I’m glad to report that I’ve successfully completed and passed the AMGA Alpine Guides Exam! It didn’t come easy, and a whole lot of time, money, effort, support and commitment was required to make it all happen, but it sure feels great to have done well and passed the exam. To read more about the exam itself, and the preparation process click on this link to view the exam blog.

ND

Joe came out to Colorado for a mountain climbing vacation. He started out his trip in the San Juans and then is heading up to the Maroon Bells and Rocky Mountain National Park to round out his trip. The objective in the San Juans was the beautiful Arrow Peak. Joe was on a tight schedule so we planned a two-day trip. We took the Narrow Gauge Railroad to Elk Park and hiked up to Vestal Basin. Although we hiked to just over 11,000’ the first day and Joe lives at only a few hundred he did great. Likely thanks to his rigorous exercise routine back home in Virginia. The next morning we summited Arrow Peak at 8:30am with a great show of endurance on Joe’s part. Joe commented on the route that it was the most sustained climbing he had ever done on a mountain. 8:30am is early to summit but we wanted to get up and down so that we could catch the train leaving Elk Park that afternoon. We caught the train by 15 minutes and relaxed all the way back to Durango. It was great to listen to Joe’s stories of his past Colorado ascents and I hope to see him out there.

BJK

Joe gearing up at the base of the climb

On the summit of Arrow Peak!

From September 15 - 26 Nate will be taking his Alpine Exam with the American Mountain Guides Association. A separate Blog has been set up to chronicle the trials and tribulations of his endeavor. You can follow Nate’s Blog by clicking here. Subscribe to the blog by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.

Climbed August 8th and 9th. Trip report soon…

After getting rained out prior in the season, the Karch family returned for a trip into Ice Lakes Basin of the San Juan Mountains. We met under blue skies in Durango and drove to the trailhead at the end of S. Mineral creek road. The hike up entailed gaining 2,500 feet in 3.5 miles. Ted took many amazing pictures on the way while Andrea and Janet solved my brainteasers with ease. We reached our destination, the upper Ice Lakes basin and set up camp at 12,300 feet. This was the highest any of them had ever been and they were showing no signs of the lack of oxygen. Awesome work!

The Lake was the most vibrant blue any of us had ever seen; better than Canada’s Lake Louis by far. One lone hiker described it as “cheap Chinese turquoise colored.” I decided a quick dip was necessary, but, for some odd reason, could not convince anyone else to join me. Not sure why that was….

Books were read, naps were taken and scenery absorbed as the days previous hike wore on us. Dinner consisted of multicolored, funny looking cheese sauce and noodles. May have looked funny, but it sure tasted great. We all watched the sun go down, very slowly while the colors changed from blues to reds to grays. At one point during the night Ted got up to observe the stars. He said he was blown away by what he described as “more stars than night sky.”

The next morning we ate a leisurely breakfast and Ted put Starbucks to shame with his coffee and hot cocoa/ coffee combo drink. We then took a side hike to Fuller lake were we could look down at the 2 Ice Lakes. It was truly amazing the difference in colors from one lake to the next. After the hike, we returned to camp, packed up and began our hike back out. We made great time on the decent, while the weekend hikers were on their way up.

We parted ways back in Durango as Andrea was college-bound and Ted and Janet home-bound. Awesome outing together and see you next time!

MSP