Mount Grandeur Sept 23

Did a quick hike up to Grandeur. Grandeur is the smaller peak north of Mt Olympus. It is a 7 mile round trip. Nice hike with about 2300 in elevation gain. It's a bit of a grind but nothing like Olympus. Got up and down in 90 minutes. Nice morning!

Pfeifferhorn Again...Sept 25,10

Hit the Pfeiff again! That's twice in a couple of weeks. This time I took the scouts up to Red Pine. It was a hard climb in to the lake with packs. We got there in the dark and ate dinner and promptly hit the sack at about 10:00. I had in my mind that I may try and hit the summit the next day but wasn't sure I could pull it off because I didn't think the boys wanted to go up. About 4:30 in the morning I couldn't sleep and I heard Josh rolling around as well. I asked Josh if he was awake and he said he was. I then asked him if he wanted to get up and hit Pfeifferhorn. His eyes lit up and he jumped out of his warm sleeping bag and quickly got dressed. I can't believe how that boy loves to climb. I whispered into the other tents seeing if I could get any other recruits and the only one I could stir was Ted Broman. He said he wanted to go so the three of us headed out. It was a great morning and there were two Dads left with the boys so we knew they would be fine. We pushed up and summited about 10 minutes after sunrise. It was a beautiful morning. Josh did great as usual. He is quite the climber for a nine year old. He just pushes and pushes with no complaining. I wouldn't be surprised if he reaches his goal of Everest one day. We returned to camp about 8:45, had breakfast, packed up and headed down the mountain. Another great camp...great to get to another peak with my boy. I think it is quite the accomplishment to have climbed Lone peak twice, Timp, and Pfeifferhorn by 9 yrs old. I hope to have many more with him. There is nothing quite like the bond I feel with Josh when we are climbing together.

Pfeifferhorn

I have wanted to get up Pfeifferhorn for a long time and wouldn't you know but in the last three weeks I got up there twice! What an awesome climb and an incredible view. The first time I attempted to do it I went with Joe Mcelaney. We left early one morning on a dawn patrol. It was dark and we got on the White Pine trail instead of the Red Pine trail. Dumb mistake considering I've been up there many times but it had been a few years. So the next week Matt Wilburn and I got up real early. 3:30 AM we left the house. On the trail at 4:15...this time we hit Red Pine trail on up to the lake and in the dark to the ridge line. Just as the sun was rising we summited. Back to the car by 10ish and to the office after a nap by 12:00. Great way to start a Friday and a great time with a good friend, Matt.

Timp mid Aug, 2010

Summited Timp with Amy, Jill and John. Great day spent on Johns Birthday. Left at 5ish and we pushed it hard up...it got extremely cold from the saddle to the top. Winds picked up and we about froze as we weren't completely prepared. Nice day!

Lone Peak 7-10-10

Did Lone Peak again on July 10. Amy, Josh and I were joined by some great neighbors. John and Dawn, Andrew Parker, Joe, Matt, Tom. None of them had been to the top so it was nice to get them all up and let them experience it. Overall a beautiful day. I heard there was going to be afternoon thunderstorms and the last place I wanted to be was anywhere near the summit with lightning. We hit the top about 1ish and were off before the storms hit. We had a bit of rain but no lightning. Josh did awesome. He is quite the hiker. This is his second time on the top...pretty good for a nine year old. Amy knees held out pretty good as well. Overall a great day. Can't wait to go up again.

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...