RRR

Telemark Skiing in the Park

Peter N. Jones — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:02:00 +0000

Telemark Skiing in the Park

With the lack of snow this year, most of the skiing has been taking place in the terrain park. WP has some great parks, and it has been a blast learning new tricks and spins. This is my first real season with any time in the park, and it has been killer. This video we shot on two quick runs through the park early one morning. Enjoy!

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The Lower C Boulders - New Problems

Peter N. Jones — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:23:00 +0000

The Lower C Boulders - New Problems

We put in one day at the Lower C Boulders prior to the snow coming in. The area needs a lot of cleaning and developing, but promises to have several nice problems and boulders. Plus, they are 15 minutes closer then the Middle or Upper C Boulders, which is really where most of the bouldering is to be had. However, they melt out faster because they are a little lower, so next spring they should see some development. Here is a shot from one of the problems.

Sticking the dyno...

Trail Running Jones Pass And The Continental Divide Trail

Peter N. Jones — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:08:00 +0000

Trail Running Jones Pass And The Continental Divide Trail

There are a lot of good loops that one can run in the mountains, such as the Ruby Creek loop. Right across the valley is the Jones Pass/Continental Divide Loop. Although the first 3.5 miles are on the Jones Pass 4x4 road, if you get an early start there will not be any traffic to worry about. Then, once you are on the Divide, the running becomes spectacular, with open views in all directions and not a person in sight. The loop is around 9+ miles and follows the Continental Divide trail from Jones Pass north over several minor 12,000 foot humps until turning east and dropping down to a saddle at the base of Vasquez Peak. From here, it turns south and skirts Vasquez Peak, until it drops you back down at the URAD Mine/Jones Pass/Butler Gulch parking area. An excellent high-altitude loop for trail running. We banged it out one day a couple weeks ago in under 2 hours. The fall colors were just at their peak.

Tara running along the Continental Divide trail

Colors!

Final Problems At The Titans

Peter N. Jones — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Final Problems At The Titans

The season is rapidly coming to a close at the Titans. Almost all of the projects from this season have gone down except two, which will have to wait until next year. Likewise, the development at the Lower Titans has been rapid, with over 30 problems established so far. The Upper Titans have only seen some minor exploration, with one boulder cleaned and developed. The Other Titans have only seen a little exploration, with no development. Here are some of the newest boulder problems.

A fun and committing V7 at the Lower Titans

An interesting, short, power problem ~V6

A V6 at the Upper Titans

The Watanga Boulders

Peter N. Jones — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:31:00 +0000

The Watanga Boulders

Totally untouched, ready for development. The lower Watanga Boulders. This boulder field goes up for 1,000 vertical feet, with boulders all along it. There are also more up higher in the basin.

The C Boulders

Peter N. Jones — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:25:00 +0000

The C Boulders

We recently found a new bouldering area in the high alpine. Here are a couple pictures...

Working the lower moves of the giant slab problem...

A good rail problem at V3

The lower C Boulders

The Middle C Boulders

Part of the Upper C Boulders

Speed Running Bottle Peak And Ptarmigan Peak

Peter N. Jones — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:11:00 +0000

Speed Running Bottle Peak And Ptarmigan Peak

Although Byers Peak dominates the view from the Fraser Valley, Bottle Peak and Ptarmigan Peak are two fun lesser peaks that are accessed via the same trailhead. The peaks see half the traffic that Byers does, and afford spectacular views of the Williams Fork area and Byers and Bills Peak basin. They can easily be tagged together, and if you are feeling up for the full loop, you can add Byers on and tag all three peaks in a single run (in fact, you can tag Bills too, but that requires more route finding skills). It took us 2 hours and 10 minutes roundtrip to tag both summits.

Cruzing up, with Byers and Bills Peak in the background

At the top of Ptarmigan Peak, looking east over Bottle Peak towards the Divide

Tara cruzing down...

The numbers for those who care....

Distance Roundtrip: ~7.6 miles roundtrip

Start Elevation: ~9,900 feet

High Point: ~11,650 feet

Total climbing and descending: ~3,650 feet

Difficulty: Medium

Other People Factor: Minimal

Time: 2 - 5 hours depending on how often you stop to enjoy the views.

Updates From The Titans

Peter N. Jones — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 04:03:00 +0000

Updates From The Titans

August has gone by fast, and I have not made any updates. Despite being gone to do fieldwork in Washington and Idaho for the last bit of July and beginning of August, plenty has happened back at home in the Colorado mountains. I'll be posting a couple updates here on the Titans, more trail running, and some new alpine bouldering we found, plus a new area for anyone willing to hike in and explore.

A fun V3 problem on the lower warm-up boulder

Another angle of the V3

Project - it is only V5, but the topout is slopey and very committing.... next time.

Speed Running Byers Peak In Grand County

Peter N. Jones — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:44:00 +0000

Speed Running Byers Peak In Grand County

Byers Peak looms over the Fraser Valley, and is a spectacular peak to trail run. With an excellent trail all the way to the top, and stunning views of the Williams Fork drainage, Gore Range, and Fraser Valley running Byers Peak is a locals favorite. We ran it last week and only saw one other group. Another amazing mountain run in Colorado's high country. It took me on this trip 2:42 minutes roundtrip.

On the way up...

The "mandatory" self-portrait at the top...

Looking across the Fraser Valley to the Divide from the top...

The Williams Fork drainage....

Tara running down...

Flowers are still going strong!

The numbers for those who care....

Distance Roundtrip: ~8.6 miles roundtrip

Start Elevation: ~9,900 feet

High Point: ~12,804 feet

Total climbing and descending: ~3,808 feet

Difficulty: Medium

Other People Factor: Minimal

Time: 2 - 5 hours depending on how often you stop to enjoy the views.

Mountain Running James Peak From Rogers Pass Via The North Face

Peter N. Jones — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Mountain Running James Peak From Rogers Pass Via The North Face

An excellent way to run James Peak (a local 13er) is via the North Face and the Rogers Pass trail. You can do it from the east side via St. Mary's Glacier, but that way usually has a few people on it. Running James Peak from the north, however, is great because the trail is clear and very runnable, and there are usually no people. There are two options: you can run it from East Portal/Rollins Pass up to Heart Lake and Rogers Pass, then south along the Divide to the top. Or, you can start on the Corona Road and run the Rogers Pass trail the entire way. We did a 9 mile version a couple days ago running from the Corona Road up that a little, to Rogers Pass and then along that to the top of James and back. 100% runnable, not a soul to speak of, and even a decent time at 2:47 roundtrip.

Heading up...

View from the top

Cruzing back down...