Mt Olmypus Oct. 22

Left work a bit early today and decided to make a quick trip up Mt. Olympus. I stare at the mountain every day out my window and I hadn't done this for a few years...it was calling my name. I started about 4:00 and it took me an hour and a half to get to the top. It was much tougher than I remembered. It is a really steep climb. The 3.2 miles doesn't seem like much, but it really kicked my butt. The 4000 ft of verticle climb is what gets you. The last bit is just about straight up. You are scrambling up cliffs to get to the summit. It is an incredible view from the top. You are towering over the Salt Lake Valley and the views over into Big Cottonwood are awesome. Great views of Twin, Sunset, and Dromedary. It took me an hour to get down...got home by 7:00.

Lone Peak Oct. 17

Left Saturday morning at 5:30 to try and get up Lone Peak one more time before the snow starts to fly. I went with my neighbor and friend Matt Wilburn. He had been wanting to get up there ever since he moved here from Chicago. We took off and spent the first couple of hours by headlamp. It was a bit cool at first, but we quickly warmed up. Pretty uneventful until near the top of Jacobs ladder we're hiking along just as the sun is coming up and we are startled by a gunshot that was so close that we could feel it. We stopped on the trail and looked ahead about 50 feet and saw three hunters on the trail. They had just shot a deer. Little did we know that it was opening day of the deer hunt. From then on we were a bit more aware of the hunters and there was quite a few of them including two camped right in the middle of the trail. We worked our way up to the cirque and the snow was a bit more of an issue than we had thought. We were sinking in spots up to our ankles and knees. We did our best to work our way through it. I just had my trail runners on and I was wishing I would have at least worn me boots. We got up to the ridge and worked our way across and the snow was getting worse up along the ridge. There wasn't enough to really have a clear shot to the top, through the snow, but there was too much to rely on the usual rocks and outcroppings one needs to get up. It got a bit sketchy but I really wanted to make the summit. Matt stayed back when it started to get a bit bad. I kept going because I never felt I was in danger. My footing was good and I had good handholds. I got to within about 10-20 feet from the summit and decided to turn back. There was one spot where I had to cross about five feet of snow on a slop with no handholds. If I slipped it was off a 500 foot cliff. I'm quite sure I could have made it but decided that it wasn't worth the risk. I did ponder it for quite awhile thinking there had to be a safe way across that section but I couldn't come up with one. I had read the night before an account of someone who had slipped when crossing one of the ridges in that same area and didn't live to tell about it. I finally decided to turn back just 20 feet from the top. That's ok...Lone Peak isn't going anywhere. I will have plenty of opportunities to conquer it at another time. When I called Amy and told her what had happened she was very proud of me for turning around. Overall it was an awesome trip. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery which was spectacular. The leaves have started to fade a bit, but still had some color. The leaves against the snow capped mountains were a site to behold. I enjoyed going up with Matt. Matt has done alot of climbing in exotic places including a trip to Everest base camp. It was nice to be with someone that shares similar passions. I love this climb. It is quickly becoming my favorite. This was my fourth time up this year. Hope to have many more days just like Saturday. It is good for the soul...

