Torreys Peak Trip Report 06/21/2011

Peak(s):	Torreys Peak - 14,272 feet Grays Peak - 14,275 feet Mt. Democrat - 14,154 feet
Date Posted:	06/21/2011
Date Climbed:	06/10/2011
Author:	joelmpaula

Who needs sleep?? Part 1
I just started a night job cooking but I was still finishing the last few days at a day job. At my day job I cooked lunch for 250 people. Then I went to the night job and cooked for 120 people. After work, I went home to say goodbye to my wife and grab a few odds and ends. I hit the road at 11pm. My friend Ben was meeting me in Frisco. I picked him up at 11:30 and we were off. When we were driving up the pass, we talked about skiing Mt.Elbert on 2 hours of sleep last week. When we skied Elbert on 2 hours of sleep we felt like poop. So we decided to get to the Stevens Gultch trailhead, pack our bags and then start walking. We parked a half mile from the trailhead. A tree had fallen over the road, however the tree had been cut. There was a lot of snow on the road with a few tracks going through the snow. I drive a subarau outback so we parked at the tree. We packed our bags and started walking at 1:45 am. Not the earliest start I have ever done on a hike. The first half mile was dry on the road with a few snow drifts. When we hit continous snow, we transition from trail shoes to ski boots and skis. We skinned up Steven Gulch. At 4:45 we got a little light so we could see Dead Dog really well. At this time we were about a half mile from the base of the couloir. Ben took out the Dawson book to look at the route. The bottom half of the couloir was covered with debris piles from wet slides. There were several runnels down the face. Looking up Dead Dog Ben at the Bottom of Dead God Ben and I wanted to do a nice steep snow climb so we climbed it any way. We put crampons on and our skis on our packs. The climb was nice and sustained on hard snow. We summited Torreys at 8 am. The wind on the summit was a steady 25 mph. Ben had topped out 10 minutes before me. By the time I reached the summit he was ready to drop in the saddle of Greys. Ben skied down to the saddle. I skied down to the saddle. Right before the saddle there was a cornice crevasse. The large cornice was sliding down the mountain. Ben climbed down about five feet into the crevase to seek shelter from the wind. The cornice was over-hanging 40 feet or so. The crevasse was about 20 to 30 feet deep and about an 1/8 of a mile long. At 9am we started climbing up to Greys peak. We summited Grey's peak at 9:45am. Ben and I had an early lunch to pass the time to let the snow soften up because the descent route was primarily north-facing. We fired up the jet boil and made a Mountain House for each of us. There were two other parties of 2 that summited Grey's. We could see two more groups coming up the basin as well. At 10:45 we geared up the ski and dropped in. The snow off the summit was pretty firm. After about 25 turns the snow was becoming softer corn by the turn. The line we skied down Torreys We skiied 3000 vertical feet from the summit past the summer trailhead. Ben and I skied right by our shoes which we had stashed in a tree on the way up. We walked up the road for ten minutes and did not see them. So we headed for the car. We got back to the car at 12:45pm. I put other shoes on that I had in the car, however Ben did not have shoes so he walked up in ski boots. We grabed some beers and started walking. After a few minutes of looking we found our shoes. We left Steven's gulch at 2pm Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Who needs sleep?? Part 1

I just started a night job cooking but I was still finishing the last few days at a day job. At my day job I cooked lunch for 250 people. Then I went to the night job and cooked for 120 people. After work, I went home to say goodbye to my wife and grab a few odds and ends. I hit the road at 11pm. My friend Ben was meeting me in Frisco. I picked him up at 11:30 and we were off. When we were driving up the pass, we talked about skiing Mt.Elbert on 2 hours of sleep last week. When we skied Elbert on 2 hours of sleep we felt like poop. So we decided to get to the Stevens Gultch trailhead, pack our bags and then start walking. We parked a half mile from the trailhead. A tree had fallen over the road, however the tree had been cut. There was a lot of snow on the road with a few tracks going through the snow. I drive a subarau outback so we parked at the tree. We packed our bags and started walking at 1:45 am. Not the earliest start I have ever done on a hike. The first half mile was dry on the road with a few snow drifts.

When we hit continous snow, we transition from trail shoes to ski boots and skis. We skinned up Steven Gulch.

At 4:45 we got a little light so we could see Dead Dog really well. At this time we were about a half mile from the base of the couloir. Ben took out the Dawson book to look at the route.

The bottom half of the couloir was covered with debris piles from wet slides. There were several runnels down the face.

Ben and I wanted to do a nice steep snow climb so we climbed it any way. We put crampons on and our skis on our packs. The climb was nice and sustained on hard snow. We summited Torreys at 8 am.

The wind on the summit was a steady 25 mph. Ben had topped out 10 minutes before me. By the time I reached the summit he was ready to drop in the saddle of Greys. Ben skied down to the saddle.

I skied down to the saddle. Right before the saddle there was a cornice crevasse. The large cornice was sliding down the mountain. Ben climbed down about five feet into the crevase to seek shelter from the wind. The cornice was over-hanging 40 feet or so. The crevasse was about 20 to 30 feet deep and about an 1/8 of a mile long.

At 9am we started climbing up to Greys peak. We summited Grey's peak at 9:45am. Ben and I had an early lunch to pass the time to let the snow soften up because the descent route was primarily north-facing. We fired up the jet boil and made a Mountain House for each of us. There were two other parties of 2 that summited Grey's. We could see two more groups coming up the basin as well. At 10:45 we geared up the ski and dropped in.

The snow off the summit was pretty firm. After about 25 turns the snow was becoming softer corn by the turn.

We skiied 3000 vertical feet from the summit past the summer trailhead. Ben and I skied right by our shoes which we had stashed in a tree on the way up. We walked up the road for ten minutes and did not see them. So we headed for the car. We got back to the car at 12:45pm. I put other shoes on that I had in the car, however Ben did not have shoes so he walked up in ski boots. We grabed some beers and started walking. After a few minutes of looking we found our shoes. We left Steven's gulch at 2pm

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

taylorzs

Nice job!
06/21/2011 19:29

You do like the climbs with no sleep the night before. I am glad I finally got to see that cornice crevasse you guys have been talking about. And good job with the rock skiing since that is where we are with standards now! Looking forward to La Plata next weekend.

Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.

Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.