Thirteen Attempt 14er Mount Belford, Six Summit

True Adventures headed to Colorado for a long weekend, Thursday through Monday in mid October 2009.  I took fourteen people from True Adventures out with me.  We met at church the weekend before and I asked how many had experience with mountaineering or winter camping.  Right around zero people raised their hands.  So we were off on a crash course on winter camping and the mountains and altitude!  I taught them as much as I could that day and over a series of emails during the ensuing week.  People were able to either purchase what they needed or rent it from REI or borrow from friends.  I love the first part of a trip – buying gear and packing is half the fun.  We all flew into Denver and managed to get cars and all meet up in Leadville where we spent the night at the Alps motel, quite clean and reasonably priced.  The next morning we woke up and distributed food – all $270 worth from Costco!  We had plenty.  Off to the trailhead for the Missouri basin route up Mounts Missouri, Belford, and Oxford. 

On the trail up into Missouri Basin

We hiked up the very steep first section of the trail about two hours, the girls leading the charge to our campsite where we took a break and set up camp near an old dilapidated log cabin around noon.  After a lunch of pb&j’s on pita we all packed up our daypacks and headed further up the valley, quickly getting above treeline and into a stunning valley with a fresh blanket of pristine white snow.  Our group split into smaller groups naturally as those who walked at a similar pace grouped together.  Gradually folks started turning back and my group was six, then four, then finally just two of us high on a mountain ridge,

Almost there!

going for the summit of Mount Missouri with a quickly dropping sun, Katy’s wet feet, and with about an hour to go and a tired me, not sure of the trail as we were going to descend a different route, I called it off and down we went, trying some glissading and having a very pleasant stroll back to camp, arriving just before sundown to a yummy pasta and beef frank dinner and a roaring fire.  One important note – the wind was gusting to forty miles an hour at least – so our raging fire would periodically be blown to bits, only to be enormous when the wind died down, then with each new gust shot embers deep into the snow covered woods.  All night the wind gusted like that, making for quite an exciting evening for most of us, and fitful.  Tents are very noisy from inside in the wind.  Fortunately all held together excepting one that had only our food in it.  The next morning four girls headed down immediately to the cars – availing themselves of wine and cheese and crackers at a cabin they rented for us at the Mount Princeton Hot Springs.  A quote I remember was “This is the Colorado I had in mind!”  All very good-natured.

The remaining nine of us headed through the still-roaring wind up the valley and hung a left to ascend the west flank of Mount Belford.  Through brutal winds so bad we were often forced to stop and turn away from the gusts as snow and dirt pelted us, we continued to ascend, hour after hour, plodding more and more slowly the higher we climbed and the thinner the air became.  We enjoyed a glorious bright blue sky and plenty of sunshine.  After only one small false summit we were there!  Six of us victorious, a successful expedition!

Mt Belford Missouri Basin Trail

 

 

Tom and Pete at the summit

Then we headed down, several more hours on our feet to camp.  We filled up our water bottles in the nearby stream as we were parched and straggled back into camp.  Down came the tents and into the packs went the food and gear, and off down the trail we went as a team.  A couple more hours of slow walking and we were down at the cars, glorious to be back to civilization.  We headed off to join the others at the hot springs, where we relaxed in the pools and the river and enjoyed a nice meal together.    One amazing thing happened on the drive – it was in the low sixties in the high country, and as we descended towards Denver, the temperature dropped thirty degrees in forty-five minutes!  We had lunch at the delicious mexican Morrison Inn in Morrsison, then checked out Red Rocks Amphitheater, and then to Boulder and REI and the airport.  Spectacular trip and the feedback everybody had a great time.

True Crew at the Hot Springs

Things to do in Denver if you’re alive

Lots to do in Colorado in early March.  It gets quite warm and sunny in Denver, and the snow is often the best up in the mountains.  See below for some ideas:

Ski the steeps at Snowmass with your brother-in-law and the brother of your brother-in-law (did I say that right?). 

Scott and Mark Baby about to go big

Watch Big Air Friday at Snowmass from the best Apres Ski bar in Snowmass, the Cirque

Big Air Friday from the Cirque bar

Go Rock climbing in Morrison Colorado, outside Denver. 

