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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : Vestal Peak
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 27, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: Here are some GPS coordinates that may be useful (NAD27)
If hiking from Elk Park, the trail to Vestal Basin crosses Elk Creek at 13S0270341/4177518.
The trail to the base of Vestal Peak (and Arrow) leaves the Vestal Basin trail in the meadow at 13S0270823/4175556 and crosses Vestal Creek at 13S0270817/4175486 before heading steeply uphill.
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Location: CO : John Bachar Passes Away
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 9, 2009 | view comment >> |
Comments: The New York Times has an obituary. See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/sports/09bachar.html.
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : RMNP - Rock : Glacier Gorge : Pagoda Mountain : North Buttress (5.7)
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 21, 2008 | view comment >> |
Comments: Climbed this on July 19, 2008. Great line - we enjoyed it more than the N ridge of Spearhead, although the rock isn't as clean on account of not getting as much traffic.
The route description above isn't very accurate. It takes 4 ropelengths to reach the ledge below the steep headwall, not 3 (have a look at Jfox's Sept 2007 beta photos). Also, once one gets above the steep headwall there are at least 3 ropelengths of scrambling along the exposed ridge crest before one reaches the summit. No... more >>
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Location: CO : CO Ice & Mixed : RMNP - Mixed/Ice : Odessa Gorge : Notchtop & vicinity : North Face (5.7 WI3)
By: Martin le Roux When: Oct 29, 2007 | view comment >> |
Comments: Climbed this on 10/28/2007. Nice sunny day and good conditions. Climbable ice on all pitches although a bit hollow in spots lower down. Snow well-consolidated after a week of warm weather. Mid-size cams were useful at belays and for protecting the crux of the 1st pitch. We did the 1st pitch as two pitches; there's a small ledge and a peg belay/rap station on the right-hand side where the ice steepens.
For the descent, we hiked all the way up to the summit (the cornice hasn't real... more >>
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : Mount of the Holy Cross : Holy Cross Couloir
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 9, 2007 | view comment >> |
Comments: The climber's trail up to the Bowl of Tears is very indistinct and would be just about impossible to find in the dark. Even in daylight it's not easy to follow. If attempting a one-day ascent from the parking lot it's likely to be mid-morning before you get into the couloir, by which time you'll be wallowing up slush. The alternative is to camp at the Bowl of Tears, climb the couloir while it's still firm and and descend the Teardrop (broad snowy cirque to the south of the peak). With overni... more >>
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : RMNP - Rock : Ypsilon Mountain : Y Couloir (Right Branch)
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 23, 2006 | view comment >> |
Comments: Climbed this on July 23, 2006. Good conditions -- firm snow all the way up, despite the summer heat. No ice in the chimney; we climbed 2 pitches of easy 5th-class rock on the left-hand side to bypass this section. Still a bit of a cornice at top but easily bypassed by scrambling up loose rock on the right.
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : Indian Peaks : James Peak : Shooting Star
By: Martin le Roux When: Apr 24, 2006 | view comment >> |
Comments: Climbed this on April 24 with John Christie. Lots of snow -- we did 90% of the approach on skis -- but nicely consolidated after a couple of weeks of warm weather. Approached from St. Mary's Glacier. Sunny warm day, which made for slushy conditions towards the top of the climb. We didn't find any ice. We carried two axes each, rope, pickets, etc. but all we used were crampons and a single axe. Other posters have mentioned that the angle reaches 60 degrees at the top, but we didn't find any... more >>
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Location: CO : Boulder : Flatirons : South : The Matron
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 28, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: Now that the raptor closure season is over, the friendly folks at OSMP have attempted to obscure the start of the climbers' access trail by cutting down some branches and dragging them across the trail. Exactly what this is meant to achieve escapes me.
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : Indian Peaks : Mount Neva : North Ridge
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 26, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: This climb can also be accessed from Junco Lake trailhead on the west side of the divide.Follow the Caribou Pass trail for about 4 miles to the start of the Neva's north ridge. From the summit there's an easy descent down the northwest ridge to Columbine Lake. From Columbine Lake there's a good trail back down the valley.
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : RMNP - Rock : Hallett Peak
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 19, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: If anyone is planning to climb here mid-week, the trail from Dream Lake to Emerald Lake is CLOSED for reconstruction (as of July 2004) on Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri from 8am to 4:30pm. Scheduled completion is September 2004. The trail is open before 8am and if you want to come back down before 4:30am you'll be allowed through.
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : RMNP - Rock : Hallett Peak : Love Route (5.9)
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 18, 2004 | view comment >> |
Comments: As recommended by David C., we combined the first three pitches of Better Than Love with the top pitches of the Love Route. We carried a copy of Gillett's route description but found it very confusing when it came to the upper pitches. Here's my attempt at a revised description:
4. From the large ledge at the top of the pitch 3 (or pitch 4 if climbing BTL), climb the left side of a large pillar to a small sloping stance at the base of a RIGHT-facing flake, 5.6.
5. Climb the right-facing fl... more >>
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : RMNP - Rock : Notchtop
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 23, 2003 | view comment >> |
Comments: The regular descent gully leads down to the SW, not SE as stated above.
As of July 10 2003 there was still some snow in the gully, but not so much that we needed an ice-axe. Earlier in the season an ice-axe might be advisable.
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Location: CO : Alpine Rock : RMNP - Rock : Notchtop : Optimismus (5.9)
By: Martin le Roux When: Jul 16, 2003 | view comment >> |
Comments: We did this is three pitches even though our ropes were only 50m.
To get to the start of pitch 1, we scrambled up left along a loose, easy gully then traversed back right to reach the bottom of the black streaks. This was 3rd or maybe 4th class.
We moved our belay between the top of pitch 2 and the start of pitch 3 (basically a 20m walk along a wide ledge).
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