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Tarbuster
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 15, 2010 - 10:59pm PT
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A view from Yankee Doodle Lake, right at treeline, where the Little Haute route/Rollins Pass road picks up a common tour coming up the other way, from down into popular Jenny Creek:
Back into the Forest:
Down deep in Jenny Creek:
Traversing just outside the ski area boundary:
Final tracks on the Eldora Bunny hill:
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 18, 2010 - 01:00am PT
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Early spring for the moment.
Mud season ... soon to give away to spring skiing.
Couple/three more regular tours yet to come.
Right about this time in 2003 we had a massive snow event blocking all of Boulder Canyon; Jack Roberts ski'd it!
I was working at a wine shop in Denver and Lisa was snowed in.
But not this year.
Out and about today in the foothills above the house, looking west into the Indian Peaks:
The forbidden zone,
Boulder Watershed, "Pregnant Squaw", Arikaree. Navajo, Albion & Kiowa:
Skyscraper Peak:
James Peak:
Long's Peak and Mount Meeker:
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 18, 2010 - 10:51pm PT
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Supposed to get heavy snow tomorrow; just what we need to refresh the snowpack at the road heads.
And of course re-up the avalanche danger by loading up all of the weak basal layers up high ...
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 18, 2010 - 10:52pm PT
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Black Lake
 8 miles round-trip
1,400’ elevation gain
10,600’ high point to Black Lake
Certainly not Indian Peaks because it is in Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier Gorge.
Probably better Rando touring-to-turn happening that way as opposed to the strict skinny ski cross-country touring jingle.
This because lots of the ingress egress trails are often blown clear; and besides which they’re usually pretty steep and kind of uncomfortable on that gear.
Maybe the caveat there is a nice little tour from Bear Lake over to Notchtop.
Anyhow my ice climbing partner, Steve Pomerance and I decided to go check out West Gulley above Black Lake.
So we used mountaineering boots and light AT skis and bindings:
(okay: I ... had light gear; he's on that Stone Age Ramer setup)
It was a bit of a fiasco for us both.
I was still sticking to my no poles routine, ‘cuz if I used them my arms would be totally blown by the time I unholstered my tools.
Problem was I went for the short skins and there’s no way they worked on the steep icy trail, with a rucksack full of hardware and ropes, without entertaining just a *little* bit of help from the arms.
My prior formula with short skins and no poles encompassed little more than a fanny pack and my standard high country lingerie.
Steve was still suffering from low blood pressure due to niacin at the bequest of his doctor.
This can just wreak havoc on aerobic performance.
After taking way too long to get all away into the climb, we sat down at the base & Steve called it right then and there.
No problem; I’d cancelled on him numerous times due to getting pumped out the night before a climb, usually from sorting my gear & the packing of my rucksack or making a sandwich, or both, ... no fukking fooling.
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 18, 2010 - 11:05pm PT
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Pagoda Peak, Spearhead, & Chiefshead:
McHenry's Peak, with good ice visible in the headwall below:
A nice day out in the mountains nonetheless.
And we did fiddle around on the unroped slabs of ice directly above Black Lake.
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 22, 2010 - 10:58am PT
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Loch Lomand/Mt Bancroft
5 mile round-trip
3 hours ingress egress
The actual Indian Peaks Wilderness boundary extends from the southern portion of Rocky Mountain National Park, South to the ridgeline extending from Eldora ski area, across Guinn Mountain to the divide at Rollins Pass.
So the southerly tours from Yankee Doodle Lake onward, heading south, are technically in the James Peak Wilderness.
But Gerry Roach, in his Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness Area guidebook, saw fit to extend his coverage including these areas, and other peaks along the divide all the way south to Grays Peak 14,270 feet, Torreys Peak 14,267 feet and Mount Evans, 14,264 feet.
So with that in mind, Tim Stich and I set out to recon the approach into Mount Bancroft which starts from the small town of Alice, in St. Mary’s Glacier region.
