It's been quite a while since I've updated this thing, and since I wanted it to start out as a ski journal of sorts, I guess I should write something about the great winter we are having in JH right now. I was a little skeptical about the upcoming winter when my plane landed after Thanksgiving and it was pouring rain in the valley. Not exactly the kind of weather I was hoping for upon my return. It rained, and rained, and rained. The good thing was that it was frequently cold enough up top to turn that moisture into snow. Great early season turns were had on The Pass when there was absolutely no snow on the valley floor.
It kept getting a little colder, the snow line kept creeping down, and the skiing kept getting better and better. I feel like I've skied powder every time I've clicked in this December. I would say I've skied more good snow this December than in all of last years funky winter. The snow has been steady and consistent, with a few big storms dropping a couple of feet at a time. By all accounts the snowpack seems bomber. I need to start keeping up with the dates of things skied, but this month has been a haze of powder, work, and Lost Continents. You know how it is. A few highlights off the top of my head:
- First over-the-head blower pow on Four Pines a few weeks ago.
- Dawn patrol on Glory. Sunday morning after a storm. Cold and clear. One of the most beautiful sunrise/alpenglow sessions I've ever experienced. Dropped into the NE facing aspect of Glory Bowl and skied untracked, run-of-my-life type snow.
- A single untracked run down Laramie Bowl at JHMR makes the list.
- Endless to Mile-long in Granite Canyon of Christmas Day was pretty awesome.
- South Face of Taylor yesterday (Thursday, December 27) in great conditions.
- Presumably first tracks down the Spoon Couloir on Disappointment Peak a little over a week ago. Someone obviously could have skied it before us, but we saw no tracks and no signs of a previous booter set up the chute. The chute itself was wind affected, but the entire E Face of Disappointment was INCREDIBLE all the way to the bottom. A few pics from that trip follow:
Bill skins up the East Face of Disappointment Peak
Nearing the top of the Spoon Couloir
Near the top of Disappoinment Peak. Grand and Owen in background.
In Jackson Hole, once the leaves start changing colors and the tourists start thinning out, off season trip dreams start coming true. I've got friends currently in Yosemite Valley, Nepal, Thailand, Chile, and a girlfriend in Honduras. While those destinations sound awesome, I opted to keep it (relatively) close to home this off season and do some desert climbing.
The trip started with a few days in the always incredible City of Rocks, Idaho. I've climbed in the City quite a few times, but there is SO MUCH stuff to climb there that it never gets old. It was particularly good to get back to the City with a bit more confidence placing trad gear and try a few harder lines. Bill and I mainly stuck to the 5.9s, which in the City can mean old school, physical, grunt climbing...at least for me. Best climb was probably the Yellow Wall, a sporty 5.9 classic lead with excellent protection. We camped next to some cool guys from Washington who were on a month long climbing trip. Coincidentally (or maybe not considering the season) their next destination was the same as ours: the crack climbing mecca...INDIAN CREEK, UTAH.
Indian Creek is a special place. Located about 75 miles south of Moab, the Wingate sandstone formations tend to crack vertically, resulting in world class crack climbing. Bill had been here a few times but never lead anything, while I was a full-on Indian Creek virgin. I knew the basics of crack climbing, but as they say, if you wanna learn to climb cracks you go to the Creek. And learn I did. It is amazing how what only a year ago would have seemed desperate and terrifying, now seems SO secure.
The great thing about the Creek is that is helps you build so much confidence in so many different ways. First off, get ready to lead 5.10 cause that's as easy as it gets at the Creek. There are some 5.9s, but they are really just shorter 5.10s. However, the "harder" grades are complimented nicely by the fact that you can basically plug gear wherever you want. Getting tired on Supercrack? Plug a #3 wherever you want and sit back and enjoy the scenery. Not only is the protection abundant, it's bomber as well. It IS sandstone, so it's not like sinking gear into granite, but it's still solid. Also, as added bonuses the camping is free and there are numerous Native American paintings/dwellings/etc. to enjoy.
We quickly made friends around camp and enjoyed climbing all the classics.
