworker with inflating them. Alan and I then both drove to the Two Bridges boat ramp where we planned to pull out in order to leave his truck. We drove back in the Prius and prepared for our river float. Alan and his co-worker would share a double kayaks, while I had the second to myself. Garbage bags, tools, and a repair kit were stored in ammo boxes. We launched our kayaks and began our float.

Alan and coworker kayaking on the Upper Colorado River.
There were a number of rapids, but nothing more than Class 2. The scenery was beautiful. It was fun to be out on the water, especially as I had not yet been kayaking or rafting in Colorado before. We made several stops to collect trash along the riverbank. Just short of 2 hours later (the float was only about 5 miles long), we reached the Two Bridges pullout. Alan's coworker and I packed up the kayaks while he met with some of the outfitters who were also operating there. We then drove back to Silt along the Colorado River Road, which was a very scenic route. 

Alan slacklining.
That evening, Alan and I went in to Glenwood Springs and found a neighborhood park to set up his slackline. After trying for a little while, I started to get the hang of it. Alan's friend Nate showed up, and all 3 of us took turns slacklining before we walked over to Sayre Park for the Glenwood Springs Strawberry Days festival. Alan and Nate met up with some of their friends, and we grabbed some food from the vendors.
Strawberry Days festival.
As night fell, we stayed to watch a concert. It was a fun atmosphere and a great way to spend the evening. We talked with Nate about doing a multi-pitch rock climb the next day and he was down to join. We ended up leaving before the concert was over as we were all so tired.



Slabtastic - 2-pitch, 5.10a, 175 ft sport rock climb in East Elk Creek near New Castle, CO

Hiking along the creek to Slabtastic.
Alan climbing up P1 of Slabtastic.
Nate met us early the next morning and the three of us and his dog drove together up to the approach to Slabtastic. Directions for the trailhead can be found on Mountain Project here. The actual approach to the climb is described here, and took us about an hour although that was partly because we were unfamiliar with the terrain and walking with a dog.

My view up the East Elk Creek Valley from P2 of Slabtastic.
Once we identified the route, I started leading up the first pitch. It was rated an easy 5.7 and about 60 ft high, with 7 bolts. Once I got to the belay ledge, I belayed Alan and Nate up to me. We had 2-way radios for communication as it was easy to climb out-of-earshot and out-of-sight of the belayer. Since we had 2 ropes, we left one of the ropes in place at the anchor for a quick rappel, since the weather looked questionable.

Nate topping out P2 of Slabtastic.
I then lead the second pitch. This is the 5.10a, and it was long (100 ft) and steep. It is protected by 11 bolts. While climbing, I dislodged a rock and yelled to alert Alan and Nate, but they were safe under an overhang on the belay ledge. The rock tumbled to the ground, where Nate's dog Bella was laying, and as a dog, she didn't know what was happening or react to my yell. The rock landed very nearby to her, much to her surprise. Leaving Bella unattended while we were on the wall made me realize that its not the best idea to bring a dog along on a multi-pitch climb if no one on the ground can tend to her. 

Alan, Nate, and I on top of Slabtastic (5.10a).
Several of the moves were pretty difficult. I actually skipped two bolts as I was so uncomfortable with my stance I didn't dare risk clipping. I did use a sling over a protruding rock at one point as a natural anchor to replace one of my skipped bolts as a potential fall could have been huge - maybe 80 ft. As I climbed above the sling, it came loose, but I was able to clip into the next bolt. I cleaned the sling then and there. When I got to the top, I anchored in, and called Alan on the radio to tell him to come off belay. He cleaned my gear on his way up and saw the two skipped bolts. Without any evidence of the natural anchor I'd placed, he thought the potential fall would have been even larger, as there was a long section that appeared unprotected. I'd warned him that if I fell during that section it was going to big, but as he remarked at the top, "I didn't realize how big." We then belayed Nate up to us and we took a few moments on the summit before rappelling down. 

Alan looking over New Castle from the mountain bike trail.
When we got back to New Castle, we said goodbye to Nate before Alan and I did an evening mountain bike ride. We rode Stairway to Heaven, Colorow Trail East, and Colorow Trail Connector. Once back at the house, we grilled up some homemade mushroom and swiss cheeseburgers and packed our gear for an overnight trip to attempt to summit Snowmass Mountain.




Snowmass Lake - backpacking to Snowmass Lake and summit attempt of Snowmass Mountain

Snowmass Mountain and Snowmass Peak obscured in cloud when we arrived at Snowmass Lake.
Alan and I at the Snowmass Creek Trailhead.
Alan and I planned on making our third attempt to summit Snowmass Mountain (14,092 ft). We had first visited the area in 2013 during our backpacking trip on 4-Pass Loop in the Maroon Bells and so we were quite familiar with the area. We drove down to Snowmass Village and parked at the Snowmass Creek Trailhead. We hiked the 8 miles and 2,500 ft elevation gain to Snowmass Lake on Snowmass Creek Trail without too much difficulty. 

