The Two Week Count Down

Well... after last week's training on Pike's Peak and Bear Mt, I hit exhaustion.  It took me a good three days of rest to shake the soreness out of my body after Pikes.  All of our team, except Derrill, had planned a snow climb on St. Mary's Glacier Saturday June 21st.  I had a hockey game Friday night and was so tired after, I bagged out on St. Mary's.  Jeff, Ben and Billy made a good climb out of it as I sat at my oldest son's baseball game.  I'll admit I wished I was climbing as they sent me picture texts.

St. Mary's Lake and Glacier

The boys practicing rope travel

Ben lead climbing

I sooooo needed the rest.  I did make it into the gym on Saturday for a hour speed training workout. 

On Sunday, our team met at Billy's house for a BBQ with our spouses.  We discussed our itinerary and climbing route, talked about concerns, exchanged contact information among our wives and ate great food.   

Our goof-ball team posing in a non-outdoor setting for once (Left to Right:  Ben, Me, Derrill, Billy and Jeff).

 I rested Sunday and Monday.  I got back into the gym on Tuesday and Thursday for strength training.

I put the pack on for a neighborhood stroll Thursday night.  I am tapering the pack weight and carried 47 lbs.  I played in my last hockey game before we climb Rainier on Friday night (we lost 3-4).  I weighed in this morning at 172 lbs.  I met my goal climbing weight!  One week from today we leave for Seattle!  It has come fast...

Week's four and three countdown

It is time to peak out on our training and that is exactly what the last two weeks consisted of.  Saturday, June 7th, Derrill, Billy and I climbed Bergen Peak in Evergreen and June 14th-15th the whole team ascended Pikes Peak.  In between, I made it to the gym a few times for strength and speed training, did 3 mile neighborhood walks and even played in a one hour parents vs. kids flag football game (on same day as our Bergen hike) for my oldest son's end of the flag football season party.  Score:  parents 5, kids 3.  Today, Thursday June 19th, Ben, his wife Amy, Guinness the Swiss dog, Jeff, myself and two sons ascended Bear Mt via Fern Canyon.  All this with full backpack of 57-60 lbs.

Bergen Peak 9,700 ft.

Mileage:  12.1 miles

Elevation Gain:  2703 ft

Hiking Time:  6 hours

Bergen Peak was a big mileage day.  We got a later start than what we have been accustom to lately.  There was a masters running race going on on the lower trails making it crowded.  Many runners inquired why we were wearing heavy packs.  We started from the lower parking lot and followed the Sleepy S trail to Bergen Peak Trail.

Billy and Derrill getting questioned by a runner.

The summit looms ahead of us.

Hiking up one of the switch backs

Near the summit adjusting gear, eating and taking care of feet.

We headed down from the summit to the summit trail junction.  From here we decided to reascend the trail to the summit to gain extra elevation and distance.

Here I am at the summit for the second time.  The summit was socked in with clouds.

The climb down was long.  Our knees and feet were trashed.

We hit the meadow and took the mile flat walk back to the trailhead.  The flowers were beautiful in the meadow near the old barn.

Pikes Peak 14,110 ft

Mileage:  30.7 miles

Elevation Gain:  8,500 ft

Hiking Time:  17:08 hours

Ben put this trip together for us a number of weeks back.  He reserved a night's stay for us at Barr Camp, a rustic backcountry cabin and camping complex.  The reservation included dinner, breakfast and accommodations in the bunkhouse.  Our climbing plans were to reach Barr Camp on Saturday, rest and get up at 3 am to ascend the Y-couloir to the summit (this link is a trip/conditions report the week before our attempt).  This would require moderate to steep snow climbing involving climbing gear.  We gathered in Lone Tree at 5 am and piled into Billy's truck.  We arrived in Manitou Springs at the crowded Barr Trailhead.  It was so packed with Incline Trail runners/hikers that Billy and I had to drop the team and gear off and park in the center of town.  This added mileage and elevation gain for he and I while the others hung out and stretched at the trailhead.  We got a start at 7:30 am.

Trailhead warning sign

Derrill contemplating his pack.  We all carried around 60 lbs to simulate our first day of climbing on Rainier.

On the Barr trail dodging runners.

A nice rest break under rocks.  Billy had some foot repair to do (aka blister management).

Ben found an even better rest method on the second break.

The first glimpse of the summit before reaching Barr Camp.  The trail was awesome.  Once we passed the top of the incline trail, we encountered a lot less traffic.  We leap-frogged a few day hikers on the rest of the way up.

Ahhhhh...arrival at Barr Camp at 10,200 ft after 4 hours and 42 minutes of hiking.  We were greeted by care takers Neil Taylor and his wife Teresa.  They had been care takers of Barr Camp for 8 straight years before retiring last year.  They were back for this week to give the current care takers a vacation.

Unpacking our gear on the deck of the cabin.  

After we organized our gear inside we filtered water from the stream and soaked our sore feet in the water until our feet went numb- refreshing!

Bonus!  Of course I needed a little kickback relaxation in a backcountry swing.

A colorful humming bird feeding on the deck.

We slept in the bunkhouse with one other family from Florida and a father and daughter.

