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Ski mountaineering; Clinton Peak Colorado
PowderHoar
Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
I agreed to meet some friends for a Saturday Morning ski. My buddy Summit promised me it would be a suffer fest and indeed it was!
9 miles round-trip
3000 ft up
3000 ft down
9 hours total.
Summit sent me a picture of the line they wanted to do, bad idea...it was scary scary, I was up all night with fear and trepidation and an extreme excitement to hit this line.
We met at the Clinton Reservoir trailhead at 5am, and began the long 4 1/2 mile skin up to Clinton. This is located in Summit County Colorado.
Mir hiking along the still mostly frozen reservoir.
Summit, Clinton Peak just getting the first rays of sun behind him.
The sun finally peeks out in the most gorgeous glacial valley I have been in in awhile.
We take a nice rest half way up a brutal bootpack/skin ascent. Hey...I can see my car from here!
A second break once we got to the ridge.
...and finally, 4 hours later...the summit of Clinton 13.800 feet above sea level
The North Face of 14,000 ft Democrat looks $$
Our destination is the Hillary Couloir, first descended by Sir Ed Hillary in 1936.
( I am making that up...we called it the Hillary Coloir because it was frosty, veered left and everytime you poled - it changed direction)
The blue marks where Mir and I dropped in, Green was Summit's path.
We wanted to drop into the Monica Couloir due to it's deep throat and cushy padding, but we were afraid we would stain our dresses.
Of course the sun decides to hide as we drop in... :x
Summit drops in off the top into some powdered polenta:
Summit enters the top of the "To Cool for Schooloir"
Rock-Star pic
Mir cooks a very good corn for breakfast
More Couloir to go.
A small choke is no problem for Mir as she just straight-lines through it.
She-Mir are good skier chick!
Three good skiers with three good cameras means a lot of photo-slutting. The last section left before the apron.
Summit exits the Couloir through some slide debris into an apron of mythical, heavenly untouched corn.
Ladies first!!
Looking back at the tracks on the apron.
The last two miles out was nothing but "thicketeering." through willow bushes.
Stream crossings
Mir
Summit
9 hours later we very relieved to make it back.
Pretty yellow pants tell the tale of spring skiing in Colorado.
Clinton Peak = Impeachy Keen!!
9 miles round-trip
3000 ft up
3000 ft down
9 hours total.
Summit sent me a picture of the line they wanted to do, bad idea...it was scary scary, I was up all night with fear and trepidation and an extreme excitement to hit this line.
We met at the Clinton Reservoir trailhead at 5am, and began the long 4 1/2 mile skin up to Clinton. This is located in Summit County Colorado.
Mir hiking along the still mostly frozen reservoir.
Summit, Clinton Peak just getting the first rays of sun behind him.
The sun finally peeks out in the most gorgeous glacial valley I have been in in awhile.
We take a nice rest half way up a brutal bootpack/skin ascent. Hey...I can see my car from here!
A second break once we got to the ridge.
...and finally, 4 hours later...the summit of Clinton 13.800 feet above sea level
The North Face of 14,000 ft Democrat looks $$
Our destination is the Hillary Couloir, first descended by Sir Ed Hillary in 1936.
( I am making that up...we called it the Hillary Coloir because it was frosty, veered left and everytime you poled - it changed direction)
The blue marks where Mir and I dropped in, Green was Summit's path.
We wanted to drop into the Monica Couloir due to it's deep throat and cushy padding, but we were afraid we would stain our dresses.
Of course the sun decides to hide as we drop in... :x
Summit drops in off the top into some powdered polenta:
Summit enters the top of the "To Cool for Schooloir"
Rock-Star pic
Mir cooks a very good corn for breakfast
More Couloir to go.
A small choke is no problem for Mir as she just straight-lines through it.
She-Mir are good skier chick!
Three good skiers with three good cameras means a lot of photo-slutting. The last section left before the apron.
Summit exits the Couloir through some slide debris into an apron of mythical, heavenly untouched corn.
Ladies first!!
Looking back at the tracks on the apron.
The last two miles out was nothing but "thicketeering." through willow bushes.
Stream crossings
Mir
Summit
9 hours later we very relieved to make it back.
Pretty yellow pants tell the tale of spring skiing in Colorado.
Clinton Peak = Impeachy Keen!!
It's a sick world and I'm a happy guy!
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Comments
This is getting motivating me to do a similar trip to Mount Rainier.
I think Colorado spring skiing weather looks a lot better than Washington's weather (although looking at your pics, we have a lot more snow).
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