Just like last year, I intended to show my routes here on some maps, but ran out of time.\u00a0 So for now the best I can do is a general description of how I would like this to play out.\u00a0 This is my aggressive plan and given all the snow and rain in the forecast\u00a0it is very likely this will be delayed.<\/p>\n
June 29<\/strong>: Start around 4:30 am and climb Windom<\/strong>, Sunlight<\/strong>, North Eolus<\/strong>, and Eolus<\/strong>.\u00a0 Down to Needleton by 11:15am to catch train to Silverton.\u00a0\u00a0Drive over Ophir Pass to the Kilpacker trailhead for the Wilsons.\u00a0 Try to be started around 2:00pm to climb El Diente<\/strong>, Mt. Wilson<\/strong>, and Wilson Peak<\/strong>.\u00a0 Likely will finish after dark.<\/p>\n June 30<\/strong>: After an hour drive to Ouray,\u00a0drive up into Yankee Boy Basin, the start for Sneffels<\/strong>.\u00a0 Try to be back down to Ouray\u00a0by 4:00am.\u00a0\u00a0From Ouray\u00a0Kyle\u00a0will\u00a0drive us\u00a0over Cinnamon pass, and I will climb Handies<\/strong> in the first light of the day.<\/p>\n From Handies it is a short drive to Redcloud<\/strong> and Sunshine<\/strong>.\u00a0 Since I will be starting these in late morning I am concerned about the possibility of postholing, as there is still a lot of snow up there.\u00a0 Once finished with Redcloud and Sunshine, I will continue to Uncompahgre<\/strong> and Wetterhorn<\/strong> for a late afternoon start.\u00a0 There is even more snow between Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn so I will likely bring snowshoes to try to deal with all of the snow and the late start.\u00a0 I hope to finish not long after dark.<\/p>\n Then it is finally time for a couple of hours rest as we drive to San Luis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n July 1<\/strong>:\u00a0 After San Luis\u00a0we head\u00a0on to the nasty Lake Como road to climb Little Bear<\/strong>, Blanca<\/strong>, Ellingwood<\/strong>, and Lindsey<\/strong>.\u00a0 Would love to finish before midnight. Then it is on to Culebra<\/strong>.<\/p>\n July 2<\/strong>: We drive to South Colony Lakes Trailhead for a relatively late start up the Crestones.\u00a0 I usually prefer to go in the other direction, but the late start will necessitate climbing Crestone Needle first\u00a0so that I am guaranteed to\u00a0make the traverse in the light. The order would then be Crestone Needle<\/strong>, to Crestone Peak<\/strong>, to Kit Carson<\/strong>, to Challenger<\/strong>, to Humboldt<\/strong>. Hopefully I will finish around midnight.<\/p>\n July 3<\/strong>:\u00a0Climb Pikes<\/strong> via Crags\u00a0Trailhead.\u00a0 It is\u00a0likely we start before dark and finish after it is light.<\/p>\n Then a\u00a0couple of hours rest as we drive toward Buena Vista to access the Sawatch Range.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The first Sawatch mountains climbed will be Antero, Shavano<\/strong>, and Tabeguache<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Then it is on to Mt. Princeton<\/strong>, which will likely be completed in the dark.<\/p>\n July 4<\/strong>:\u00a0 I moved this day up this year because I want to hit it while I am a little fresher.\u00a0 This is a big, scary day!\u00a0 The idea is to climb all of the Elks (minus Castle Conundrum which are done separately).\u00a0 I am not sure what direction to do the loop (there are pros and cons to each).\u00a0 The problem is that it will take me at least 24 hours, and that guarantees something pretty nasty (Pyramid or Capitol) in the dark, which is not a happy prospect.\u00a0 I am currently thinking about climbing\u00a0Pyramid<\/strong> first, followed by South Maroon<\/strong>, North Maroon<\/strong>, then traversing to Snowmass<\/strong>, then on to Capitol<\/strong>.<\/p>\n July 5<\/strong>:\u00a0 It will be a miracle if we are still on schedule after the Elks.\u00a0 However, after Capitol we head to Castle<\/strong> and Conundrum<\/strong>, hoping for an early morning start that will yield nice conditions for a fast glissade back down.\u00a0 Then we drive back over independence pass and try to finish Elbert<\/strong> and Massive<\/strong> before it gets dark.\u00a0 In the night we do the long drive to Holy Cross<\/strong>, which will hopefully be climbed before the first morning light.<\/p>\n July 6<\/strong>:\u00a0 A long day and night\u00a0through the heart of the Sawatch.\u00a0 Starting with Yale<\/strong>, Columbia<\/strong> and Harvard<\/strong>, then on to Oxford<\/strong>, Belford<\/strong>, and Missouri<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Then descend to Clohesy lake, and climb the confusing east side of Huron<\/strong> during the night.<\/p>\n July 7<\/strong>:\u00a0 After Huron we climb La Plata<\/strong>, then drive to\u00a0Leadville and ascend the west side of Sherman,\u00a0<\/strong>then continue with the Lincoln Group<\/strong>.\u00a0 Then it is on to Quandary.<\/strong><\/p>\n July 8<\/strong>: We start the last day with Torreys<\/strong> and Grays<\/strong>,\u00a0then Evans<\/strong> and Bierstadt<\/strong>.\u00a0 And finally Finish off with Longs<\/strong>.\u00a0 Since I have not scouted the faster route that descends the trough, I will just stick to the keyhole route and will stop the clock once I am 3000 feet below the summit.<\/p>\n If I was able to stick to this aggressive plan, the finishing time would be somewhere in the range of 10 days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just like last year, I intended to show my routes here on some maps, but ran out of time.\u00a0 So for now the best I can do is a general description of how I would like this to play out.\u00a0 This is my aggressive plan and given all the snow and rain in the forecast\u00a0it … <\/p>\n