I'm writing this trip report just hours after we got back - I find that the memory of the details fades quickly. To begin, I did not sleep well at all last night. Normally I get to bed between 10 and 11, read a few pages in my latest book, and drop off shortly. Last night I had a glass of green sun tea just for something to drink, and I just couldn't sleep at all. I don't know if it was the caffeine in the tea or just Santa Claus Syndrome, knowing we were climbing the next morning...

Jake is crashed on the couch, Donna is at a friend's birthday party, having recovered from altitude sickness after ibuprofen and a nap. I hope David and Robin made it to Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs, since that was our motivation for this hike.

We met at around 7:30 just off the Bakerville exit of I-70. Since I had heard the road was rougher than the last time I drove it, I brought "Clifford" the Big Red Truck. Poor Clifford has a noisy 3rd gear and can only do about 45-50 up the big I-70 hills, but has tons of ground clearance, snow tires, and a granny gear. David and Robin had a Honda Civic, and since we saw so many passenger cars go up the road while waiting for them, we decided that they would drive up first and pull over if they didn't want to continue, and we would pile into the truck. We drove up the road, and bounced around violently due to Clifford's stiff suspension, but it was nice to be able to drive straight up the road and not worry about rocks and ruts.

Robin's car made it without incident, though they said they should have ditched it lower down and got in the truck. I was amazed at the number of vehicles lining the road - we pulled over and parked, wondering if it was really that packed farther up or if everyone just assumed there would be no space. Grays is a popular hike, being so close to Denver (took us just over an hour to get to Bakerville from Aurora), and that's the price you pay. We started on the trail at 8:00, after I set the altitude on my new Brunton Sherpa, my latest nifty toy. This instrument measures barometric pressure, altitude, wind speed, wind chill, temperature, barometric trends, and time. So far I have to give it a thumbs up.

We were planning to ascend Torreys Peak, but I was hoping to grab Grays as well. I had done Grays and Torreys by different routes on two separate occasions, but never did the combo. Donna had climbed Grays years ago, and David, Robin and Jake had done neither. We decided to climb the Grays Peak trail until the point where the Torreys trail splits off near the saddle, and decide what to do. It was mostly easy going up to that point, I was giving altitude and temperature reports along the way. It was a beautiful day: sunny, temps in the 60s-70s, and hardly any wind. Crowds of people all around. We could see climbers tackling the Kelso Ridge, one group with a dog, which I wouldn't recommend. A pair of snow climbers were making their way up the Dead Dog Couloir, which was well packed with snow. Crimson indian paintbrush, asters, small sunflowers, columbines, and numerous other flowers were all around - it was a peak time for wildflowers.

The Grays Peak trail passes close to the Lost Rat Couloir, as described in Roach's 2nd edition. David and I removed our packs and climbed the "Rascal" pinnacle which overlooks the couloir. Wow! A nice sheer drop from the pinnacle. Roach describes the scramble on the Rascal as class 4, but unless he meant from below, I would call it class 3. Donna had to hang onto Jake, as he wanted to climb with us, and I was concerned about him knocking rocks into the couloir.

Foto ©2000 by John C. Maki

We reached the split in the trail where the way to Torreys crosses a snowfield to reach the Grays-Torreys saddle, and had to make a decision. Donna had already done Grays, and didn't care if she did it again. Robin and David hadn't done Grays. Donna wanted to make sure she made Torreys, in case the weather got bad or she ran out of steam. Jake wanted to stay on the move. Robin and Donna decided to cut over to Torreys, and David, Jake and I would climb Grays then cut over to Torreys and meet them there. My altimeter said we had 550' to go to Grays summit, but it had not been calibrated since 12,100', and was off by a couple hundred feet. It took David and me about 20 minutes to reach the top, on an easy, switchbacking trail. There were crowds on top, including a couple guys in a tent.

After having a snack, taking care of the sores on my feet that still remained after Humboldt, and trying to make Jake behave himself and not mooch off strangers (who didn't seem to mind), we made our way down to the saddle. Climbing up Torreys was steep and not a lot of fun by then, but we made the traverse in about 45 minutes, and joined Donna and Robin. I had to check out the top of the Kelso Ridge, to review the route I had taken two years before. After 20 minutes or so, we made our way back down to the saddle.

                    
Fotos ©2000 by John C. Maki

We were planning to do a glissade, and were checking out possible routes. We put on nylon "death pants", coats and gloves, and found a nice slide route in the middle of the snowfield. I went first, since I had my ice axe and could maybe control my slide. After 50 feet I stopped and called back that it was okay, and Donna followed. Of course Jake was right there with me, sometimes ahead of me, sometimes behind, sometimes right on top of me. The slope steepened, and I picked a point to stop as I couldn't see the rest of the way down. Robin hadn't glissaded before and didn't like the lack of control, so she decided to hike down and meet us down the trail. We traversed over to the next snow slope, and resumed the ride. This one was great! I think we must have slid for about 5 minutes, which is quite a ways at that speed. The slope was a little less steep, but nice and long, and we made great time. We found another shallow slope and slid some more, then made our way to the trail. I think we slid down almost 1000' of vertical - that made it worth the climb, and worth dragging some extra gear along. I am now hooked and can't wait to try some snow climbing next spring, as long as I get to slide!

We removed our gear and waited for Robin. Donna had been feeling some altitude sickness, and it was coming on strong at that point. Not fun. The only thing you can really do is get down to a lower altitude, and we still had 1500' to descend. I feel VERY lucky that I've never had altitude sickness, and just don't seem to be prone to it. I've felt lightheaded, weak, out of breath, and had my heart pound so loud I swear I could hear it, but I've never gotten sick. Donna told me she couldn't even describe how bad it was.

While we waited for Robin we watched the skier we passed on the way down from Torreys as he skiied the Dead Dog Couloir. Wow! Dawson rates this descent extreme, and points out the "climb before you ski" rule, which this guy didn't follow. He seemed to know what he was doing. I'd love to ski a 14er, but I'd have to limit myself to intermediate terrain, and I'd really like to get some lightweight AT ski gear. The thought of lugging my heavy old downhill skis and boots up a 14er makes me cringe.

That's about it - we made our way back down to the truck, bounced back down to the Bakerville exit, and went home. I was pretty tired after the drive, and I remembered that I didn't get much sleep the night before. Donna and I took ibuprofen, and we all took a nap. Donna woke up feeling fine, and decided to go to Amy's birthday party. What a trooper! I stayed in bed for a while, then took a shower, got some food and beer, and here I am.

I found out yesterday that I get a 4-day weekend for the 4th of July - next weekend. I've been trying to figure out what to do, but most of my plans involve climbing in the San Juans. I was planning to take Jake, which limits me to 2nd class or lower climbs. The plan yesterday was to do Redcloud and Sunshine, and Handies the next day. Now I'm feeling that I want to do a 3rd class climb, which means I can't take Jake. I don't really feel like a long backpack or hike, but want to do some climbing. My feet are pretty beat up, and I don't know how well they'll heal by next weekend. If I do the 3rd class climb, there's Wetterhorn, Sneffels via the southwest ridge, or maybe even Wilson Peak. Trailhead access is a concern - I really don't want to drive Clifford most of the way across the state just to climb a little rough road. I can't wait to get my Jeep! Oh well, I'll figure it out - stay tuned...