Fall Timp Climb

So I arrived at the office today and I had several appointments. My 11:00 cancelled and I finished up a few things and then I had a strong urge to climb. I thought of a few different options, but I kept coming back to Timp. I have wanted to push it up Timp. for a while now...kind of see where I am at. I have done it this year but it was with the scouts so it was slow go. It was a beautiful fall day and the temps are supposed to drop significantly in the next few days so I blew off work and went for it. I stopped at Smiths and got a few snacks and a chicken sandwich which I regretted eating later. I arrived at the trailhead at about 12:45. I knew I was going to have to hurry because I had to coach Josh's football game at 5:30, which meant I had to be home at 5:00 to get him there. With the 30 minutes it takes to get home I didn't have much time to spare and I really wasn't sure how long it would take me. I knew anything under 4 hours is fast, but I wasn't sure if I could do it in under 4 hours. If I did it in 4 that would put me home at 5:30 when I was supposed to be at the game. I thought I would just go for it and if I ran out of time I would turn back. I decided to go light so I left the camel back in the car and brought 4 fruit snacks and a small 16 oz water bottle. I took off up the trail. I was pushing as hard as my body would let me. I was trying to keep my heart rate around 150 and I was pretty close most of the hike. I made it to scout falls in 20 minutes which I knew was pretty fast...I was tracking along between 12-16 min miles. The first two miles I was right on 28 minutes...14 minute miles. I felt good but I was pushing pretty hard and I didn't know if I could sustain that pace. The chicken sandwich wasn't sitting very well with me either as I was getting a few cramps. I just kept going trying to focus on the trail and the beauty all around me. It was an unbelievable day. The leaves were off the charts. I also ran into 5 mountain goats which were pretty cool. I figured if I could stay near this pace to the saddle I could for sure get up there in time to get back for the game. I passed a guy about half a mile below the saddle. He was going along at a pretty good pace. When I passed him he said I was the first one to pass him on this trail in 2 years. That made me feel good...although I started thinking about it and thought that maybe it was the first time he had been up the trail in two years. I got to the saddle and I think I was about 1 hour and 45 minutes. I had hopes of finishing in 2 hours, but didn't think there was any way. I just kept going. The hardest section is from the saddle up to the top. It gets pretty steep and there is one technical spot. I finally made it up to the top in 1 hour 59 minutes and 35 seconds. I beat the 2 hour mark. I was exhausted and pretty much out of water. I did have two of my fruit snacks left for the way down which came in real handy. I spent about 5 minutes on the top catching my breathe and preparing myself for the trip down. I knew I could get down quick but I wasn't sure if my legs would hold out. They were starting to hurt a bit and I didn't bring any IB's. I had no choice. I had to be back for the game so I took off down the mountain. The section down to the saddle beat me up a bit, but as soon as I got to the saddle I picked the pace up a bit. I was really going fast and I was feeling pretty good despite the minor leg pain. I love descending down a trail. It's a bit hypnotic to me. I tend to just focus in on the trail picking out my next step and trying not to fall. I was making really good time and I was easily going to make the game assuming I could continue the pace. I finally got really fatigued with about 1 mile to go. I fell hard...it hurt, but I jumped up and continued on telling myself to slow down and focus on the trail. About two minutes later I fell again. Now my confidence was really shot. I had made it over roots, rocks, and all sorts of obstacles and now here I am falling on the smoothest nicest section of the trail. I figured my legs were just tired and I wasn't picking them up. Well...I made it down, went straight to the water tap, drank three water bottles, jumped in the car and flew down the canyon in time for the game. When it was all said and done, I made it in 3 hours and 20 minutes. I was extremely pleased with that time. In fact I got online after, and the fastest documented time was from Phil Lowry, who has done Timp over 400 times. He did it in 2 hours 55 mins. 14.5 miles, 4800 feet climb. A great way to spend an afternoon.

