Kelso Ridge

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Kelso ridge is a dramatic alternative to the very popular route up Torry’s peak near Denver.   14ers.com has a great route description so I am not going to repeat that here.

I have been chased off this route twice by weather.  The forecast for Saturday morning was 60% thunderstorms after 11AM.  Not a great forecast, but it looked like we had a window of good weather before 9AM.  We decided to be on the trail by 5AM.  We arrived at the trailhead around 4:45 to find a mostly full parking lot.  The first few miles of this route follow the standard trail, so we got an easy warm up. The trail was very easy to follow by headlamp.   We reached the turnoff to the ridge around dawn. The sun revealed no sign of approaching weather so we put on our helmets, and started up the ridge.   Continue reading →

Mount Rainier – Disappointment Cleaver with RMI

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This is the story of my climb of the mighty Mount Rainier in Washington state.  Living in Colorado and climbing mountains regularly, I have become quite at home at 14,000 ft.  However, there are a couple of major differences between the Colorado mountains and Rainier, prominence and glaciation.  Standing tall at 14,411 ft,  Mount Rainier is one of North America’s premier mountaineering destinations.  It has the largest system of glaciers in the U.S. outside of Alaska, and is covered with huge crevasses.  Mount Rainier has a topographic prominence of 13,211 ft.  This makes it the most prominent peak in the contiguous United States, and the 21st most prominent peak in the world, beating out K2.
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California Peak

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At 13, 849 ft California Peak is the 84th highest peak in Colorado.  This grants it “centennial” status.  We climbed this peak in the late Spring (May).   Via the north ridge route.  This route is described by Gerry Roach as a “classic”.    This gentle giant is nestled in the dramatic and rugged  Sangre De Cristo Range.  The peak is an easy one, however, the spectacular views and solitude are sure to hold your interest.  This is a mountain you should have on your list!!

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