Latest D366 completer - Teresa Gergen

[kirkmallory]

Teresa Gergen completed the D366 list today (Feb 3rd, 2013) on Walton Peak (10,559) in Routt County. Congratulations Teresa!

[Steve Knapp]

Congrats, on Super Bowl Sunday no less. Where are your priorities?

Three feet of new snow around Steamboat earlier this week. How was the snowshoeing, did you posthole much? I would guess the winter starting point is from Hwy 40?

[TeresaGergen]

Usually when the snow gets this deep, I float easily on snowshoes, but it was too soon after it stopped falling this weekend. 10296 on Sat was pure hell, and took me 12 hours of difficult solo breaking, with the snowshoes sinking in about a foot with each step. 8.5 hours up, 3.5 hours down, but the down was slower than it would have been with a functional ankle. They hadn't plowed the pullouts on US-40 yet in the morning, and I had to park half a mile down the road where I could find room to get off the highway. As I walked back to the car along the road in the dark, hoping the cars would see my headlight and move over in time, carrying my snowshoes and limping, a car stopped to make sure I was OK. My face was so frozen I could barely talk. It was 1 degree when I got back to the car. I was pretty much planning to go to the hot springs in Steamboat on Sun and just go up Genesee on the way home for the D-366 finish, but, well -- you know how these things are.

Walton actually makes for a nice pleasant winter hike if you don't mind snowmobiles. There is a groomed trail starting at US-40 on the road that goes to the northern subsummit, although it doesn't follow the road. It goes more directly toward the main summit. I took snowmobile tracks from there to 0.2 mi from the top, and only had to break trail for that. The area was busy with snowmobiles -- there's a tour operator right there at the start -- but at that point I didn't mind them at all. I was able to hike with the snowshoes off coming and going on the groomed trail and give my ankle a break.

The snow was kind of thick-ish powder, and I imagine that after a few days in the sun, it would make for much easier snowshoeing. And it's deep enough to cover the deadfall and rocks, which is really nice, especially with the ankle. I've actually been trying to seek out the deepest snow for 10ers and 11ers lately because of that -- had good conditions near La Manga Pass down south a couple weeks ago.

[Jeremy Hakes]

Congrats, Teresa! I'm still a ways from finishing that one (well, in addition to the plethora of other lists you've finished!).