After a few days in the Creek, I realized I'd found the American equivalent to Tonsai, Thailand. Unlimited climbing, and a ton of dirtbag climbers loving life. I've always said that climbing bums are by nature the dirtiest of the bums. At least being a ski bum you have to have a roof over your head, so that usually means you need a job. In the Creek, the camping is free and the weather is perfect, so you can REALLY be a true dirtbag. If the parallels to Tonsai weren't already enough, my friend Scott Patterson happened to be in Moab on a BASE jumping trip. I met Scott in Tonsai, Thailand a year ago. While in Tonsai, we did some AWESOME climbs together, often dragging Scott's BASE rig to the top so he could jump off while I shot the photos.
Scott jumps off the Crystal Flame in Tonsai, Thailand
We took a rest day from climbing and met Scott and some of his BASE jumping buddies in Moab. After an excellent lunch at the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Eklecticafe in Moab, we watched the boys do couple of jumps... but we also had something better in mind. Bill and I had already been talking about climbing Ancient Art, a crazy sandstone tower formation near Moab made even more famous in THIS Citigroup ad. In true Tonsai fashion, we pitched the idea of a climb-to-BASE jump to Scott, and in true Scott fashion, he excitedly accepted.
We met for coffee on a clear Sunday morning, then made the half-hour drive to Fisher Towers. There would be two teams of two. Bill would lead up with Adam Krum following, and I would lead up with Scott following. The climbing up Ancient Art isn't particularly great, but the summit is amazing. After dealing with the logistics of getting two BASE jumpers in position, it was time for the show. I'd been with Scott on several jumps before, but my heart of still racing. With the GoPro rolling, and my Nikon ready, Scott did his thing in pure style. I'll let the pictures do the talking here:
A stellar summit, and a stellar exit point. Scott and Krum styled it. As usual, Scott threw the gainer and made it look easy and fun. The day-hikers down below couldn't believe their eyes. Bill and I quickly rapped down the formation and we all enjoyed a cold beer back at the truck.
We spent one more night around Moab and left the next day headed back to Jackson. Another incredible trip in the bag, with the added bonus of seeing a friend from the other side of the world. I'll leave you now with one of Scott's BASE jumping videos.
I've been back in the dirty south for the past 11 days, and I'm flying back into Jackson tomorrow. Been doing a little reading, a little drinking, a LOT of driving (football games, weddings, seeing family/friends, etc.) and a LOT of sleeping. I guess my last update was the trip report for the Cirque of the Towers. Soon after that, my brother and father came to visit and I got to show my brother the place that I have been hiding out for the past 3 years. One of the scenic Leigh Lake campsites allowed us to get into GTNP without doing any strenuous hiking...and afforded us the luxury of dragging along a beer cooler. Just before they arrived I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in the mountains with Katie and friends. It went as follows:
Left Lupine Meadows TH at around 7:30 AM. The 3 week, soul sucking, eye drying, lung burning, smoke screen had lifted from the valley and it was a beautifully clear morning. As we began the hike, the elk bugling in the distance and the crisp morning air reminded us that fall (always my favorite season no matter where I am) was on its way. The plan was to try to do a link-up of the Middle and the South Tetons on Wednesday with the girls, then for me and Devin to cruise up the Upper Exum Ridge on the Grand on Thursday morning. We realized pretty quickly that doing the Middle and the South in one day wasn't gonna happen, and I couldn't have cared less. As snobby as it sounds, I wasn't too thrilled about the long ass "hike" up the Middle in the first place, but I did want to get the epic view of the Grand from the summit. We took our time cruising up the South Fork of Garnet Canyon to the saddle between the Middle and the South. From there, the Southwest Couloir is obvious and the route scrambles straight up. By the time we'd reached the top, the smoke had moved back in. My eyes started to burn and I was feeling lightheaded so we bailed after taking a few photos on top.
Soon we were back at the meadows where Devin and I had our camp set up. We begrudgingly said goodbye to the chicks and enjoyed the afternoon in the serene environment of the meadows. Wake up was around 2:40 AM the next morning and we took our time drinking coffee and eating oatmeal. Soon we were making our way to the Lower Saddle. We made pretty good time without busting our ass too hard and were through the Eye of the Needle sometime around sunrise.
