063 | Mount Democrat . North Face

I'm now back at home in Denver where it doesn't cost $130 a night to get buzzed which is amazing on many fronts since both the wallet and liver can thank me. But as much fun as I had in Baltimore (on high levels) and in New Jersey (on moderate levels), I needed to get back on snow. Yes, to most, I probably sound a crazed lunatic that needs other hobbies besides chasing snowfields for twelve months a year, but if you were starved from having chocolate milk your whole life, you too would buy a lifetime supply of Yoo-Hoo.



► Song of the week:

Groove Armada - "At the River"

This is easily one of my favorite songs and rightfully deserves a spot here.





► Skiing recap of the week:

This past week, I skied the north face of Mount Democrat which sits at 14,148 feet in the Mosquito range. This would be the 5th peak over 14,000 feet that I've climbed since moving to Denver and the 2nd that I would ski down.




I was with Nancy on the trip and we left Denver around 5:30 AM and began our hike just after 8. Starting elevation was around 12,000 feet and the trip to the summit would be a quick two hours long.


Below is the route that I traveled which included a ski descent of the north face as well as a climb on very loose rock and dirt back to the saddle joining Mount Democrat to Mount Cameron.




Here is a stronger visual (red = climb up, yellow = hike down/traverse, blue = ski descent):




More pictures of the perfect day en route to the top:






Me with Nancy on her first 14er hike:




The views from the summit at 10 in the morning:








A look towards the snow patch that I would ski with Kim and Alex:




Kim moments from dropping into the 1,400-foot descent on a relatively steep slope:




If you look closely, you can see Kim giggling like a school girl discovering her first crush. The snow was a lot better than it appears here:






That's me as seen from 1,000 feet above:




Now it's Alex's turn with Freddy the wonder dog trailing close behind:






And now we begin the very lovely 3-hour climb up a scree-field from hell. The slope here was 35-degrees and comprised of incredibly loose rock and quicksand-like ground. Each foot had to be place strategically as to not set off a rock slide which was pretty imminent. You can see us in the bottom, right-center portion of the photograph.




Some scenics on the way back down:








The goal this day was to hike and go to beer fest in Breckenridge. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to town before it ended, so we opted for a shitty sunset and some margaritas.

Tough life I got, right?






As always please click on the images above to view in larger size. To view the full gallery, click here.



► Quote of the week:

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."

- Anonymous