Heading south along the peak to peak highway from Nederland toward Black Hawk & Central city, a nice view across a fresh 1 foot snow fall toward Arapaho Peaks:
At the intersection to Golden Gate Canyon, a nice view is afforded of Mount Evans and the Continental Divide, including Grays and Torreys:
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 22, 2010 - 11:07am PT
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We anticipated a fairly low angle approach but with lots of fresh powder,
So we brought our snowshoes ... heh.
The short 2 ½ mile approach starts at Loch Lomand trailhead:
I don’t get much sun out there …
Along the way we got a somewhat closer view of Evans and some nice local glades:
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 22, 2010 - 11:22am PT
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Mount Eva shows a prominent east ridge, and Whitter Peak is visible to the left:
It took us about two hours to get in to Loch Lomand, so we could get a look at Mount Bancroft.
By then the winds were quite severe:
Mount Bancroft’s East Ridge holds a nicely documented 4th and 5th class scrambling opportunity,
As well as a fifth class “indirect start”, done by Paul Gagner & Dougald Macdonald:
On this day, March 20, the powder was deep but the base layer on the road/trail was pretty thin, so we effectively walked in on our skis.
It only took a half an hour to glide out, and quite a lot of the powder snow had already been denuded, stripped from some of the more exposed rises by wind.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 23, 2010 - 01:28am PT
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Schah-Wing !!!
Made the BIG TIME today:
...and it ain't evun a proper TR: real feather in my cap, that bit.
(prolly just shows how low we've sunk)
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Mar 23, 2010 - 02:00am PT
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Nice pics that I recognize many from the other side, my bros have been in the WP area for about 20 years. Great country and looks pretty cragy once over the divide. Have any pictures of Lone Eagle? Cheers Mike
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Tarbuster
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 23, 2010 - 10:31pm PT
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Drove down to Boulder via Gold Hill couple days ago …
Cute little historical town:
Just above is this nice plaque which delineates all the peaks in view from above town.
It so happens that the dial comprises virtually all of the Indian Peaks and everything in this thread!
Here’s the breakout of what can be seen, the views corresponding to the dial, following clockwise from the left:
(Representative photographs of the peaks in view, below each section of the dial, except the first)
James Peak to Devil’s Thumb
Mt Neva to Mt Audubon
Sawtooth Peak to St Vrain Mountain:
Meadow Mountain to Long’s Peak:
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Mar 23, 2010 - 10:44pm PT
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These definitive TRs certainly earned that coveted "favorite" status.
Black Lake cirque was one of my favorite places, back in the old days. Scene of a few lifetime adventures, climbing big granite faces that had never been touched.
There's a slightly funny story about a very small granite face too, a little crag left of Spearhead that Roger and I climbed one day when we were too lazy to go big.
Years later, our route showed up with a different name in Bernard Gillett's guidebook (p.128), but I recognized it for sure from the faded topo I had sketched in my ancient copy of Walt Fricke.
Carry on!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 23, 2010 - 10:46pm PT
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Thanks for that little ditty Larry!
Some local color down in Gold Hill:
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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Mar 23, 2010 - 10:59pm PT
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Looks like a gen-u-ine winter out your way. We just had a fake winter here.
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Chiloe
Trad climber
Lee, NH
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No question, Roy's Colorado threads have been among my favorite things on the Taco.
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Forest
Trad climber
Denver, CO
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Jan 26, 2011 - 01:36pm PT
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Good stuff bump
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 8, 2012 - 08:36pm PT
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This thread could be useful.
Of course some snow would help too.
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sempervirens
climber
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Saw this thread for the first time today. Great stuff, that's what supertopo is for.
My ski waxing technique needs improvement, good tips.
I must get to Colorado, never been, yet.
Eldora looks excellent, that's a lot of black diamonds.
Thanks!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2012 - 03:06pm PT
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Typical thin early-season sketch conditions today.
2° Fahrenheit this morning, 12° right here, right now in Nederville.
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