As we were standing on the west side of the Wall Street couloir watching other climbers negotiate the end of the Wall Street ledge, Devin's nose began bleeding. No big deal. Just stuff some tissue in there and keep moving. We reached the end of Wall Street, started to rope up and Devin was starting to get annoyed, but still not concerned. Around the top of the Golden Staircase is where we were both thinking "WTF is up with your nose?!" The entire climb went off without a hitch, except that Devin's nose kept bleeding, and bleeding and bleeding. It literally bled the entire way up the ridge, then entire way down, stopped for a SHORT while back at camp, only to resume bleeding for the duration of the hike back to the car; at which point it promptly stopped so that Devin could slam some victory beers. We chalked it to already dry mountain air, excess smoke and the altitude. It was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect day in the Tetons. As painful as it was to watch Devin suffer through such and annoying ailment, it was rather funny to watch the reactions on the faces of other hikers as we approached them. Devin literally looked like had just sunk his fangs into someones jugular. Blood was running down his face since we had long run out of tissue and paper towels. Most people must have either thought that he'd been in some kind of an accident or that he was a pretty damn good looking zombie.
I'm super excited to get back to Jackson and enjoy the fall weather in the mountains. Gonna try and squeeze in some bigger routes before I (hopefully) head out to Yosemite on Oct. 1. After that, its possibly some City of Rocks climbing, deep south November climbing, and then....SKI SEASON BABY!
Here's a picture I snapped of Devin at the bottom.
One week ago on August 12, Bill and I packed up the Black Panther for the 3 hour drive back to the Wind River Range. The Panther hasn't gotten much road trip action since I moved to Jackson, and it was jonesin' for the open road. We left Jackson around 1pm headed for Big Sandy trailhead and the famous Cirque of the Towers. The first 5.5 miles of the hike are super easy and flat, with the final few miles more strenuous as you cross Jackass Pass and drop into the Cirque.
We'd gotten a glimspe of the Cirque from nearby Haystack Mountain on our last climbing trip in The Winds and couldn't wait to stand within this ring of jagged peaks. When looking at it from afar, I recall thinking it looked ominous, foreboding, a little evil. Razor sharp peaks of granite shooting upwards in every direction. If I had seen lava spewing out of the top of Pingora with thousands of Orcs marching to battle I wouldn't have been surprised.
Warbonnet far left. Cirque far background.
The vibe entering the Cirque was a little less dark, but intimidating none-the-less. As you come over Jackass Pass, Warbonnet is the first peak to greet you to the west. Pingora looms to the north. Wolf's Head's razor-like ridge draws immediate attention.
We found an awesome secluded campsite right beside a small stream and finally shed the packs. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, but hiking 9 miles with a pack full of camping gear, food and water; in addition to my harness, shoes and the full climbing rack, still kicks my ass. Dinner was promptly cooked and we discussed next morning's plan over a hot meal and some hot tea.
Camp. South Buttress of Pingora and Wolfs Head.
Our objective was the Northeast Face of Pingora Peak. I always get a little nervous the day before an unfamiliar climb and this was no different. As I said earlier, the Cirque is intimidating. Gorgeous and surreal, but intimidating. I was mostly concerned about time. This was supposedly a 10-11 pitch climb over 1200 vertical feet and there were a few spots where people tend to get off route.
At 4:30am the alarm went off and we quickly cooked some oatmeal and downed some black tea. We were at the base of the climb a little before 7 and encountered another party who was opting to bail because they didn't like the look of the weather. You can bail on rap anchors through the 3rd pitch so we decided to go for it and play it by ear. The first pitch is a long traverse into the crack system; so I lead the first 2 pitches, then we started swapping leads. We were using a 70m rope so we just ran it out where we could. Using our topo we were keeping an eye out for the "off-route traverse", but never really had any route-finding problems. We told ourselves that this was due to our superior, Teton-honed route-finding skills. The crux of the climb is actually 2 options. One is a flaring 5.8 crack and the other is a 5.9 layback. Whichever one you choose, it's the crux of the climb. Bill inadvertently chose the 5.9 layback and cranked through with no problem. After pulling through this section, we realized we were much further along than we previously thought.
Bill above the layback. High on the Northeast Face.
A couple more pitches of easy climbing (through a not so "easy" chimney) and we were on top. We'd done the climb in about 6 hours and 7 pitches. The 70m rope really helped speed the process up. Lucky for us, it had been cloudy, cool and devoid of wind, making communication on the face easy. To make it even better, we were the only group on the route all day. Abnormal for one of the50 "Crowded" Climbs of North America. The icing on the cake was finding a well-used but bomber .75 BD C4 Cam near the summit. I'm a shameless booty collector, snaking nuts and jammed cams when I can. We bumped into an Argentinian climbing guide and his client who snapped a quick photo of us on top.
