Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Petty moves from a petty man.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – Wag – The Elk Range and Snowmass Mountain

On The Road – Wag – The Elk Range and Snowmass Mountain

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Wag

Last summer my wife and I completed climbing all the 14,000 foot peaks in the Elk Range of Colorado. When I last left off, we had finished climbing Pyramid Peak. As seems to be the case with all of our climbs in the Elks, climbing Snowmass required multiple trips. We first attempted to climb in early July. Unfortunately, our daughter had brought home from gymnastics a nasty upper respiratory (not Covid) virus that completely kicked my ass.

The trip to Snowmass is a long journey. From the trail head it is 22 miles round-trip, with a gain of almost 6000 feet altitude. For our first attempt at Snowmass we planned to hike into Snowmass Lake, a beautiful Alpine lake that sits right below timberline. Unfortunately, as we began hiking in I began developing muscle aches fevers and a severe cough. The final push to the lake, which sits at 11,000 feet, was brutal. I had to stop every 50 yards to catch my breath. We got to the lake at about 7 PM, set up camp, and after dinner I promptly fell asleep. After sleeping poorly through the night with ongoing fevers, I knew I would not be able to climb the next morning. It was a shame, because the next day was spectacular.

So we hiked back out.

Luckily, PCR testing when we got home to Denver was negative for COVID, both for me and for the vector child who brought the illness home from Gymnastics.

Reader Interactions

25Comments

  4. 4.

    HinTN

    The photo of the lake is just stunning, as is the blue of the sky above the boulder field. Congrats on the climb(s).

  7. 7.

    Amir Khalid

    The Snowmass Mountain photo made me think of Robert Plant’s young son clambering up a slope full of broken rocks on the cover of Houses of The Holy.

  9. 9.

    Torrey

    Amazing views! Thank you for sharing these, Wag.

    BTW, WaterGirl, where’s the VAAC thermometer?

  10. 10.

    raven

    Sweet, some 50 years ago, on my first honeymoon, we did Mt Quandry. It’s another 14’r and we made it all the way to the saddle going to the peak when a storm rolled in and we decided to skeedattle off that ridge. Great pics!

  12. 12.

    Wag

    @raven:   Quandary is a fun mountain, and is the most popular of the 14ers.   In 2020 about 30,000 people climbed it. The Forest Service and the town of Breckenridge have instituted a shuttle bus from a parking lot in town to access the peak.

  15. 15.

    JanieM

    Great shots of some spectacular country. The reflection shot is otherworldly.

    Thanks for taking us there, Wag — it’s the next best thing to having young knees again so I could go myself. :-)

  16. 16.

    Miss Bianca

    Wow, do I miss the Western Slope. Still dreaming of returning for good someday. Thank you for these photos.

    (I am not much of a climber, personally. Two hikes up Mt Lamborn outside Paonia were enough for me!)

  17. 17.

    frosty

    Amazing pictures and an amazing hike! Not on my bucket list though – Ibailed at 3:30AM at the trailhead LOL.

  20. 20.

    munira

    @Wag: Neat – so did I (think of Frodo and Sam that is). Amazing photos. Trying to imagine myself hiking 22 miles up a mountain.

  22. 22.

    BigJimSlade

    Great shots and story! My wife and I hike every week, but dang, we cap it at about 14 miles and maybe 2,500 feet of climbing. Also, we haven’t gotten up at 3am (6am is about the limit, but don’t aim to do stuff that requires it). Also, too, we try not to do stuff that requires helmets!

    But your hike looks fantastic :-)

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