Stardate 2017.745

Here TodayGone Tomorrow
Another Secret Stash
Snowcatcher and I made a mad dash to the west slope for some aspen color in some of the state's better autumn color palettes. Old man winter just edged us out in places. Despite lots of wet and white, we still took in some color. The day was very long; yet it was worth every minute.

We'll start the post at about the 10,000-foot level of elevation. This is the transition elevation between the Montane (aspen/spruce) and Subalpine (spruce) forests at this latitude. The weather was cold, windy, slippery, and taking a toll on leaves. Onward and upward into the clouds...



Needle Rock: To the left, and out of view, is the English mansion and estate of the late Joe Cocker (think 60s music and Woodstock). He operated a restaurant in nearby Crawford for years. Peaks of the West Elk Wilderness rise in the background.




This pic is from high on the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River.




Below is a short reach of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.




North Rim of the Black Canyon




Ditto




Dusk caught us at the base of 13,822-foot Mount Silverheels. This is the 96th tallest peak in Colorado.




The End!

Hopefully more leaf adventures to come.

Adios

Stardate 2016.608

La Plata Peak


Indy Pass
After enjoying the day visiting the Maroon Bells, we started our journey home. Our route took us over 12,093-foot Independence Pass east of Aspen, Colorado. In short, the pass provides warm season access between the upper Roaring Fork River Valley (Aspen side) and the upper Arkansas River Valley (Leadville side). The pass is closed in winter.

From the summit tarn, stately 14,130-foot Capitol Peak rises to the west. It is the northernmost 14er in the Elk Range. The peak rising to the right of Capitol is 12,953-foot Mount Sopris; the mountain sentinel above Carbondale, Colorado. From Indy Pass, the views of the Williams Mountains and Sawatch Range aren't half bad.



The Williams Mountains of the Sawatch Range quietly rise above Indy Pass. The distant peak is Point 13,065. Note many summits use their elevation as a name.



The mountains in the below pic are south of the Pass. The left peak is Point 12,542. The pointy distant peak in the background is Point 13,441. Just for fun, the west ridge (you can barely see it) of Point 13,441 connects with 13,988-foot Grizzly Peak A. There are 5 Grizzly Peaks rising above 13,000 feet in Colorado. I have no clue how many peaks below 13,000 feet "bear" the name. The peak to the right is Point 13,198.



Colorado's 5th highest peak is 14,336-foot La Plata. The long, complex ridge coming off of La Plata's summit is a popular climbing route known as Ellingwood Ridge.




That's it. Thanks for reading. I have another blog in the making. Stay tuned...

Adios

Stardate 2016.595

The Maroon Bells
Recently I've spent a fair amount of time riding the Waterton area. So, I took a little break from blogging about Waterton, or any other locale for that matter. In short, I took a blog holiday.

For a bit of variety, Snowcatcher and I donned road bikes and headed west to the Elk Mountains. The high alpine areas we like to visit are enjoying their lush monsoonal summer. These areas will start to enter winter dormancy by mid-August; so we decided to enjoy the lush, mountain green by tackling one of the most striking road rides in Colorado – the Maroon Creek Road outside of Aspen.

Arriving mid-morning, we secured public parking at the Aspen Highlands Ski Area for $5 per day. Believe me, in this little neck of the woods, that's a bargain. This was posh Aspen; I was expecting at least $25. Maroon Creek Road closes with the snow. However, in the summer it's so popular that access during the day is by shuttle bus only. Thankfully, bikes are allowed on the road, and it's very nice not to have to worry about too many 5,000-pound behemoths piloted by looky loos taking you out. If you need an early start for climbing, or a long hike, the road is open throughout the night. This also is an access point into the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.

The ride up was scenic and refreshing. The first 14er to pop into view was a rain-splattered Pyramid Peak rising to 14,018 feet. At one point or another, I've summited all 7 peaks of the Elk Range that rise above 14,000 feet of elevation (many climbers count 6). Number 7, Conundrum (14,022 ft), is an easy summit to reach while climbing 14,265-foot Castle Peak, the Elks' highest peak. I include Conundrum Peak in my Elk Range 14er count, even though it is not an "official" 14er, because it's close and warrants a visit.



Continued huffing and puffing quickly brought us to the next turn in the road where we came to a halt as the exotic Maroon Bells came into view. The Maroon Bells are said to be the most photographed peaks in Colorado, if not the United States. I've viewed them in all seasons and can't tire of them. There's nothing more relaxing than sipping a cold beverage (you know the type) after a summit of one of these peaks. Sadly, many climbers have been hurt or killed here. The peaks are known as the "perilous slag heap," or the Deadly Bells. Looking back on my climbs of these peaks, I found them to be not difficult climbing, but very dangerous due to loose rock. I also found route-finding on Maroon to be interesting at times. Bad weather can turn any of the Elk Range peaks into a nightmare.

Many accidents happen in the Bell Cord Couloir. In the pic below, the Bell Cord is the thin snow gully-splitting 14,156-foot Maroon Peak (left) from 14,014-foot North Maroon Peak. The couloir faces east and catches early sun, which may quickly soften the snow to dangerous conditions. It's also a garbage chute of loose rock and ice. Avalanche potential exists as well.



To avoid the mass of people using the shuttle system at Maroon Lake, we turned around at a moose crossing sign about 0.5-mile below the parking areas. No moose were available. As a note, enough people come in the after-hours that the parking lots are always fairly full.