On top of Pingora. East Ridge of Wolfs Head behind.
Back at camp, we ate some Swedish Fish and napped in the tent until it was time for dinner. That night I slept better than I've ever slept in the backcountry. Out at 11, I didn't budge till my watch went off at 4:30am....then I hit the snooze button and slept for another hour. We finally rolled out of bed and were greeted to an awesome sunrise. The granite rock surrounding camp lit up pink by the sun.
Sunrise.
Camp Alpenglow.
After going through the wake-up process, we started hiking towards Wolf's Head. The East Ridge of Wolf's Head, is an easy (5.6) climb with incredible exposure and improbable traverses around multiple towers. If you rope up for every portion of this climb, you're in for a long day. Bill and I felt comfortable enough going solo for about the first half. Early on in the climb, you go up a 30 degree, 2 foot wide, 300 foot long slab; outer space on either side. Freaking AWESOME.
Negotiating the slab on the East Ridge.
The rest of the climb involves traversing around, over and through various towers on the ridge until you reach the summit. Wolf's Head lived up to its reputation and was nothing but pure fun. I feel it's always good when you find yourself laughing in the middle of a climb. I laughed and smiled often on this one.
I hope this rock holds.
A party behind us making their way through the towers.
On the summit tower of Wolf's Head.
After some always annoying downclimbing through steep gullies filled with loose rock and a few clumsy climbers (one party was prone to kicking off large rocks), we made it back to camp where we chilled for a while before making the long hike out. We were back at the truck in just under 4 hours and soon headed back to Jackson.
Cooling off in one of the thousands of lakes in the Winds.
If you're looking for stellar rock and classic climbs, the Cirque is the place. This is true alpine style climbing. Big climbs in a remote location. But it isn't just for climbers. As with any spot in the Winds, it is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and comes highly recommended to anyone willing to don the pack and hike a few miles.
This past weekend (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for me) I was able to get on top of two of the Tetons' Cathedral peaks. On Wednesday (Aug. 1), Katie and I made the fun scramble up Teewinot and on Friday (Aug. 3) I guided some friends up the Grand via the Owen-Spalding route.
Since doing Mt. Moran, Katie's had a bit of summit fever and was really wanting to bag another Teton peak. The Middle Teton was considered, but we decided on Teewinot since there is literally no approach to this fun scramble. The climbers trail up Teewinot starts about 100 feet north of the bathrooms in the Lupine Meadows trailhead, and ascends directly up the east face of the mountain. We watched the weather till about 10am, then decided to go for it.
Above the treeline, a seasonal snowfield is encountered and, depending on the time of year, an ice axe and/or crampons may be necessary. We brought along axes but could have easily gotten by without them. After the snowfield, it's basically a scramble up the path of least resistance while staying right of the main chimney on the east face. There ARE a few exposed 4th class moves with high consequence, so bringing along a harness and a thin alpine rope isn't a bad idea. I've had a few friends have trouble finding the true summit of the mountain as there a number of summit pinnacles (Teewinot is a Shoshone word meaning "many pinnacles"). We had no trouble at all finding the true summit, due in part to the awesome new guide book Teton Rock Climbs by local climber Aaron Gams.
Once on top, we were welcomed by breathtaking views of Mt. Owen and the North Face of the Grand. Since I've got the North Face of the Grand on my checklist, it was good to get a up-close view of it. Needless to say, it is pretty intimidating. One thing I noticed was how much steeper the First Ledge looked from up high.
The First Ledge is the high snowfield center of the face above the black water streaks.
A cool panorama that Katie took of me on the summit. The tiny summit pinnacle and massive exposure are pretty exciting.
Katie looking rad in her new helmet.
The decent follows the ascent route back down the east face. We pulled out the rope at the exposed 4th class section for a bit of added safety. A couple more hours of easy downhill hiking brought us right back to the car and we headed to the Q for a buffalo burger, some chicken fried chicken and a Lagunita's Pale Ale. Another great day in Tetons in the books.