Bouldering

Do some backcountry skiing into Francie’s Cabin near Breckenridge

Francie's Hut in the backcountry outside Breckenridge, Colorado

Go mountain biking at Matthews/Winters Park near Denver 

Mountain biking Matthew/Winter Park with my friend Pete who lives out there now - lucky bastard

Apres Ski with a ski bunny or two

Apres Ski in Snowmass

Take your little nieces sledding 

sledding with my amazing nieces

Take your nieces sledding at the Snowmass Club

Ski Breckenridge 

Skiing Breck with Ryan Weaver, in from Chicago for the weekend

Ski Arapahoe Basin

A-Basin

Snowboard Loveland Pass and hitchike back to the top of the pass.

Hitchiking up Loveland Pass after an embarassing attempt at snowboarding

Stay and visit with old friends in Denver and eat a yummy meal

At the Reichardt's from grad school at DU - maybe not the best pic...

Hang out at the Hotsprings pool in Glenwood Springs

Hanging out at the Glenwood Springs pool, late February

Eat lunch up on the mountain and watch people compete in skiing off cliffs freestyle at Snowmass

Snowmass Freestyle cliff jumping competition from Gwyn's

Go to the greatest mountaineering store ever, Neptune Mountaineering, in Boulder, check out their museum and talk about famous climbers with the famous staff and owner Gary Neptune.

Incredible Ice Axe selection at Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder

Party and grill out with thirty  new friends at the amazing Blue Sky Basin at Vail, gorgeous view of several 14ers including Mount of the Holy Cross and Mt Elbert.

View from Blue Sky basin in mid March, 2009, lots of folks grilling and enjoying

Go bouldering in Morrison, Colorado.

Bouldering

Stay with some old friends in Boulder that have become quite a bit more successful than when you knew them a few years back!

The super fun and terrific Teegarden family from Boulder!

Take your girlfriend snowshoeing in the backcountry after spending the night in a backcountry cabin

Backcountry snowshoeing and telemark skiing

First day, hiking in to the cabin

Road Trip! Chicago to Colorado for 2.5 weeks :)

Heading west tomorrow!  Packing up my Blazer with all my winter toys – snowshoes, alpine skis, telemark skis and skins, snowboard, hiking boots, sleeping pad and bag.  Lots of time to have fun in the mountains, gotta have the proper equipment.  It’s 1000 miles exactly from Chicago to Denver, about 15-16 hours.  I’ll leave in the afternoon, put down 6-10 hours, crash in the car or a cheap hotel, get up and drive to Aspen to meet the family and extended family for three fun days.   Then the following weekend a place in Frisco, stay with a buddy in Vail a few nights, maybe do Couchsurfing.com for a few nights, maybe spend a night in a backcountry hut, see some friends in Denver, other friends in Golden and the Bundy’s in Fort Collins, last weekend with Brinks’ and their in-laws in Vail, Lisa flys out to join me for a few days and drive back with me.  Looking forward to it.  See I have this season ski pass, I HAVE to get my money’s worth  

It’s pretty stressful to travel like this – lots of things to be done, work to worry about, all this stuff to pack.  It’s hard work to break out of the everyday momentum.  Was thinking about that today.   But so worth it – makes a life more exciting and interesting in my opinion.  And it gives me life – gets me fired up.  I really love the mountains.

Chicago to Denver road trip map

2008 What a Year in Adventure-ness

Reflecting on the adventurous aspects of 2008…  One of the best ever for me second only to 2000 when I travelled the world for 6.5 months.  This year I was so fortunate.  Five foreign countries, two new mountains climbed, fourth Chicago to Mackinac sailing race, surfing, skiing…  I must list all the adventures and trips I was lucky enough to participate in this past year, and be so grateful for the opportunities I was blessed with.

