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Tag: snowmass mountain

The Elk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia LakeElk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia Lake

The Elk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia Lake

Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness | Saturday & Sunday, July 27-28, 2024

Last year Diane and I had a permit and planned to spend a weekend camping at Geneva Lake in the Maroon Bells – Snowmass Wilderness, but after we had driven most of the way to the trailhead we were turned around by a very slick and muddy road and the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend wasn’t looking too good, so we decided to call it a weekend and headed back home instead. I decided to give the same trip a try this summer and grabbed another camping permit for Geneva Lake, but this time Diane was out of town so I invited my friend Jackson to come along with me. I picked up Jackson early on Saturday morning and we drove around the Grand Mesa, over McClure Pass and then followed the Crystal River up to the trailhead in Lead King Basin where we shouldered our packs and started hiking up the trail to Geneva Lake.

CONTINUE READINGThe Elk Mountains: Geneva Lake to Siberia Lake
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Red Table Mountain: Crooked Creek to Mount ThomasRed Table Mountain: Crooked Creek to Mount Thomas

Red Table Mountain: Crooked Creek to Mount Thomas

Around the Red Table: Crooked Creek Pass & Cottonwood Pass
Friday – Sunday, September 15-17, 2023

This weekend I headed out to the very northern end of the Sawatch Range so I could drive around and explore Red Table Mountain, which is located just west of the Holy Cross Wilderness between Gypsum, Eagle and Thomasville. I left from work on Friday afternoon, stopped in Rifle for gas and a bite to eat, and then continued on through the Roaring Fork Valley to Basalt where I turned off and followed the Fryingpan River to Lime Creek. Although I had driven through a couple heavy rain storms along the way, I found the beginning of the Crooked Creek Pass Road to be in good condition when wet, but that quickly changed as I drove higher and found some very slick conditions. After sliding off the road into the ditch twice, and thankfully not off the other side of the road, I found a small level spot to pull over and spend the night at. I had had enough of the slick and slippery road and felt it was too sketchy to continue driving up to the pass or turning around and heading down, so I was hoping that the road would dry out a bit overnight.

CONTINUE READINGRed Table Mountain: Crooked Creek to Mount Thomas
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The Edge of the Elks: Marble In the MiddleThe Edge of the Elks: Marble In the Middle

The Edge of the Elks: Marble In the Middle

Friday – Sunday, August 6-8, 2021

I spent most of Friday in Redstone, Colorado attending the GIS Colorado Summer Meeting at the Redstone Inn along the Crystal River, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for me to stick around the area for the rest of the weekend. I haven’t spent any time in the Elk Mountains since our visit to the Conundrum Hot Springs last summer so I was looking forward to hiking among these rugged peaks again, even if the smoke was predicted to be bad over the weekend. When the meeting ended in the early afternoon I hopped into my Jeep and headed over to area surrounding Marble so I could try to get in a short hike before sunset.

CONTINUE READINGThe Edge of the Elks: Marble In the Middle
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A Taste of Autumn in the West ElksA Taste of Autumn in the West Elks

A Taste of Autumn in the West Elks

Fall Colors 2018 | Friday & Saturday, September 28-29, 2018

Aside from a quick unplanned evening on the Grand Mesa almost two weeks ago, my schedule at the end of September and early October didn’t really leave me much time for a proper Fall Colors weekend photography trip since I had a must-attend concert in Salt Lake City on Sunday evening and a river trip through Labyrinth Canyon the weekend before. Even with all the preparations for an upcoming week-long adventure into Utah I did manage to get out for a quick overnight trip to the West Elk Mountains after work on Friday. I just hoped that there was some color around for me to photograph during this narrow window of time in the mountains!

CONTINUE READINGA Taste of Autumn in the West Elks
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Castle & Conundrum PeaksCastle & Conundrum

Castle & Conundrum Peaks

Friday & Saturday, August 14-15, 2015

I had originally planned to climb Castle and Conundrum Peaks last Sunday, but after getting a taste of altitude sickness for the first time on Saturday evening I had to cancel those plans and head home. Hoping that it was a one time thing, I decided to go back again this weekend and try again. I left after work on Friday afternoon and drove right to the trailhead with only one quick stop at Grind in Glenwood Springs for dinner. I wanted to camp lower on the Pearl Pass Road this time to try and prevent any issues with altitude sickness but found that all the designated sites were already taken when I drove by around 6:30pm. I kept driving up into Montezuma Basin hoping to find someplace lower to camp, but everything I passed was already occupied, even the spot I had setup camp at last weekend. Finally, I found a nice flat spot just below the Montezuma Mine at 12,300 and setup camp for the night. It was higher than I wanted to camp this time, but I really didn’t have any other options.

CONTINUE READINGCastle & Conundrum Peaks
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