I'd previously agreed to take a good friend and a friend of his from New Orleans up the Grand on Friday, so I used Thursday to rest up for the adventure. William and Eric hiked up to the Lower Saddle to camp Thursday night, while I planned to leave the trailhead at midnight and meet them at the lower saddle around 3:30am. I left the parking lot just after midnight as planned and was at the meadows in 1hr 15 min, hiking most of it by the light of the massive full moon. When I got to the saddle, the temp had dropped significantly and the wind was howling. William and Eric's Kmart tent apparently wasn't doing the job as I found them bivied on the ground huddled behind some rocks. I don't think they got very much sleep that night. This proved to be just the beginning of an interesting trip up the Grand.
We let the a few of the guided parties get a little ahead of us, then started making our way to the Upper Saddle. The wind didn't show any signs up letting up as we squeezed through the Eye of the Needle and continued scrambling. At the Upper Saddle, we roped up and led the traverse across the famous Belly Crawl. This is where things got weird. Upon building an anchor below the chimney and setting up the belay, I heard the thunder of rockfall echoing towards me from the Enclosure with different people yelling back and forth. I knew William and Eric were out of harms way, but the first thing that came to mind was that someone had somehow slipped at the Upper Saddle and fallen down the Black Ice Couloir. I was sure something terrible had just happened.
Almost ready to break down the anchor and bail altogether, I heard William yell that Eric was ready to come over. I belayed Eric over to the anchor, then started bring William along.Then another wave of rockfall was heard. For some reason, people at the rappel stations above the saddle kept showering the upper saddle with rocks. A guide yelled up to them to, and no more rockfall was heard. Soon, Exum guides and their clients politely passed us at the double chimney.
The rest of the the climbing to the top went as planned, although the wind and the number of people on the route made it a bit frustrating. After a short chill session on the summit, we started making our way back down to the rappels. I think Eric wanted to kiss the ground when he finally touched down on the upper saddle. The rest of the trip was standard. Steep hike down to the lower saddle, negotiating the fixed rope down to the moraine, and the seemingly never-ending hike back to the car.
I was really impressed with how well Eric performed. William had been up before, so I knew he would be fine, but I was concerned about the change in elevation for Eric. Coming from below-sea-level New Orleans to climbing The Grand in 2 days is no easy feat, and he did it with style in New Balance running shoes (which were completely shredded by the end of the trip) Congrats Eric!
Eric Sella (left) and William almost back to the lower saddle.
It's Tuesday, which means it's my Friday and almost time for another adventure. With the next three days off, Bill and I are headed back into the Wind River Range to the famous Cirque of the Towers. Our objectives: the Northeast Face of Pingora Peak and the East Ridge of Wolf's Head; both of which are included in Roper's Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. Hopefully I'll be checking back in a few days with a couple more peaks under my belt. Until then, chill out to the smooth grooves of Steely Dan as you imagine yourself cruising the open road with the windows down:
This past Thursday (July 26) Bill and I headed back into GTNP to climb an AWESOME route on Disappointment Peak called Open Book. Straightforward route finding, excellent stone, consistent exposure and a short approach (by Teton standards), made for another incredible day in the Park.
Since we both had the day off, we took our time getting out of town and were at Lupine Meadows trailhead at 10am. The parking lot was PACKED and the first crux of the trip was finding a place to park. Once we finally got going, things went quickly. This climb has it all: airy face climbing, perfect finger cracks, exposed traverses and roof pulls. To make it even better, the descent couldn't be easier. After topping out, a 5 min walk puts you at Amphitheater Lake and you're back on the trail. A big can of Razzleberry Tea and a Snicker bar at Dornan's put the finishing touches on a great day of climbing.
Click the link below for a short video of the climb:
Last Thursday, myself, Katie and Bill loaded up the canoe and headed to Grand Teton National Park to attempt the classic CMC route on Mount Moran. At a relatively easy grade (5.5), the route ascends the east/southeast face above Falling Ice glacier to the summit.
We started off by canoeing String Lake, then portaging the canoe a few hundred yards to Leigh lake, where we paddled towards the drainage of the Falling Ice glacier.
Canoeing String Lake. Moran and Falling Ice glacier straight ahead.
Upon reaching the shore, we stashed the canoe and began the hike through boulders, scree and beautiful wildflowers, to the CMC campsites. I had read that the CMC campsites were awesome, but they were better than I expected. It's definitely one of the best spots I've camped in the Tetons. From the campsites you get an incredible view of the north facing aspects of the high peaks. The north face of the Grand looks impossibly steep from this aspect; almost overhanging.
Hiking up the drainage to the CMC campsites.
Good views from camp.