1. Elwha Trail hike in the Olympic Mountains West of Seattle with four good buddies.
2. The 100th running of the Chicago to Mackinac Sailing race, on a J120 named Valkyrie, placed well in our class, finished in around 55 hours.
3. Cruised the North Channel of Lake Huron on a 38 foot Ericson sailboat owned by my parents with a highlight being Topaz lake.
4. Nantucket Massachusetts for several days with my oldest friend Spencer and his family, driving on the beach, catching bluefish from the shore, enjoying old friends, meeting my namesake, Cormac Thomas Carney
5. Upstate New York at my girlfriend’s grandparents’ “camp”, waterskiing, kayaking, mountain biking, swimming.
6. Climbing the highest point in New York State, Mt Marcy, ticking off the 12th state high point on my quest to do all 50 of them.
7. Jamaica for work, Kingston.
8. Cayman Islands to visit my cousin Megan for a few days.
9. Jazzfest in New Orleans for a bachelor party
10. Numerous mountain biking excursions around Chicago
11. Numerous sailing parties on my boat, a 28 foot Ericson christened the Imjatse after a Nepalese mountain I climbed.
12. Rock climbing in Red River gorge, Kentucky
13. Rock climbing at Mississppi Palisades twice
14. Summiting Mt Belford, a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado, then sleeping in a bivy sack on its flanks overnight in about 15 degrees.
15. Pilgrimage to the original Chipotle in Denver
16. 35 person white water rafting trip sponsored by the adventure ministry I run at church, running class III and IV rapids.
17. Kayaking the Vermilion River in very high, fast water.
18. Costa Rica!  Staying at my friend’s resort, surfing, jungle hikes, four-wheeling.
19. Talon’s Challenge at Vail, skiing thirteen black and double black runs in a single day with a reward of a free beer and a free hat.
20. Skiing at Aspen with the family
21. Moving my friend’s sailboat 200 miles down the intracoastal waterway from Norfolk to Beaufort NC, just my father and I.
22. Two winter attempts of Mt Humphries, the tallest mountain in Arizona, each a failure, but getting closer and I lived to climb another day.
23. Thanksgiving in Boston
24. Ten person caving trip that I led through Buckner’s cave in Southern Indiana.
25. Ski trip to Wausau Wisconsin and Granite Peak Resort.
26. Raced the Cohasset Triathlon
27. 40+ person sea kayaking trip led by my group

What a wonderful year, with lots of love and great relationships started, nourished, and deepened during all these adventures and trips. 

I have to give a lot of credit for this year to Tim  Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Workweek for his writings and inspiration to live like this – thanks much Tim and all the best to everybody in 2009.  I always wanted to live like this but never knew anybody who did – I didn’t think it was really possible until I read Tim’s stuff and embarked upon the adventure.  Inspirational.  This year has been the best to date for my business, relationships, and adventures and experiences.  I hope for an even better 2009 and hope for the same for everybody.  I have to copy some of Tim’s stuff from a mentor of his here  – good food for thought:

“While many are wringing their hands, I recall the 1970s when we were suffering from an oil shock causing long lines at gas stations, rationing, and 55 MPH speed limits on Federal highways, a recession, very little venture capital ($50 million per year into VC firms), and, what President Jimmy Carter (wearing a sweater while addressing the Nation on TV because he had turned down the heat in the White House) called a “malaise”. It was during those times that two kids without any real college education, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, started companies that did pretty well. Opportunities abound in bad times as well as good times. In fact, the opportunities are often greater when the conventional wisdom is that everything is going into the toilet.

Well…we’re nearing the end of another great year, and, despite what we read about the outlook for 2009, we can look forward to a New Year filled with opportunities as well as stimulating challenges.”

Pilgrimage to the Original Chipotle

I went to the original Chipotle in Denver last weekend.  Chipotle is one of my very favorite restaurants.  I’ve been know to eat back to back lunch and dinner there.  Love it.  I started going when I was in grad school at the University of Denver in 1995.  It’s very close to campus, so we’d go often.  It’s a very tiny, restaurant – with the same decor as all the new ones across the country.  In 1995 there was only the one, now there are obviously many more, great success story.  When I ordered I told them we had come from Chicago and were so excited to be there.  They were very cool to us, telling us if we waited around they might be able to give us a tour. How cool is that?  And we got t-shirts that say “I made the pilgamage to Evans” on the back and a little piture of it on the front.  So cool.  I was so pumped.  Apparently almost every day people make the pilgrimage.  Well worth it!

The original Chipotle!

In the basement of the original Chipotle in Denver

 Good times!

