Trip Reports

[caption id="attachment_308" align="aligncenter" width="584"] The Ellingwood Ridge, from La Plata's summit.[/caption] While the Sawatch Range in central Colorado is impressively high--it's home to 15 peaks over 14,000'--it's not a very technical group of mountains.  Most routes are Class 1 or 2 walk-ups, and the mountains themselves have often been accused of not really being much more than giant talus piles.  (This reputation is not without…

Product testing is really important. This is how we make sure we create the absolute best best tools for the self-propelled person. It's also how we have fun in the mountains with friends. Last weekend, Peter Bakwin, Anton Krupicka and I went up to do the classic Kieners Route on Longs Peak. This involves a 5 mile trail run starting at 9,382' and ending at…

After my 2010 attempt people asked me if I was going to give it another go. I always said, “Nope. Too hard. I don’t see how I can do it better.” So, why one year later, was I sitting alone on top of Gemini Peak in a total friggin' whiteout at midnight? Navigating this terrain at night is really hard - it's all above timberline,…

(Editors Note:  Peter Bakwin conceives and attempts the Mosquito Tenmile Traverse - the longest and highest ridge in the lower states - 38 miles continuously above timberline). My head was spinning as I sat on the summit of Fletcher Mountain just after noon on July 24, 2010. Was it the 13,951’ elevation? Or, was it the fact that I’d just gone straight through the night,…

Last weekend I went to Utah to do Trans-Zion, one of the classic trail runs in the country. Traversing Zion National Park from one end to the other, all on beautiful trails, and with it's optimal season (March-May) coming before the classic mountain routes are snow-free, this 44 mile route is now run by dozens of people every spring, even though it was first run…