The Grand catches some late afternoon rays.
Friday morning we awoke at 4am for the ascent. A small rain shower delayed our start until about 5:30am. We scrambled up the loose drainage along the West Horn towards Drizzlepuss, the first technical aspect of the climb. A short downclimb and a rappel put us at the base of the climbing. We roped up and began the easy 5.5 climbing up the east face.
After negotiating the "technical" climbing, we packed the ropes up for some easy exposed scrambling to the summit.
Katie does her best Alex Honnold impression.
The summit of Mount Moran is very interesting. Covered in sandstone, it is truly unique among Teton Peaks.
Bill and I cross the sandstone summit towards the descent route.
After some easy downclimbing, frustrating double-roped rappelling, and more downclimbing we had to regain the top of Drizzlepuss for the final descent. Arriving back at the camp we crushed some Snicker bars and began the hike back to the canoe. What a relief it was to finally get in the canoe, give the legs a rest and enjoy the mellow paddle back to the truck. It was and incredible experience paddling across the lake at sundown. Not only did we enjoy a gorgeous sunset, we got to experience the tranquil wilderness of the Tetons. Three loons got off the water right in front us, a few geese puttered around the shore to our right, a curious black bear poked around a lakeside campsite and two elk grazed in a meadow. It was one of the most refreshing and peaceful experiences I have ever had in the Tetons.
Moran sunset reflects on Leigh Lake.
Once the canoe was strapped down, we snagged a few Ranger IPAs from a friends truck and headed back to town. Thai Me Up's curry bowl of the day and a few Melvin IPAs added the perfect finishing touch to an already perfect adventure.
So, I meant to start a ski journal this past winter to keep track of how many days I skied, where I skied, what the snow was like, avalanche activity, etc. Well, I never got around to that so I'm starting a journal now. It'll be more of a personal record of stuff I've done but check it out every now and then if you like.
I'll start be recapping my last week until today, Thursday, July 19. Exactly one week ago on Thursday, July 12, my climbing partner Bill Truelove and myself got to the Lupine Meadows trailhead at 11:20pm with our sights set on the Owen-Spalding route of the Grand Teton. In the parking lot, a guy pulled up and asked us if we were "the Cathedral group." We responded that we were not, to which he again asked if we were missing a climber. Again, we said that were not and inquired if there was someone missing. "Eh, maybe"was his response.
After deciding not to try the Upper Exum ridge due to a chance of afternoon thunderstorms on Friday, we opted for faster, easier Owen-Spalding route. We were at the Lower Saddle at around 4am, and on top the Grand for sunrise at 6am. On the way down we bumped into two Jenny Lake climbing rangers climbing towards the Upper Saddle. We chatted with them and learned that there was indeed a missing climber. They were headed to the north side of the Grand to continue searching for him.
Shortly after reaching the Lower Saddle we saw a helicopter fly around the south side of the mountain and loop back to the North....not a good sign. The rest of the hike down the mountain was uneventful, besides me finding my pants that I had someone lost on the hike up, and we were back at the truck by noon on Friday. Tired and thirsty, my inner redneck was itching to get out. Tailgate down and my shirt tossed on the ground, I cracked an ice cold Lagunitas IPA and drank beer in the parking lot like only a true Southerner can. Grand Teton car to car in 12 hours. Only 9 hours slower than the record!
The next morning I learned that the body of the missing climber had been found below the East Prong on the ridge between Teewinot and Mount Owen. Article here.
The rest of the week went as follows:
Saturday: bike ride up Redmond trail to Hagen to Putt-Putt, then back to the house. Work.
Sunday: bike ride up Ferrins trail then back down, with Stuart. Work.
Monday: hike up to Rock Springs with Max to climb Guide's Route. A really good 2 pitch 5.8 climb.
Hike down. Work.
Tuesday: Bike up Phillip's Ridge into Phillip's Canyon, with Devin. I somehow got ahead of Devin,
missed a turn and ended up riding around the pass for an extra hour before figuring out
where to go. Made it out just in time for work.
Wednesday: Much needed rest day. Getting stuff together for Mount Moran.
Today (Thursday July 19) Bill, Katie and myself are loading up the canoe and headed across Leigh and String Lakes to attempt the CMC Route on Mount Moran. My coffee cup is empty and I'm running late, so I'll check back in when we (hopefully) get back from a successful trip.