The original Chipotle in Denver on Evans Street

Aspen snow was DEEP

Best snow year since ‘83-’84?  Some say since the resort opened?  Skiing was terrific.  Great conditions.  Tons of fun.  Flew in direct to Aspen for $299, somehow got randomly upgraded to first class, can’t complain about that.  Got in Friday morning, Mom picked me up and was eating lunch at Gwyn’s on the mountain at noon – after waking up in Chicago at 6… how cool is that?  Beats flying into Denver and driving 2 hours or so to the slopes.  Also skiied a full day Monday and was home in bed by 11.  So four days of skiing in… four days!  Good deal.  Family was great, stayed at the Snowmass club in a beautiful 4 bedroom condo.  My little nieces were there and so much fun, and my sis’ in-laws who are terrific people.  We go out every year, both families.  I love the mountains.  Something spiritual, relaxing about them that really does me good.  Aspen in my opinion is very laid-back despite all the money – it’s like people have so much money they don’t need to flaunt it or something.  Vail is the opposite, I feel like it’s nouveau-riche who are showy and feel like they need to prove something with their wealth, I don’t think I’m the only one who has noticed the difference.  I’ve thought it for years, and again these last few weeks noticed again.

Scott and I skiing Snowmass

Scott and Michelle apres ski

Skiing at Snowmass

How’s yer Aspen

Heading to Aspen tomorrow morning early to ski.  Managed to get a direct flight from Chicago for $299 last week, how great is that?  My family, sis, nieces, brother-in-law and all my sisters inlaws will be there.  All terrific people, great skiers, and fun.  Always a great time, we go every year.  Really looking forward to it.  My brother-in-law and his brothers like to hike/snowcat to the more serious terrain at Aspen Highlands, and I’m always games for that.  Aspen’s such a great town.  We’ll actually be staying in Snowmass, but I’m sure will be skiing all over and eating and hanging out in the city some.  Woody’s tavern I’m sure will be visited.  All good!  I should be in shape from the Talon’s Challenge a few weeks back but haven’t been to the gym much since – hopefully some has carried over.

 Check this video spoof out on mountaineering – these dudes are hard core…  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNXwMeI2iTk

Talons Challenge

Was in Vail last weekend.  Skiied the Talons Challenge – what a great time.  Thirteen black and double black runs in one day, 23,000 feet of vertical.  Was quite sore and slept really well that night.  Got a free beer, brat, hat and pin, plus got my name on a plaque for all eternity.  Did the event with two fraternity brothers.  We had a great time. 

My Talon's Challenge Card

I had my skis tuned the night before, and they actually de-tuned them, so they were like skiing on rounded edges, no purchase on ice whatsoever.  Made for some extra challenges.  I’ve been skiing since I was seven, lived in Colorado for five years, and raced on the ski team in high school, so can get around all right on the slopes.  Had a discussion on religion in the bar after, my good friend Paul is very liberal and a great debater, always have terrific discussions with him.  Stayed in my buddy Brinks’ (known as Stinks or stinky all through college-his wife isn’t too enamored with the nickname, however it is appropriate, especially at altitude) in-laws place in Edwards, several million dollar joint and wonderful people to stay with, warm friendly and generous.  The fellow Rich is 62 and did the Talons Challenge with us – actually faster than us as he did it with his buddy.  Amazing.  good to live in a ski town!  The event was cool – they had people at the bottom of the runs to punch your card around your neck after each run.  Also a tent with marathon-like snacks and gatorade, plus music pumping.  Was very cool, glad I got to go, have been talking about it for years.  Also was great to hang out with Stinky.  Gave him a new name, The Stink Machine, which in my opinion and his, is hilarious.  He pictures a machine with a giant crank that emits odor as you crank it, so he insists that when you call him that you make a big cranking motion. 

 I booked the flight on miles – and accidentally booked out of Rockford Illinois!  Whoops.  1.5 hours from chicago by car.  Actually less, an hour twenty - and free parking.  I got a spot 50 feet from the check-in.  I think I saved money over cab fare – and the blue line to Ohare from dontown is an hour, plus the walk to the check-in is forever and then to the gate is forever, draggin skis and a heavy bag – so I think it is actually a wash – with 5 gates total at Rockford international, I was seated and ready to board in one hour forty minutes after I left my home.  And had to carry my bags and skis just a short distance.  Very cool, I’d do it again.