The ride down was fast and fun! We had hoped to ride up Castle Creek toward the Castle Peak trailhead; however, weather moved in, and we started our adventure home via Independence Pass.

That's it for the Bells. Next on the docket is Independence Pass. Stay tuned...


North Maroon summit July 2002

Adios

Stardate 2014.729

Autumn

Happy autumnal equinox, everyone. The first day of fall has arrived. It's only one of two times per year that the duration of night and day is theoretically equal at all points of the earth. More specifically, winter is right around the corner.



A good place to enjoy fall is Crested Butte, Colorado.



There are lots of yellow leaves, along with some red and orange. Rising in the background is 12,625 foot Gothic Mountain.



Autumn color abounds along the Brush Creek drainage east of Crested Butte.



Teocalli Ridge sports a good variety of leaf color. The remaining green indicates more yellow to come.



Populus Tremuloides is the formal name for an aspen tree. In Colorado, an aspen is commonly known as a quaking aspen, or quakie.



The Black Pearl was my mode of transportation for the day.



Teocalli Ridge flame-tips contrast with the blue sky. What's that George Strait song – "Baby Blue?"



The view down Brush Creek from Teocalli Ridge foretells more yellow on the way. 12,516 foot Mount Whetstone rises in the background.



Strand Hill rises across the valley from Teocalli Ridge.



Quakie stand of flame-tips quake in the breeze at the terminus of Teocalli Ridge with Brush Creek.



Riding singletrack through yellow quakies on a warm fall day is nothing short of magical.



Every time you stop to open and close a gate you have a chance to catch your breath and take it all in! The gates are for the ubiquitous bovine. After all, you're in the middle of ranching country.



Looking north at Teocalli Ridge from the Strand Bonus Trail.



Elton John's "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road" kept popping into my mind for some reason.



13,208 foot Teocalli Mountain towers above Brush Creek and is the 478th highest peak in Colorado. Castle Peak is seen peeping over the east shoulder of Teocalli. Castle Peak touches the sky at 14,265 feet and is the 13th highest peak in Colorado.

There is more to come of this colorful season, so stay tuned.

Adios

Stardate 2014.671

Riding the Storm Out

The USA Pro Cycling Challenge has come and gone. Snowcatcher and I got to visit Stage 2 in Crested Butte, Colorado. Stage 2 was a 100-plus mile route. Riders left Aspen, Colorado, heading north to Carbondale, Colorado. This route took them around the northern end of the Elk Mountains. As the crow flies, Crested Butte is only 30 miles from Aspen. However, the only direct routes through the high peaks require 4x4 travel, or a bike. The route then turned south toward Marble, Colorado. Yes, the White House has some Marble quarried from here. From Marble, it was up and over McClure Pass and down toward Paonia, Colorado. Several miles east of Paonia, the route turned onto the Kebler Pass road and would travel east. A good portion of the west side is dirt and gravel, which can be rough and slippery in the rain. I kid you not; I've seen Subarus up and disappear in some of the Kebler potholes. Most of the east side is now paved, and the wet descent into Crested Butte was on smooth, slippery asphalt. Riders would be wet and dirty by the time they reached the finish.



We left the metro area around 5 am for the 4-hour drive to Crested Butte. We took along the mountain bikes, thinking we might get a ride in this mountain bike mecca. However, upon arrival we knew we better monitor potential vantage points, grabbing one at the last minute. We found an easy get-a-way parking spot and began our five-hour wait.



Vendors were setting up, so we wandered around checking out booths, keeping an eye for trinkets. I scored a cool one from my alma mater. I got one of 50 Colorado State University cycling caps - for free!



Being the monsoon season, clouds were building as they normally do in the afternoons in the mountains. We hoped the riders would beat the storm.





After browsing around at everything we headed back to the bridge we had staked out and began the wait. Snowcatcher brought snowflakes to work on. It was fitting, since we were at a major ski area whose entire existence depends upon snowflakes.

We took turns leaving to hold our spot. The sky continued to darken. FLASH, RATTLE, BOOM!! Another FLASH BOOM! And another BOOM BOOM CRACKLE BOOM, this one closer. Then the deluge let loose while Zeus continued to hurl bolts. The bridge emptied in seconds and we all found a covered wall to hug, or an entry area stand to in. By the time the lightning slowed for us, the riders were descending Kebler Pass into the town of Crested Butte in similar conditions. The descent must have been an electrifying experience. The very steep climb to the ski area was about to begin. Cautiously, we returned to the bridge. Lightning was still around but not striking in earnest.



It was dark and wet when we spied our peloton beginning the climb to the ski area.



The helicopter gave away the leader's position.



Soon the leader, 22-year old Robin Carpenter, boated around the corner, 500 meters to go.



BMC rider Tejay van Garderen, in second position, in hot pursuit. Tejay took 5th overall in this year's Tour de France. He also won this race last year.





By Colorado standards, today's passes are not overly high, not exceeding 10,000 feet. However, the Kebler segment is rough and somewhat isolated. On a side note, both Kebler and McClure are to die for during the fall color explosion. I'm assuming the lower elevations allowed the helicopter to fly in the storm. Yet, although the passes are low, the surrounding peaks easily touch 13,000 feet, with several exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation.





















As the final riders filtered in, so did the afternoon sun.



The last rider knocked out a tough day. He also rides with Type I Diabetes, as does his entire team!



The sweep officially concludes the race. Robin Carpenter, in the ride of his young career, held on to win the stage.



The finish line is a couple s-turns and 500 meters up from our vantage point.

We're already looking forward to next year's race too.

Adios