The accommodations were comfy and the hospitality from Neil and Teresa was homely and welcoming.  Here we are ready to nap before we began some rope rescue training.

Dinner was served at 6 pm.  What a feast!!  Neil and Teresa made spaghetti with meat/veggie sauce, Texas mac-n-cheese and homemade garlic bread.  There rule was eat all you can, but don't bring your plate back with uneaten food on it.  Needless to say, we were well fed and stuffed!

After dinner, rope rescue training continued into dusk.

The temperature dropped and our puffy jackets and pants kept us warm.

The weather, being as warm as it had, left doubts in our minds that the Y-couloir would still have enough snow to make a good climb.  We came to a team decision that it would be better to ascend the standard Barr trail to the summit instead of risking a turn around on the Y because of bad conditions.  Jeff and Billy had not yet summited Pikes, so we thought their chance to summit would be better with this decision (I had summited before on 9/15/01 via the Crags approach on the West side of the mountain). With our plans now changed, we decided to sleep in and enjoy breakfast that was prepared for us by the care takers.  We woke at 6:30 am to the smell of coffee and pancakes.  WOW were the pancakes good, packed with grains and apple pieces topped with peanut butter and syrup.  Teresa even whipped up a java mocha for me.  What a great way to get up before a summit bid!

We got our gear together and started out on the trail by 7:30 am.  The trail was long up to tree line with numerous switch backs.  I carried a 26 lbs pack.

Reaching Tree line with the summit above us.

Looking back to downtown Colorado Springs.  There were many runners going up and down the upper mountain and repeating it over again.  There were also a bunch of downhill mountain bikers descending the trail from the summit.  I am an experience mountain biker, but that is CRAZY!

The Cirque- 1500 ft drop from the trail!

The beginning of the 16 Golden Stairs (32 switch backs to the summit).

Billy crossing the longest snow path we would encounter.

Almost at the top.  We let Billy and Jeff lead to get the summit first.

Our team on the summit!  We arrived at 11:45 am.  We walked over to the exit point of the Y-coulior and found there to be little snow, which would have made for a miserable and difficult climb.  We were glad with our decision to climb the Barr Trail instead.  We headed into the summit shop for food and to mingle with all the tourists.  I had a BBQ pork sandwich and the famous (I'm not sure why) greasy doughnut.  We hung out on top for 45 minutes before descending.  It took us 2 hours and 30 minutes to get back to Barr Camp.  We spent 50 minutes packing up and saying good bye to Neil and Teresa.  We dreaded putting on our heavy packs to head down to Billy's truck.  It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to get down to the trail head.  We were moving fast 2.5-3 mph!  We all walked to the truck in town together.  Ugh, were we exhausted.  Our legs were sore and feet were on fire.  This was our climax training climb that most simulated our elevation gain that will happen on Rainier.  Despite our fatigue and soreness we all felt good about our physical condition and are prepared for Rainier.  We now need to make sure that none of us gets injured or sick in the next two weeks.

Bear Mountain (again) 8,461 ft

Mileage:  5.6 miles

Elevation Gain:  2,500 ft

Hiking Time:  5:04 hours

Back to my frequent training ground at Bear.  It took me a hour and a half to get to Boulder because of heavy traffic- Ridiculous!  I'm glad I don't have to make that weekday commute regularly.  So, we arrived late and met our awaiting group at the NCAR trailhead.

 My boys excited to be on the trail.

 Loving the rock scrambling.

 Amy, Ben and Guinness ascending the steep section of Fern Canyon.

 Resting on the saddle.  My boys cruised up Fern Canyon without one complaint.  They lead the way in front of the rest of us the whole time.  Ben and Amy turned around at the saddle to get back for a lunch meeting.  Jeff, I and the boys pushed up the ridge to the summit.

 Parker made it to the top for his first time!  I'm so proud of him.  He is such a strong hiker.

Dawson topping out for his third summit of Bear.  Jeff left the summit before us as he had to get back home early.  The boys and I took our time down together.  We arrived back at NCAR tired and ready to get some Jason's Deli.  I stopped off at Boulder Mountain Repair to pick up my Mountain Hardware Absolute Zero Parka.  I had shipped it to them for repair of the rip it sustained from our St. Mary's whiteout debacle.  I highly recommend this place to repair gear.  They are fast and reasonably priced.

Training will be winding down now to give our bodies rest, recovery and prevent injury.  I will post shorter segments over the last two weeks.  Ciao for now.

Six and five week countdown

As I sit down to write this entry to recap last two week's training, I find myself very sadden.  I found out last night that an Alpine Ascents group had perished on Rainier late last week.  Six climbers, two guides and four guided climbers, fell 3,300 ft to their deaths off the Liberty Ridge route.  It hits so close to me as the lead guide was Matt Hegeman.  He was my lead guide on Rainier last year.  It's hard to believe he is gone.  You can read more on this story in the Seattle Times.  My prayers go out to all of the climbers and families involved in this tragic accident.

Matt Hegeman making great burritos at Muir last year.

Last year's climbing team.
Matt is on the far left.

