Gray's Peak A Colorado 14er

Well... Two and a half weeks ago I was robbed of standing above 14,000 feet on Mt. Rainier by nasty weather.  Today I did stand at 14,270 feet with my dad!  We hiked up Gray's Peak together as a group outing with my clinic.  Seven of us got a 6:45 am start on the standard route.  The weather report looked doubtful, but we went about it with good spirits!  My this was my adventurous dad's first 14er attempt. 

 The going was slow for our new-to-14er hiking individuals.  I adopted the Alpine Ascents guide approach to climbing: "Be a lazy hiker."  We gradually made our way up the valley and gained the ridge.  Almost all of the snow on Gray's and its neighbor Torrey's Peak had melted. 

We made the summit of Gray's at 10:30 am! 

My dad took breaks and kept putting one foot in front of the other.  What an accomplishment at the young age of 68.  All but one in our group made it up. 

From Left to Right:  Me, Josh, Camille, Becca, Heather, Dad

The weather held out though it was windy and cool on top.  The views were great.  We ate, hydrated, signed the summit register and took pictures.  After 20 minutes my dad and I headed down, while the other four made the trek to Torrey's summit.  The going slowed down as my dad's legs cramped and were tired.  He kept pushing on staying positive.  We met up with the one person that didn't summit about half way down and made it back to the vehicle by 1:38 pm.  What a great hike with my dad and great accomplishment for him.  He said it is one of his items to cross off the bucket list.  I think he'll get back out to do another 14er again.  It was great to have him experience my climbing world.

The wild flowers were brilliant from all the mountain snow melt and recent rain.

 Columbine under Torrey's Peak "Dead Dog Couloir"   I have my sights on climbing and skiing it.

 Columbine with Gray's Peak looming above.

I plan to climb 2 more 14ers next week which I haven't summited yet.  Until then...

Oh, I forgot to mention how I can't WAIT to get back to Rainier!!  Next summer is already in the works.