Twin Peaks Labor Day 2009

Amy and I decided to get up real early on Labor day to attempt to climb Twin peaks which is one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch. They tower above the Salt Lake Valley and I have spent quite a while thinking about a summit attempt. I had read they were one of the more challenging peaks to hit. There is a 10 mile round trip and about 5700 feet of vertical climb involved. I had also read that the last several hundred feet were quite difficult with moderate exposure and steep rocky climbing. We got up at 4:30 and hit the trail at about 5:30. The first hour or so was in the dark with only our headlamps lighting the way. We plugged along in the dark up a steep trail that ended at a meadow near a pond with a beautiful view of the Twins, Sunrise and Dromedary peaks. It is quite a sight to behold. It didn't look to bad from that vantage point and we were sure we could get it done and maybe even do the triple traverse which is bagging all three peaks in one trip. Little did we know what lay ahead of us. The trail was ok after that but it was unmaintained and a bit hard to follow. We eventually came to a steep climb up to the saddle. It looked fairly easy, but when we started up it became challenging. The terain was loose scree and it was hard to get footing because of the steepness. It seemed every step forward you would lose a step in the slide. There were some small cliffs near the top that made it a bit easier, but also a bit nerve racking. We saw four beautiful mountain goats in this area and that was a lot of fun to observe them climbing effortlessly over the rocks and cliffs. We eventually made it to the saddle and the view was breathtaking. We could see over into Little Cottonwood canyon. We could see all of the ski resorts and many peaks from Lone Peak to Pfiferhorn. The Wasatch mountains are breathtaking! We had read there were two ways to the top from this point. Scramble down about 200 ft into little cottonwood and then ascend up a chute or go up the rocky ridge which had a few tricky spots with some exposure. We elected to go down into Little Cottonwood. This proved to be probably a good decision, although it was another tough climb up loose rocks and scree. We arrived at the east peak after about 3 hours and 40 mins. It felt extremely good to get to the top after a harder than expected climb. We had exerted more energy than expected and taken more time as well. We quickly took the 15 minute jaunt over to the west peak and the views from there were unbelievable. We observed the entire valley. We could see Mt Olympus below us and all the other prominent peaks in the Wasatch. We could see the Uintah mountains to the east as well. We spent about 30-40 minutes on top eating a snack and enjoying the views. We were the only ones on the top which was surprising considering it was Labor Day. We did see one other group below us on the way up but they had not yet arrived. We decided to descend along the ridge instead of going down the steep chute into Little Cottonwood. It actually looked easier than battling the loose rocks. It was actually a fun descent off the ridge. There was one spot where you had to inch your way down a vertical crack with moderate exposure below. There were plenty of good holds both for feet and hands so it wasn't dangerous really. Below the crack was a ledge that provided an easy way off the ridge to the saddle. We started down off the saddle and the next section proved to be the hardest section of the hike. Steep downhill with not very good footing. We made it and continued down the mountain. About halfway down Amy's knees started acting up in spite of the IB's that had worked so well the previous week on the Lone Peak hike. She gritted her teeth and fought off the pain and we made it down at about 12:30, just in time to rush home shower and head to my sisters house for a labor day bbq. The rest of the day was spent lounging by the pool and eating lots of food. A perfect Labor Day indeed!

Lone Peak Aug 28

Amy, Josh and I took off Friday night about 6:00 for Lone Peak. We decided it would be fun to pack in and camp and then do the ascent the next morning. Our plan was to get up Jacobs Ladder to the top off the ridge and find a place to camp there in the meadow. It actually turned out just perfect. It took us 2.5-3 hours to get up the horrendously steep section. Jacobs Ladder just seems to go an go and never end. When your wearing a pack those steep steep sections hurt that much worse. Josh and Amy did awesome. Amy was our pacer and Josh and I just tried to keep up. We finally made it and quickly found a nice little spot in the trees to camp. We quickly set up camp and fixed ourselves some freeze dried stroganoff which tasted heavenly. We got a little fire going with the help of some pine gum and sat there for a few minutes and enjoyed the moment. It was peaceful and quiet. We could see the lights of the city...Utah county on one side and Salt Lake county on the other. It was nice to be away from all the hustle and bustle. We were all quite tired so we retired to bed and tried to get some sleep. Josh quickly crashed but Amy and I had trouble sleeping. I think the older you get the harder it is to sleep unless everything is just perfect. The ground was a bit hard and I didn't bring my down pillow up so I didn't sleep the greatest. I did get some good sleep from about 5:30 to 7:00. I had some really strange dreams at that time which I remember quite vividly. I dreamed I was mad because I woke up and found us in a condo instead of our tent in the woods. I also dreamed that the new tent we had just bought came with a tv mounted at the top. I was also mad about this because I just needed and wanted to get away from civilization and here I found myself in a condo and with a TV! Anyway, we arose and quickly got ourselves ready to head out for the summit. We had planned oatmeal for breakfast but we were nearly out of water and I wasn't 100% sure we would run into water on the way up. We had a bar or two and promised Josh we would have the oatmeal for lunch on our way back down if we found water. Josh loves oatmeal. I hadn't really had any water the night before and I was starting to feel a bit dehydrated. I was hoping that there was still some water running up there somewhere. This was my third time up this year and the previous times there was plenty of water...but this was late in the summer. Luckily about 30 minutes into our hike we found a small trickle and a tiny pond had formed. I whipped out the filter and we drank to our hearts content and filled our camel backs up and off we went feeling refreshed and energized. We pushed it to the top and arrived at the top at 10:00. So from where we camped to the summit took us about 2.5 hours. The last section, right before the summit there are some fairly exposed parts and Josh struggled a bit through that. I think Amy and I were a bit nervous as well, but he did great and conquered his fear. We hung out on the top for probably about half an hour. We met some nice people up there. One of them happened to be the legendary trail runner, Davy Crocket. He has completed multiple 100 mile runs and has done Timp something like 60 times. He is also famous for his five consecutive summits of Timp. I had read about him an it was nice to meet him and talk with him. I told him I was an ultra-marathon wanabee. Maybe someday I will attempt a 100, but its hard to comprehend right now. The way down was fairly uneventful. We got down to our tents quickly, took down camp and made Josh his oatmeal. We loaded up the packs and off we went back down that horrendously steep Jacobs Ladder. We pushed down it and I was really surprised how good Amy did. This was the section I knew would give her trouble because it is such a steep downhill and the downhill is what troubles her knees. With the aid of a few IB's she did awesome. In fact Josh and I had trouble keeping up with her. On the last half mile the car finally was within sight and Josh took off running. He passed several other hikers that had passed us earlier and beat Amy and I down by a few minutes. He's quite a kid and I think he had a good time. I just hope I don't burn him out at such a young age. My hope is that he will develop a love for the mountains like Amy and I have. Overall it was an awesome trip. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is up for a serious weekend adventure!

