Yesterday was probably one of the best days of my time here in Breckenridge. My friend Mads came down (well, more like up) from Boulder with two of her friends for the weekend. I had planned to be their hiking/off-roading guide, but because of my leg I wasn't sure if I'd be able to. Not only did we end up hiking, we ended up hiking TWO; Peak 10 on Breckenridge Ski Resort at 13,615ft and Bald Mountain at 13,684ft.
Because two of them were from low altitude and not yet acclimated, we decided to take the first sections of the mountains in my 4x4 XTerra until we were above the timberline, which is a slightly ironic concept because the top is always the hardest hiking where there's no oxygen, HA! We started at about 10 am and decided to do Baldy first. I didn't know until yesterday that the off-road trail for Baldy is literally a block from my house. Had I known this when I first moved here, I can't tell you how many times I would have hiked and driven it by now! It took us about a 40 minutes to drive up and we spent well over two hours hiking.
Old mining buildings on the way up.
Stopped for a photo op once we got above the timberline. From left to right: Maddie, Me, Rachel, Ale.
Me and my baby! (The XTerra)
Mads standing with Mt.Guyot in the background.
Watch my XTerra get smaller and smaller!
Breckenridge
Maddie getting a better view from some rocks!
We didn't get all the way to the top because the path got pretty sketchy and we got pretty tired, so we decided to hike back down and do Peak 10, too! We drove down to town, got some gas, took a bathroom break, and headed up Breckenridge Ski Resort! The dirt road starts at Beaver Run resort and switchbacks up Peak 9 until you leave the ski resort territory above the timberline. To say the least, it is a pretty bumpy ride after timberline, and eventually opens up to a big plateau (4th of July Bowl) before very tight, steep switchbacks up Peak 10. This was a substantially longer drive than Baldy because we had to switchback up the entire resort from 9,000ft, and then drive about 7-15mph past the timberline.
Driving up Breckenridge, fall is so beautiful!
Above the timberline looking down on Breckenridge.
We could have drove my XTerra up to about 500 ft before the peak, but that would have completely lost the point of hiking. So we ditched the car and hiked the switchbacks up. We even had a snowball fight on the way!
About 600 ft from the peak, looking over the south side of Peak 10 down on to lower Crystal Lake (One of the few 4x4 trails in Breckenridge I have yet to conquer).
Looking over the south side at Upper Crystal Lake.
A picture of the 4th of July Bowl and Breckenridge, from about 12,900 ft.
We thought we were getting close... but when I took this picture my 6'4" friend Mikey and friends who started the hike a few hours before us were standing on the peak. Can you see them? Yeah, definitely not. How deceiving! HAHA!
Peak 9 (left) and Peak 8 look so small from up here!
Looking down from 13,300 ft.
CONQUERED!
Baldy Mountain directly out in the distance. It's crazy to think we were just on the top of that mountain a few hours ago!
We spent some time up on top throwing rocks over the edge and just sitting silently, listening to nothing but the wind. Though the saying goes a picture can say one thousand words, the feeling of actually being on top of a mountain can't be described with any. It's a very self-fulfilling experience- The sweat and energy you give to get to the top, paid off with views beyond your wildest dreams and a serenity you can't find anywhere in the world. If you're a parent reading my blog who has a son or daughter attending CMC, and you're from apart of the world with no mountains, I strongly encourage you to get out here at some point and experience it with your family. And with all sincerity, don't hesitate to contact me if you want me as your guide. This is what I'm passionate about, and I love sharing it with anyone I can, especially those who don't get to experience it on a daily basis.
0
comments
On another note, news has just been released that female freeski has been welcomed back into Dew Tour! The Dew Tour, which is hosted in Breckenridge, Vermont, and Utah, decided to take female freeski out of the competition last year. The decision caused quite an intense stir, especially since there weren't any female snowboard events that were taken out. Quite a few of my good friends, Ashley Battersby, Anna Segal, Angeli Van Laanen, and Dania Assaly have already registered. I'm very excited for all of them!! It was bad enough to see the males making more than double the females for placing in the top 3 when the females are throwing almost the same tricks. It's kind of messed up how a 7ft tall guy can make millions a year for dunking a basketball and a 5 foot girl makes barely enough to survive for going inverted over a 70 foot gap.
