Adam L. Reiner – Splitboarding, mountaineering, and lifestyle in the Colorado Rockies

I’ve now seen the changing of the seasons in this quiet mountain town. For many months, the locals have had the streets to themselves, allowing each and every person his own little breathing space, free of congestion or obstruction. But now the streets are beginning to crowd again. In the coffee shop this morning I saw a gray haired couple in matching Descente ski jackets. The commercial sector is bustling with delivery trucks, as the expanded retail staff sets up their merchandise for the upcoming season.

I have really enjoyed living and working in this unique town, which is a stark contrast to familiar metropolis living. I take time to read the local newspapers daily. Current events have been dominated by many intense political debates. Many have called increased attention to the integrity of the city council and the mayor (who some have accused of running an oppressive dictatorship). A major new developmental plan near the original ski lift (Lift 1) has been the talk of the town, as every citizen feels a right and responsibility to weigh in on the new concept of the historical area of town. Under the current plan, there will be a plethora of hotel and guest rentals, an apres’ style pub, and a ski musem. It may well be the largest development ever concieved in Aspen.

Others just want to say their piece about the traffic. The uniqeness of Aspen is its unaccessability. There is only one way in and out of town in the winter time, where a four lane state highway suddenly funnels down into a series of city streets, taking multiple right and left turns as it meanders through town. The “dreaded commute” is of no worry to those who live in town. In fact, they are the true independents, who lead a simple life of work and play close to home. Although it has become monotonous, I still enjoy each ride on the 30 some miles each way through the valley, noting every mountain and river that I’ve passed hundreds of times before.

I wasn’t very excited for winter up until this week. I have really enjoyed this summer, full of fresh air activities and travelling. But I remember that winter isn’t exactly a time of seclusion and complacency. There are 6 long months of cold and darkness and snow to come, and I plan do to as much skiing, snowboarding, and climbing as humanely possible!

This post is a test of a live feed into Facebook.

Pyramid Peak 01, originally uploaded by Adam Reiner.

I took this shot coming into work this morning. This is Pyramid Peak, the only 14er visible from Highway 82 near Aspen. It is only October 7, but an early storm has dusted the entire mountain with snow.

IMG_0051, originally uploaded by Adam Reiner.

I took this photo back in the spring time, from the hill below my house. In the foreground, on the far right, is Mt. Sopris.  It is 12,953 feet tall and has a larger vertical rise of any mountain thousands of miles away from the Pacific Coast.  A climb of it is a classic mountaineering experience.  I have not done so.

Of to the left in the background is the knife-shaped ridge of Capitol Peak, named for its resemblance of the U.S. Capitol Building.  I climbed it in the summer of 2007.  To the left of Capitol is Mt. Daly.

Sopris can be seen prominently from all parts of the lower valley.  From the first turn out of Glenwood Springs, the mountain is in your full frame of vision.  The snow has melted by September, but soon some light precipitation will dust the upper heights.

Torrey’s Peak, 14,267′
Front Range, Rocky Mountains
Ascent via Standard Route
Descent via Northwest Face (Tuning Fork Couloir)

Its Friday already and while already in the middle of planning tomorrow’s outing, I’ve realized I forgot to finish off the Memorial Weekend blog with Torrey’s Peak Northwest Face. This is a line that I’ve driven past on I-70 with a veteran skier many times who feels it necessary to remind me EVERY time that he has skied it. It is large, wide, and long, with an easy approach, so I found it perfect to finish the weekend with.

Early Memorial Day morning, Old Style and I sped off under the rising sun and arrived at Steven’s Gulch Trailhead around 7am. We were planning to do a complete loop from the Trailhead, up Torrey’s Peak via the Standard class 2 route, down the Northwest Face, and hike out Grizzly Gulch. To top things off, the recommended car shuttle from Grizzly Gulch back up to Steven’s Gulch (and our vehicle) would be achieved using convienently stashed mountain bikes.

Your Narrator…it was sunny all morning!

Going up the standard route provided many interesting encounters with a wide range of outdoor explorers. Up on Kelso Mountain we saw two skiers traveling the ridge. Four mountaineers were visible inside Dead Dog Couloir, all safely spaced 200 feet apart. Even the standard route had a few gapers with blue jeans and the always stylish shorts-with-gaitors setup.

Brian (nice tights!)

At 9am we saw four mountaineers in Dead Dog. It alreadly looked crowded so I was very glad that this wasn’t our intended line

We were able to hike the first 1/2 mile on dry land with lightweight shoes, but by the time we reached continous snow it had already started to softed, so we skinned it across the flat part of the trail. Once the uphill part of the trail started, it had been bootpacked enough that I was able to hike it all with snowboard boots. My partner remained on skins the entire time. Although we had taked different approaches up the mountain, I didn’t notice any difference in our pace.

It had been sunny all day until about 10:30am. By the time we reached the saddle between Grays and Torreys, the clouds had gathered and were looking very strong. We hauled ass up the remaining 800 feet, stopping only briefly to talk to the Dead Dog mountaineers who were on their way down the standard route.

By 11am it was snowing at the top of the mountain as we switched over into our ski gear. At this point we had no idea if the morning sun had cooked the Northwest face enough to make for comfortable skiing, but since we had no idea how long it would take for the clouds to disappear and the sun to return, we decided to play it safe by heading down right away.

Looking up at the summit from farther down the West Ridge

This was a fun experience because it was the first trip where I played the role of leader. I had gathered all the beta on the route, and now it was up to me to find the start of our line. The upper terrain for the first 50 yards skier’s left (from the summit) was a boneyard. I walked another 50 yards until I found what I thought to be the best possible start. We would have to ski through a tight section about 10 feet wide, and then we would be out on the huge open face for the rest of the run.

At the top of our line

I dropped in first when I had a small break of light through the clouds. Old Style followed, and we exchanged leads a few times during the whole run. The upper section was pretty harsh. While the sun had melted out the snow during the early morning hours, the small storm that hit us earlier on the ascent had done some chemistry on the snow, and the surface was turned back into a choppy and crusty layer.

However, near the middle of the run we encountered nice corn, and the remaining 1500 foot drop was a blast. It was fun to carve nice wide turns into the side of the mountain after my recent experiences in tight steep couloirs.

Much better

Damn I wonder if this guy is sponsored?

Probably the only pic with decent exposure

Looking back up at the couloir. From this point the snowfield was full and continous, and we ripped it with style.

The hike out of Grizzly Gulch was less than ideal. It is that time of year where the approaches aren’t totally melted out, but aren’t totally full of snow (for an ideal skin-out). We had changed back into out hiking shoes, but had to posthole through snow drifts and cross the river 3 times. Finally, after an hour of hiking, we spotted the mountain bikes! We stashed the gear and hopped on the bikes. Two more miles of a steep and exhilarating ride, and we were back at the truck.

Our descent line in red

In a matter of 6 hours, we had completely circumnavigated Kelso Mountain…via the summit of Torrey’s Peak!