Timp July 31-1

Climbed Timp with the scouts. Overall a good trip. best part for me was that my boy Josh came with us and he did awesome. Not one complaint the whole time. He did better than a lot of the scouts. There were 13 boys and 7 adults and we all made it to the top. I think the boys were pretty beat by the end of the day but they made it.

Lone Peak July 10, 2009

Climbed Lone Peak with Bishop Moffat, Nate Stubbs and Jason Briggs. This time I brought my GPS watch so it was a much smoother ride down. I didn't get lost and it was nice to not have to bushwhack. Very enjoyable hike with some good company. I usually like to solo, but it was nice to have some company. We took it nice and easy this time and it was a nice change to my usual frantic pace when I am alone. I think we left at 6:30ish and were back at 5ish. I was glad I was able to provide some support to the three others. I had a water filter which came in handy as well as the GPS. We got everyone to the top after a bit of guided stepping in the exposed part. Overall a great day in an incredibly beautiful place.

Lone Peak June 19, 2009

Conquered Lone peak for the first time. Unbelievable experience that gave me a rush that is hard to describe. I woke up at 5:00 and headed out solo which Amy isn't extremely fond of but it is something I love to do. Everything was smooth on the way up except for the icy snow. It had frozen the night before and I could not dig my feet in. Luckily I had brought my crampons which were invaluable on this hike. I put them on early as there was still quite a bit of snow. I was actually surprised at how much snow was still on the mountain. The final 100 yards on the ridge line were intense. I never felt like I was in extreme danger or I would have turned back. I did realize if I slipped I would have gone off a cliff. The snow was solid and my footing was extremely solid with the crampons...so I kept going. I summited at 8:08. I spent a few minutes on top but was anxious to get off the summit and the exposed ridge. I went slow off the top taking not just baby steps but half baby steps in one particular scary spot. Made it off the ridge without incident and continued the descent. Everything was good until I got off the trail, or I should say lost the cairns marking the trail. I got to low on the mountain and ended up bush whacking my way back until I hooked up with the Jacobs Ladder trail near the bottom. That wasn't a fun experience and it probably cost me an hour or more. I made it back by 11:00. 12 miles, 5500 ft ascent. Great way to spend a morning!