Cold and rainy weather throughout the day.
It was chilly and rain showers occasionally swept through the area, but I was fairly comfortable under my rain gear. The creek was high and flowing very fast, and the log jam was almost completely submerged. Remembering how I slipped and fell on the logs in rainy weather in 2014, and with the higher water levels, we opted to ford the creek instead. We stripped down to our underwear, changed into sandals, and held our packs above our heads. We crossed the swift-flowing creek, and the water was icy cold. It was so cold it felt as if it was burning and took my breath away. Reaching chest-deep at its deepest, it was a relief to get to the other side to dry off and put my clothes back on.

Alan crossing the logs to the campsite at Snowmass Lake.
Along the way I saw several very wet looking marmots observing me. They all looked like they could use a warm towel. It is definitely a rough life for the wild animals out here. When we arrived at Snowmass Lake in the evening, everything was still cold and damp and the summit of Snowmass Mountain was obscured in cloud. We set up camp and stored our food in a bear container and went to bed. Unfortunately, sleeping at 10,980 ft, I struggled with altitude sickness. This confounded me as I had been to this place multiple times before, and I had already been in Colorado for a week and I had hoped to have acclimatized. I could not sleep, and my heart was racing. I measured my heart rate multiple times during the night, and it was consistently 150 BPM. I also had a very strong headache that would not go away. 

Snowmass Peak glowing in the sunrise.
In the morning, I told Alan that I had trouble sleeping and that my heart rate was elevated. I still wanted to attempt the East Slopes route though, so we packed our summit bags and hiked around the lake. The brush was still soaking wet from rain and dew, so we wore our rain gear. Halfway from the campsite to the base of the mountain, the first glints of sunrise illuminated the upper slope of Snowmass Mountain and Snowmass Peak in a brilliant orange glow. The summit itself was still obscured by thick cloud and a slight wind disturbed the lake. 

Where we turned around on Snowmass Mountain.
We reached the base of Snowmass just as the sun rose over the mountains behind us. The weather had not improved. We started scrambling and reached just below the waterfall section of the headwall (a gain of about 800 ft) before we stopped again to discuss our situation. The clouds were dark and covered more than 60% of the sky, and the summit was still obscured. My heart rate had still not improved and I was moving slowly. We decided to turn around as my altitude sickness and the weather were not conducive to a summit attempt. Once again we descended Snowmass Mountain having not reached the summit. 

Alan crossing the logjam.
We hiked back to the campsite and struck the tent. We stopped in the lower valley where Snowmass Creek meanders through the meadows and Alan did a little fly fishing. When we reached the logjam, we discovered the water level had gone done a bit and the drier weather made crossing the logs a safe option. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, punctuated by thick, white, puffy clouds. The solitude during the walk back through the beautiful aspen forest was some consolation for our missed summit.

Kayaking Glenwood Canyon - 6 mile float on Colorado River from Grizzly Creek to Two Rivers

Alan, Nate, and I launching at Grizzly Creek.
On my last full day in Colorado I packed up my stuff while Alan was work. In the evening, we packed up his roommate's ducky (inflatable kayak) and drove to Glenwood Springs to meet Nate. We left Alan's truck at the Two Rivers boat ramp and piled all our gear in Nate's truck and drove up to Grizzly Creek rest area. Here we put in, with Nate in his own single-person ducky and Alan and I in the double-kayak. This run is 6 miles long and Class 3, and a guide can be found on American Whitewater here. The rapids were fun and it took us about 2 hours to complete. I've biked and driven through Glenwood Canyon several times before, but this was my first time floating the river. In the evening, the sunset made the canyon walls glow in the orange light and it was a beautiful end to my trip. Once we reached the pullout, Alan and Nate went back to Grizzly Creek to get his truck while I deflated the kayaks. I had left my shirt in the truck and the temperature was dropping, so I was pretty cold by the time they arrived. 

Alan paddling through Glenwood Canyon.
We packed up the kayaks and drove to Glenwood Hot Springs Resort. We got there a little after 9 pm, and the last hour the pools are open for a reduced price of $10. The pools were packed with people, and Alan and Nate ran into several people they knew. But I was able to warm back up, and it was an enjoyable way to end the trip. We said goodbye to Nate and drove back to Alan's in New Castle.

Alan, Nate, and I kayaking Glenwood Canyon.
The next day Alan dropped me off bright and early at the bus station in Glenwood Springs, and I rode the Bustang back to Union Station in Denver. There I was able to take the train to the airport, and flew back home to Austin. It had been a great trip overall. I am thankful to my friend Alan for being such an awesome adventure partner and letting me crash at his place (and borrow his Prius!), and it was fun adventuring with Nate again as well. In the following 2 years, Alan climbed Capitol Peak in the fall of 2018, and finally summited Snowmass Mountain during the summer of 2019, as well as Pyramid Peak. I look forwards to returning to Snowmass Mountain again someday.



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