Headwaters of the Arkansas River Nov 18, 2012  Sunday was a great day, light winds down low, some snow
up high and minimal snowpack, so I took my friends Chris Tomer and Jeff Morgan
out in the 10Mi /Mosquito Range for Mt. Arkansas’ NW ridge. About a month ago I climbed Arkansas from the East by circling the
peak. This time the goal was a more
direct line up the easy ridge, across a few fun crossings and onto a small
summit. We started at 6am and Jeff was a little carsick cause
he’s not used to riding in the back of a vehicle, so we got going in the trees
after he visited the pine porcelain gods.
Nevertheless, the Stars of Orion’s belt shone through the light cloud cover
and we made our way up through the dark forest, an easy jaunt through open
meadows and thick dry pine.  Light came
quickly and headlamps were soon off our heads and back in our packs.  By 630 we arrived at an old miners cabin remnant at
timberline and the challenge was looming.
The winds began to pick up once we began heading up the slope. Several hundred feet of steep soft snow
whetted our appetites for the summit, and the wind came from the southwest
sustained at a brisk 20-30mph.  Sunrise on the Clouds to the southwest, west, northwest
was a great sight and the two highest peaks in Colorado, Elbert and Massive
tried to stay hidden, but revealed themselves brilliantly. I can’t wait for more snow so I can go ski
off both of them again this year!  We ascended a mix of scree, larger rocks and grassy
slopes and came to a notch that was only a couple of hundred feet below the
summit. This notch was awesome because
it allowed us to sit out of the wind and take a short break before tackling the
final summit ridge.  The final ridge is narrow, but with plenty of room and an
occasional Class 3 Move. I had some fun at
one point and climbed up a short Class 5 pitch on some slippery iced over
rock….good stuff. Jeff followed and was
excited to hit the summit.  We arrived on the summit around 8am in the fog, and
exchanged high fives, was an excellent workout!  Enjoy the photos and video have a Happy Thanksgiving…..supposed to be a long
week of dry weather, so get out and enjoy the peaks and the lack of snow out
there since skiing isn’t so good just yet!
Join me at my Next Event, 730pm, Thursday Nov 29
at the Boulder
Bookstore on Pearl Street,
check my book tour schedule on this site for more details! Also, take advantage of
the Christmas Black Friday Deal. Buy
Sleeping on the Summits: Colorado
14er high Bivys and Get Free Shipping AND a FREE 2013 SOS Calendar. Click on “Order Sleeping on the Summits” to
get yours today!
http://www.jonkeverest.org/ORDER-SLEEPING-ON-THE-SUMMITS.html  Gobble Gobble! Jon |
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Categories2012 Travels and Book Events2013 14ers and Everest 2013 Skiing off Summits 14ers/13ers Colorado 14ers: High Bivys Project 2011 Everest 2012 Sleeping on the Summits II CA 14ers |
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