Keith had climbed Snowdon multipule times but had never been up the West Buttress or down the Northwest Ridge. We decided to make a day of it. Keith left Farmington early in the morning and picked me up in Durango on the way North to the mountains. The route was in great condition and the weather was perfect, it’s hard to not have fun with a combo like that. Below are a couple pics from the day. Enjoy!

BK

Julie is training to climb Nun and Kun in Kashmir this summer. Julie came up to Durango and climbed with me in January during an Intro to Mountaineering course. She just returned last week for some more. We started out with two days of ice climbing. Day one in Cascade Canyon going over the basics, and day two in Ouray at the Skylight area and a little in the Ice Park. We then headed up to Snowdon to learn some crevasse rescue, how to ascend a fixed line, team rope travel, make a summit bid, and do some winter camping. On the fifth day we made a summit bid, but turned around part way up because of the avalanche conditions. We hiked back to camp, packed up, and were back in Durango by noon so we switched out gear and went rock climbing at X-Rock for a few hours. The last day we headed back to Cascade Cayon for some more ice climbing, before Julie started the drive back to Flagstaff.

Great climbing with you Julie!

BK

Tim has wanted to climb Pigeon and Turret since he first saw them years ago, but Pigeon and Turret are big peaks deep in the Weminuche. Just getting into Ruby Creek at the base of the peaks is a big day. The weather didn’t look great but looked like it would offer us a window to climb the peaks. Sure enough we got rained on hiking in and out of Ruby Creek but were blessed with only sun on the climbing day. Hiking out we figured we ascended around 9,800′ in the three days.

Great trip Tim!

Below are some photos of our trip.

BK

Gary had been into Chicago Basin back in the 70’s, and had left with unfinished business. He had climbed Jupiter and Windom but bad weather denied them Eolus and Sunlight. Since the 70’s Gary has climbed peaks all over the North Cascades. When he decided to return to the Weminuche to finish the peaks in Chicago Basin, he wanted to make it a combo trip and visit Vestal Basin as well.

We started out the 7 day trip with a day of rock climbing at East Animas in Durango, finishing day one with a two pitch climb called Angel Dust. Day two we took the train into Elk Park and hiked into Vestal Basin where we were greeted with a great show from two moose. The next morning we woke early and climbed the amazing Wham Ridge on Vestal Peak. On the way down from Vestal we decided it was early enough in the day to climb Arrow Peak as well. The next two days were spent hiking over to Chicago Basin for the second part of the trip. We decided that it was most efficent to climb all the 14,000′ Chicago basin peaks in one day so again we woke early and climbed Eolus then Sunlight and were at 13,800′ on Windom when the weather started coming in and forced us down. Not bad for one day! The final day of this great trip was spent hiking out of Chicago Basin and catching the train to Durango.

Check out some photos below!

BK

Day 1: We started out the trip climbing at X-Rock, where we learned Belaying, Rapelling, Climbing Technique, and Anchor Systems. In the afternoon we made a meal plan for the rest of the trip and went food shopping.

Day 2: We got up early and drove North to Andrews Lake which was our launching point for Snowdon Peak. Perfect weather and a fun group of guys made for a great summit! After descending we hiked back to the car and drove to the Purgatory Flats Trail head and hiked down to the Animas river to camp.

Day 3: The goal was to hike into Noname Basin but while crossing Noname Creek Jason slipped and whacked his ankle on a rock. Between that and the pouring rain we decided to sleep for the night at the mouth of Noname near the Animas.

Day 4: Finished hiking into Noname basin and camped next to the old Miners cabin. Amazingly we got a fire going despite all the rain we had had.

Day 5: Jasons heel was still not 100% so Vincent and I climbed a peak North of the cabin called Heisspitz. Which apparently means something like “Hot Peak” in German. Vincent worked on his short roping skills and his kiwi coil on the way to the top.

Day 6: Jason and I got up early again and climbed Knife point, returned to camp and hiked with Jason into the beautiful Ruby creek.

Day 7: All of us got up early and climbed up to the Saddle between Turret and Pigeon. Jason was not feeling very good so he headed back to camp while Vincent and I climbed the two peaks. We then returned to camp packed up and hiked back down to the Animas to get a jump on the next day.

Day 8: We finished the hike out to the Purgatory Flats Trail Head and drove back to Durango. Finishing off a great tour of the Weminuche and a great trip!

BK

Durango locals, Alice and her son Paul S. along with Sean E. linked up with myself and fellow guide Ryan to hike into Vestal Basin for some peak climbing and relaxation. Paul and I climbed Vestal Peak, 13,864, via its North Face dubbed ‘The Wham Ridge.” The route maxes out its difficulty at 5.4 and is mostly 4th class to 5.0 climbing with breath-taking exposure. All on great quality rock! We made excellent time from camp to summit in 4 hours. The weather was absolutely magnificent and we spent almost an hour on the summit. Following our descent we met up with Alice and Sean at Vestal Lake for a refreshing dip in the lake. We decided it was the long lost “fountain of youth” as Sean and I felt like young boys again. We spent an hour or two here eating lunch and enjoying the amazing views.

The next day Paul and I again left camp early and cruised up Arrow Peak’s, 13,803, Northeast ramp. Again, the weather cooperated well and we had a leisurely descent enjoying the fact that we were first on the summit that day. After snacking and taking a nap, we packed up camp and moved it to the Animas River at 8,800 feet. Here were made a great camp along the railroad tracks and again swam in the refreshing Animas River. The next day we loaded up our gear on the train and took it to Silverton. Ryan had been talking about the BBQ beef sandwich at The Handlebar restaurant for the previous 3 days, and it worked, all 5 of us ordered it; it was AWESOME!

With such amazing weather and sociable people, this trip couldn’t have gone better. Successful peak climbs, lots of laughs, too many brain melting riddles and cold, cold water swimming. Thanks for a great time and hope to climb Sunlight Spire with you soon Paul!

MP

Earlier this summer we did an amazing 10 Day climbing trip in the Weminuche Wilderness. During the course of the trip we climbed Centennial 13′ers Vestal Peak via the Wham Ridge, Jagged Mountain via the North Face, Pigeon Peak via the Southwest Slopes, Turret Peak via the Western Slopes, and Jupiter Mountain via the West Face. A Centennial 13′er in Colorado is defined as any peak over 13,807 feet, and in addition to the 54 14′ers quest, the 100 highest peaks quest has become increasingly popular during the past few years. Indeed, some of the best and most inspiring climbs in Colorado are on 13′ers.

From the maps below, you can get a sense of how we accomplished this feat over the course of 10 days. Being out in the Weminuche for that length of time really gives you a sense of how remote and rugged this part of the San Juans really are. The Weminuche is a true wilderness area, with plenty of route finding and navigation required to travel between the major drainages.

We began the trip on the Colorado Trail and Elk Creek, and finished up on the Needle Creek trail. Along the way we traveled through Vestal Basin and down to Balsam Lake, along the “high traverse” to Jagged Mountain (one of the best mountain days you’ll ever experience!), up and over Jagged Col and down into the remote No Name basin, then back up and over Ruby/No Name pass into the super rugged Ruby Creek drainage, then back up and over Ruby/No Name and Twin Thumbs pass for a finish in the popular Chicago Basin.

In short it was an amazing trip with great clients (thanks Charley, Phanie, Greg, Doug, and Chris!!), and a great guide and support staff (thanks Matt, Mike, Drew, Ryan, and Alec!).

This is simply one of the most amazing trips that you can do in Colorado or the entire mountain west. We will be offering this trip again next year with some fixed date departures, so stay tuned to our website in the coming months for more information, dates, and costs!

ND