This year started off with a BANG! In January I did a knee drop on a sharp rock in the Ouray Ice Park fracturing my patella.  It ended my ice-climbing trip early and subsequently put me out of commission for about 6 weeks.  Recovery was slow, painful and extremely frustrating.  Still aching after 4 months, I trained diligently to get ready for the climbing season.  With high hopes I joined in with a team of 5 climbers from around the country to attempt Capitol Peak the end of May. 

The Capitol basin was spectacular but the heavy snow pack and avalanche conditions forced us to abandon the attempt.  Since my plan was to climb neighboring Snowmass Mountain next, it was apparent that it I would be faced with similar conditions and it too was postponed.  This quickly dashed my hopes of making a great stride toward the goal of climbing all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks by the end of the 2006 climbing season.

After a Memorial Day celebration in Golden with friends, I was of to the Sangre de Cristo’s to attempt the Crestones.  Conditions were less than desirable and after an arduous snow filled climb of Creston Needle I abandoned the attempt to climb Crestone Peak.   I did manage to summit one of Colorado’s Centennial Thirteeners, California Peak before returning back to Texas.  

Within two weeks of my return, a home under contract that I had looked at in Colorado came back on the market and I said, “I’ll take it”.   As a friend had told me, “if it is meant to happen, it will”.  Well happen it did!

The end of June brought one of the fastest trips to Colorado I had ever made.  I arrived Saturday around noon for a lunch with a friend, 3 p.m. a home inspection, a drive to San Luis near the New Mexican border that evening, a 3:30 am wake up on Sunday, a 5:00 a.m. arrival the Cielo Vista Ranch, a climb of the privately owned Culebra Peak and Red Mountain and a drive back to Fort Worth arriving at 12:10 a.m. on Monday.  Oh and I was on time to work the next morning too!

I was back again the end of July with a load of household goods and was looking forward to getting the keys to the house in Silver Cliff.  Although no climbing was involved on this trip, I took inventory of the nine 14,000-foot peaks that can be seen from the deck, secure I the knowledge that I had summited all of them.

The end of summer brought two back-to-back trips separated only by 5 days at work.  The Pathfinder was packed to the hilt each time with supplies and much needs household items. 

After several days of solid work on the house, Jared Scott from Denver met me and we spent two days up in South Colony Lakes and had a really great climb on Crestone Peak.  With The Peak done my total on the Colorado Fourtneeners now stood at 41.  Lucky 13 to go! 

One of the greatest joys of mountaineering is sharing the spirit of the mountains with others.  On several occasions I have had the opportunity to take people to their first mountain summit.  When I was here in June I had met Jennifer Ryan, who had also moved here for Fort Worth.  We quickly hit it off as friends and I had told her that I would take her climbing.  We settled on Horn Peak (13,450 ft.), a prominent Thirteener that overlooks Westcliffe and Silver Cliff.  It was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed once again being able to share something that is so much a part of me.

The second run up to Colorado took place only days after Katrina devastated New Orleans.  I spent hours listening to the reports on CNN and FOX via Satellite Radio and I soon realized the scope of the devastation and the how man’s inhumanity to other man had only compounded the problem.  My frustration with the soaring gas prices could not compare with anything that was happening to the people in the region struck by the hurricane.

There was still much to be done on the house, cleaning carpets, floors, walls and some yard work.  But this was not to be “all work and no play” on this trip.  I soon set off for the San Juan Mountains near Telluride.  My objective was to climb el Diente Peak, Mount Wilson and work on a new route on Wilson Peak.  The heavy rains heading over Lizard Head Pass slowed the drive and I was concerned that the weather would soon frustrate me again in my attempt to add to the total of the Fourtneeners.   My late start from Silver Cliff and weather delay gave me concern that I would not make my proposed campsite before dark.  A climber whom had just come off of Mount Wilson told me that I could make it there in 2 hours if I hustled. Motivated by the dwindling daylight I set off at a rapid pace toward the Lower Falls in the Kilpaker Basin.  I was at my campsite in only 1:15, camp was quickly set up and I turned in at dusk to get up for an early start.

I somehow managed to sleep through all 3 alarms on my watch but I was still under way at 5:40 a.m.  Shortly, I caught a climber who had passed through camp before I departed.  Within 3:30 I had reached the summit of el Diente.  I began to make the traverse to Mount Wilson but was soon forced off the ridge due to the weather.  Having planed on staying only one day, I did not have enough food to remain in camp and attempt Wilson the following day.  After big lunch and a nap, I made a 3 hour round tip to the trailhead to re-supply and put on some fresh socks.

I settled in early in hopes of getting going even earlier than the previous day.  Once again I sleep through all 3 alarms but woke shortly past my wakeup time.  I was out of camp in short order and the fresh batteries in my head torch lit the way up the distinct trail.  It was almost an hour and half before the there was enough daylight to switch it off.

Route finding is crucial on Mount Wilson.  The route is not very well defined and until you are very close to the peak does it become obvious.  Several snowfields still exist from the previous winters snow (Mount Wilson has three glaciers on it).  Attempting to traverse one of theses fields became an exercise in patience.  The field was covered with a thin layer of loose ice crystals under which it was solid ice.  Having only an ice axe and no crampons, I resorted to the age-old method of chopping steps.  Unfortunately the adz of my ultra-light axe buckled under the constant beating of the hard ice and I was forced to use the pick to continue the slow process.  Some thirty minutes later I had finally crossed the 100-foot frozen section.

I elected to ascend the gully leading away from the snow only to discover that I had ascended to the top of the ridge that is part of the traverse.   Not wanting to attempt that section of the route I attempted to do a traversing down climb back to the main route.  I soon had climbed into a dead end of solid 5^th Class climbing.  The only choice was to reverse course and climb back up the way I had come down and then down climb back to the route.  Frustrated by my error I considered bailing on the attempt all together.  However, once I reached the bottom of the gully, I could see that the summit was very close and I was on top of Mount Wilson in less than 45 minutes.

Two climbers from Tennessee who had come up another route soon joined me.  After some food and a few photos, I said good-bye and started down.  Making note of the time, 11:01 a.m., I began a rapid and concerted descent.  Knowing that I had a six-hour drive back to Sliver Cliff facing me, I wanted to get back to the car as soon as possible.  Super motivated, I was able to descend back to camp, break camp and pack out to the car in 3:38… now that was fast!  I was home shortly before 9 p.m. and ready for a much-needed day of relaxation in Silver Cliff.

With the climbing season at an end, I am satisfied with how the year finished.  Now that I have summited 43 of Colorado’s 54 14,000-foot peaks I can certainly see that I am close to completing this endeavor.  It seems a long way away from when Dan Pate said to me on the summit of Blanca Peak “1 down, 53 to go”.