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This was a trip I was planning on saving for later, given the close proximity
to Denver. I had traversed to this peak from Grays Peak about two years ago; not
exactly the way I want to claim an ascent. Leaving from Denver around 5:00 am
provided an early start, arriving at the trailhead at 6:30 am. I had been a little
concerned about the weather as reports were showing a good chance of snow for the
day. Strangely enough, the day ended up being crystal clear with nice temperatures.
I had been developing some descent blisters on my heels the last few hikes and took
the advice of Steve Hoffmeyer in wrapping some duct tape around my heels. This turned
out to be one of the most cost effective remedies for any hiking problem I've
ever had. There was a little wind in Stevens Gulch making the hike to the Kelso/
Torreys saddle somewhat cold. There was still a good dose of snow in this basin
in comparison to other ranges (photo of Torreys on right). |
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Once reaching the saddle, I could make out several people making their way up
Dead Dog Coulior. It looked like a fun route that I might have to try some day. It
is amazing to think about the variety of route types on this peak: hiking, climbing,
and snow climbing. From the saddle, the route looked quite imposing (photo on the left),
with 1,900 vertical feet remaining to climb on the ridge. At first, the ridge is a
gentle slope, though this doesn't last long. After a few hundred yards, the first
headwall reared up. This 30' section of class 3 was relatively easy to overcome, as
ample hand and foot holds were available in a gully. The route for the next few hundred yards
is a scree and talus hike with occasional hand and foot climbing. Another tower
revealed itself at this point with a slightly more airy quality to it. It took some time to
figure out a good line to climb up this section. I settled on a line to the right of "center" around the tower. Again, there were
outstanding holds to secure the route up, though there was some loose scree and dirt which
made the holds more valuable. |
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I was beginning to experience a little
adrenaline, and the route was far from being finished. I could make out the easy stretch
of the ridge up above and pressed on. After a series of more talus and scree scrambles,
I finally arrived at another hiking section on the ridge (photo on right). There were a few sections where I
had a chance to use my Ice Axe around some snow ledges, but it really wasn't neccessary. Roach
mentions that from this point it appears that you can just walk up to the summit, which isn't inaccurate as far as
appearances go. I could just make out some climbers climbing to the summit
from Dead Dog Couloir. It took very little time to finish up this hiking
section, and as I became closer to finishing it, the route's crux looked larger
and larger. I stopped to take a breather and figure out the best line to get beyond
this buttress. |
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It appeared that the easiest route to climb the crux was to pass on the right
on a series of ledges and up a scree gully. Unfortunately (or perhaps not) the ledges
were snowed over at a 50 degree angle and had a slippery ice quality to them. I prodded
with my Axe to see if I could clear them off, but no such luck. On the left is a photo
of the buttress looking straight at it. This was the only available route. So after some
brief hesitation, I began to scale the class 4 direct route. This actually turned out to
go by very quickly (probably much faster than trying to climb up the gully on the right),
and before long I was a the next problem. The knife edge is a whitish colored obstacle that
was easily avoided by dropping down on the right about 30 feet and then ascending some ledges
to the point just beyond the knife edge. A few hundred more yards and I was on the summit.
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This was a really entertaining route, and not too exhausting either. I took in the views
from the summit long enough to get cold and headed off towards the Grays/Torreys
saddle to being the descent. The route down Torreys was so much of a contrast to
the Kelso Ridge route that it seemed like a different mountain. Soon I began to cross
the snowfield and began a great glissade down Grays' slopes. I had made the summit in 3 hours
and made it back to the trailhead in 2, demonstrating an advantage of glissades. This was a great
climb rivaled by few others. |
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