More San Juan Adventures

The 30-day mountaineering course I was supporting is now over. I waved goodbye to my 5th wheel trailer and am now back at base in Leadville. The last couple days were very busy with course end festivities. Before the course concluded though, I got another opportunity to get some field time. Another intern and I went out for three days in the north San Juans.

Day one, we hiked up Grizzly Gulch to Handies Peak. That afternoon we climbed my first snow couloir amidst rain and snow. The slope was pretty steep with a mixture of snow quality. I got a lot of practice kicking steps. It was great to sign my first 14er summit post. We camped that night in gorgeous American Basin looking out on peaks and lakes and the sunset.

After hiking all day on day two, part of which was off trail, we made it back over to the trailhead. On day three, she and I hiked both Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks, both 14ers, with packs. It was a strenuous uphill hike but neat. The peakbaggers were out in droves. Our descent was made via a steep scree slope, over which I jumped and skied and slid. It was my first scree experience and a lot of fun! The trip gave me another great view of the outdoors, the San Juans, and the OB experience.

Course End

The course ended with a big bbq, some community service, and a run. The personal challenge run turned out to be a full marathon over a high pass. I went ahead and ran it (with some uphill walking) despite my lack of running in the last month. It definitely felt like a marathon when I finished in 5hrs. I was pleased that I could still run the distance fairly comfortably though.

I am psyched about climbing right now. In fact, I will be assembling a rack this summer and really want to explore some stuff this fall including Tennessee Wall, Red River Gorge, Table Rock/Linville Gorge, and even out west to Joshua Tree, Red Rocks and Yosemite. Get it!