Quandary Peak - 14,265 ft

Okay, we’re skipping around a bit now, chronologically, that is. Way back at the start of May, my brother Paul brought his work buddy, Travis, to Colorado to ski Quandary Peak. Actually, Travis had been wanting to ski this particular 14er for quite some time now, and so was the major impetus for the trip. (credit where credit’s due). On the southernish side of Quandary, Cristo Couloir takes you from 100 ft below the summit down to Blue Lakes Dam some 2500 ft below. Here's a good link.

The couloir laughing at my unfounded confidence behind my back. It was a long climb.

Lots of drudgery and trudgery...

Paul crests the final ridge! Hurrah! Travis close behind... (me like these pics)

Summit!

It took us a bit longer than expected to summit this beast, so the snow was a little slushy on the way down. That didn't stop us from enjoying the moment. Travis had a little extra excitement as he surfed a wetslide for a couple hundred feet near the top. Action shots follow... thanks for the great pics, guys.

Please take note of my artistic sky fade...

A fun chute section to finish things off.

After scarfing some pizza, watching Planet B-Boy (and trying some of their moves on the carpet--rug burn, ouch) and ~10 hrs of sack time, we mustered the strength to seek out some more turns up on Loveland Pass. Fortunately (and probably necessarily) no hiking was involved. At Loveland Pass, you can ski from the top of the pass down to a switchback and hitchhike your way back up. About 5 runs was enough for us. Thanks for coming out guys. Let's bag another next spring.