Jeep Mileage: 272 700 km
After our late arrival in Colorado Springs, I met Steve Curry and Mike Mays for the first time in person and we talked for a bit then headed for bed. Steve and Aya live in Japan and are good friends with Rose. Steve is very much into Mountaineering and has been learning everything he knows from Mike Mays, who lives in Colorado Springs, they were there for a week to visit so Steve could get some climbing in with Mays in preparation for their trip to Peru’s Huascarán (22,205ft or 6768m) in June. I saw it as a chance to climb with a very experienced mountaineer and learn a bunch of new things, while still physically and mentally challenging myself. Rose was eager to catch up with her friend Aya.
Friday we woke up and began preparation for climbing Mt. Elbert, in Colorado. Mt. Elbert at 14440 ft, is Colorado's highest mountain and the 2nd tallest in the lower 48 states. Aya and Rose took the Jeep and headed for sand Dunes National Monument and some natural hot springs. Mays, Steve and I headed for the base of Elbert where we met with Steve’s brother Mike. The 4 of us setup camp, and spent the evening making dinner and talking mountain talk.
Saturday morning we were up at 5AM so we could start our climb at 7AM. Since many of the roads are not cleared in winter we had to walk an extra 2 miles along a snowy path. In total the climb would be 11.2 miles (18km), and 4880ft (1487m) from base to summit. We started on snowshoes and then once clear of the tree line and the snowfield we switched to crampons. The wind continued to pickup throughout the day, by the time we summited after 7 hrs of climbing the wind was blowing at 60 mph. Mays, Steve and I were all super happy, as it was Steve and my highpoint in our climbing career. Since no mountains in Colorado are glaciated and the route was not very steep or technical we remained unroped. After a few photos on the summit we quickly headed back down the way we came. Another 4 hrs later we were back at base camp. We headed into town for some dinner, which tasted awesome after such a long day (although I think cardboard would have tasted awesome at that point). We then headed back to camp and quickly fell asleep.
More on Mt. Elbert's south route: Mt. Elbert South Route
Sunday morning we packed up camp, and headed into town for breakfast, on the way back to Mays’s place we stopped for a quick hike up to Agnes Vaille falls. Steve and his brother headed back to Golden Colorado, where his brother lives. After returning to Mays’s place in Colorado springs I cleaned up my gear and repacked it. Rose and Aya then showed up and the 4 of us headed to Garden of the Gods, then dinner in Manitou Springs. Garden of the Gods is a beautiful park with tons of rock formations and it’s great for hiking, biking, and rock climbing. We had a great weekend, and spent the evening exchanging stories.
see the photo album: FTF Day 25-27
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