Despite this sad news, let me report on the past two week's of training.  It started with a combination hike of South Valley Park and Deer Creek Canyon Open Space.   Billy and I racked up 9 miles with 52 lbs on my back.  Jeff joined in for the Deer Creek section only and racked up 6 miles. We were also accompanied by an avid runner, Terri.  We hiked up the Plymouth Creek trail to the Golden Eagle trail.  This gave us about 1,500 ft of elevation gain.

Plymouth Mt

 Billy and Terri

 Looking out over the Hogback and Denver

 Jeff with some building storm clouds

On the Golden Eagle trail

My next outing was with my family over Memorial Day weekend.  We headed up to Boulder to hike up Green Mt.  We started from Chautauqua Park.  We meandered around the Bluebell/Ski Jump trails, then followed the Amphitheater Rock trail to the Saddle Rock Trail.  There was a lot of erosion on the upper trails.  Ladders had been put in where the trail was washed out.  It was fun climbing a 12 ft ladder with a full 55 lbs pack on.  We junctioned with the E.M.Greenman trail and descended to Gregory Canyon.  The Canyon had seen its share of washout too.  We had an enjoyable 6 mile hike ending with a picnic in the park.  I gained about 1700 vertical feet.

Heading up Amphitheater trail

Looking down on one of the ladders

My boys over Boulder

My wife and my friend the backpack

Rock scramble fun!

Overlook in Gregory Canyon

Awe, Mom and our boys

Memorial Day was a ski mountaineering day on Berthoud Pass.  Billy and I headed up for my 31st ski day of the 2013/14 season.  I just can't say no to skiing and winter!  We ascended the East side and skied Sentinel Chute/Hanging Meadow.  The snow was sketchy as there was 4 new inches and the temps didn't get below freezing the night before.  Wet slides and sloughs were all around us.  After a few turns we headed for safety in the trees.  We skinned a longer route next, up the West side and boot packed/post-holed Russell Peak (12,300 ft).  At the summit we found Oatmeal bowl (the South facing slope just West of Russell and the beginning of a magnificent cirque) looking very inviting.  The sky was deep Colorado blue with white cotton ball clouds.  There was enormous overhanging cornices on the East face of this cirque, which had recent activity of breaking off and running down slope.  We felt the cornice was our prime hazard and had to move through the lower slopes and runout fast.  The snow conditions had something else in store for us.  The snow was so wet, heavy and slow you couldn't do anything than go slow.  It made turning difficult.  I had visions of my ACL tearing on each turn.  We made it down into Pumphouse area safely.  It was difficult to negotiate this terrain because the snow was so sticky.  Once we reached the road we walked up to the top of the pass in ski boots with skis strapped on our packs (part of our training).  It was about a half mile.  We gained 1700 ft elevation for the day.

Billy on Russell's summit with Oatmeal bowl in the backdrop.

On Thursday of the same week, Jeff, Billy and I headed to Goat Mt in Waterton Canyon.  We carried heavy packs, mine being 58 lbs.  We started late at 9 am.  It was already warm in the mid 80's (I usually begin melting above 75).  The trail up Goat is steep and rough initially.  Once you gain the ridge the trail is overgrown by scrub oak and is rocky.  There are many false summits and bumps you go up and over.  There is no escaping the sun on the trail.  Temps rose to near 90 degrees, ugh!  We were turned around on the seventh bump due to thunder clouds billowing in front of us.  Thunder claps were heard in the distance.  A ridge without cover is no place to be in a lightning storm.  Down we went fairly fast.  We made it out safely.  A good 3 hour and 20 minutes of hiking and 1500 feet of elevation gain.

 The initial climb out of the Waterton Canyon road

 On the steep trail

 Panorama view from the ridge down on Waterton

 Thunder clouds building

Heading down.  The trail briefly follows the road above Lockheed's headquarters .

On Saturday our team, minus Billy (he had to work), headed up to Chief Mt and Squaw Peak again.  We started at 6:45 am.  We all carried heavy packs- mine at 60 lbs.  Jeff brought his two dogs who raced up and down the trail.  We climbed up Squaw first then down to the trail junction up to Chief.  The Squaw trail was snow free.  Chief was a different story, it had snow most of the way in the trees.  We post-holed a few times which made the going slower.  We reached the summit of Chief around 9 am.  After some fueling up and rest we headed down to the road at the true Chief trailhead and repeated the climb up chief a second time.  Jeff dropped out as the snow was too much for him to manage the dogs and not use trekking poles.  Ben, Derrill and I summited again before some weather passed through.  We made it down safely after hiking a total time of 6 hours and 45 minutes.  We gained 2800 vertical feet in the day.  That put me at 6,000 feet of elevation for the week.  My right ankle and feet ached on Sunday for sure!

 Heading out early with gear on our backs.

 Climbing up the stone steps to Squaw's summit

 On top of Squaw

 Jeff on Chief's summit the first time.  Is he trying to fly a kite?

 Nope, he's holding onto Wiley

  Summit of Chief the second time with a storm a brewin' over Evans.

At the time I am finishing up writing this post, we are at the four week mark until we fly out to Rainier.  It is going to come fast.  We've got some intense training the next two weeks to come.  Thanks for reading!