Last weekend I decided that I had to escape the confines of our humble abode, and do something in the mountains. Sarah wasn't feeling well so Bella and I got up at 5:30am and headed up to the mountains. The objective for the day was going to be Grizzly Peak which is near Loveland Pass. The peak stands at about 13,400 ft or so and is the smaller neighbor of Grey's and Torrey's peak which are 14ers.
We ended up getting to the trail head just after sunrise and man was it cold! The wind was whipping over the pass pretty fast, and since the sun wasn't up yet, it was down near zero with the windchill. After coving every inch of my body in multiple layers, Bella and I headed out.
The hike up towards Grizzly is actually a very easy one and is quite popular because of it's easy access from Loveland Pass. Loveland Pass is one of those very typical tourist spots that people from out of town stop, hike about 100 yards, snap a picture, then get back in their cars and go. Those of us from here know it's just a starting point for a bunch of wonderful peaks. The initial ascent up the ridge takes you to a "T." To the left is the walk to Mt Sniktau that Sarah and I have already done. To the right is Grizzly Peak. Bella and I turn right and do the next traverse which takes us to Cupid Pk.
From Cupid I get my first real glimpse of Grizzly Pk and what it is going to entail. Man, this looks steeper than I thought it would be. I traverse another mile towards the peak and get to a point where I am one peak over and gazing up towards it's massive, hulking, bigness. The climb is definitely within my skills to do. There is another guy about a mile ahead of me, so I wouldn't be the only person on the peak, but I also don't have any treking poles, or an ice axe. That could be a problem. Going up would be very easy, coming down... well let's just say my ass was already puckering.
I decide to tackle Grizzly another day, preferable when I have a partner and some poles or an axe. I'm still satisfied with what Bella and I accomplished. We summited a 13ers, got to see the sunrise over the Continental Divide, and got in some good exercise.
2 comments:
I'm glad that you made the wise decision to recognize your stupidity for not bringing ice gear.
want to come up to for fun for $2 pints at coops on Saturday????
i'm w/ doug. it can be dangerous up there w/o the proper equipment.
p.s. i wanna go to coops, dammit!!!
hopefully, we'll be able to do stuff like that very soon.....like when we move back. muahahahaha
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