Grays & Torreys 6-24-13

I managed to rip myself from my bed at 5:30 in the morning. I have never been a morning person, especially after climbing a mountain the day before. For the sake of carrying my momentum I opted to climb two days in a row. I would retrace my steps again and climb the two for one deal that is Grays and Torreys. They are two distinct mountains sharing a saddle. Because of the saddle they are both easily climbed together in a day and their names are almost always mentioned together. Along with Quandary these were the only 14ers I had ever climbed. Similarly, they were close to the home base and easy mountains to climb. My first time climbing the combo I approached from a more difficult side out of Chihuahua Gulch. This time however I chose to climb it from the traditional trailhead and it was like climbing a new set of mountains. All the views were different and it was a fresh experience. I was surprised by how many cars were in the parking lot at the trailhead. I had assumed that there would have been less people on a weekday but plenty were looking to get out and have fun as well.

Once out on the trail it was nice to see the sun lighting up the tops of the mountains. As it rises it lowers the light farther down the mountainsides until it hits the valley and everything is aglow. It is a special time of day to be up and see this process.

As I got farther uphill the forest thinned and eventually gave rise to the high alpine tundra. With less trees there were more wildflowers. Wildflower season had already started but was just really getting underway. All manner of different species were bursting open and starting to thrive.

Snowmelt was feeding beautifully clear and cold streams working their way down to lower elevations.

I had indeed been able to carry my momentum and was making good time as I worked my way up the trail. Right around 12,000 feet the valley flattened out and I was able to get my first good glimpse of Kelso Ridge. It is an impressive class 3 ridge that stands right out of the valley and connects adjoining Kelso Mountain to Torreys Peak. I admired it from afar and made note that I would have to remember that climb for another day.

Not long after leaving the valley floor I noticed a huge tooth of an outcropping that jutted out from the surrounding mountainside. It was cliffed out on all sides but had a nice little trail up one side of it to the top. My immediate impulse was to detour over and climb it. As if on cue a group of hikers ahead of me dropped their packs and clamored straight to the top. I wasn't going to intrude on their photo op but instead took one of them while they were on it.

With as many people that were on both mountains everybody did a great job of pacing themselves so as to not be on top of anybody else. This made getting to the top a bit easier and before I knew it I had summited Grays. 

There was already a small gathering of people up there hanging out and taking pictures. There was a particularly interesting group of people with large packs on and they were decked out in all the heavy duty gear possible. One of them was making coffee on top of the mountain. It was very odd to see somebody have such an assortment of gear on top of a mountain like that. My curiosity got the better of me and I brought up the coffee making to start up a conversation. They quickly informed me that they were training to climb Mount Rainier and that was the reason for all the extra equipment. After a couple of pictures of my own I was heading down towards the saddle between the two peaks. One unique thing about this area is the size and frequency of cairns used to guide you down. It is very common for little cairns to dot alongside the trail in order to help you along the path. These however are unusually large and well constructed. I am always impressed when I see these particular cairns.

Getting up Torreys wasn't difficult and with a little effort I was on top of that summit as well. I had my picture taken again and was getting ready to make my way back down. Before setting out there was a noise that was coming up the valley. Before long it was apparent that it was the Flight for Life helicopter heading in the direction of the Summit County hospital. I hoped the best for whatever the situation was but it was still interesting to see it crest over the saddle right between the two mountains and head on its way. 

Once I started making my way back down the trail I kept eyeing some large patches of snow and wondered what it would be like to glissade down them. I had seen clips of it being done and it looked straightforward enough. I also liked the notion of a speedier descent to the bottom. Before long I found myself standing on top of a snow field eyeing a line down the middle of it. It looked tempting enough as there was already an existing line where somebody had previously tried it. That was enough for me so I made sure to empty all my pockets and zip everything up in my backpack. I readied for the descent and after a botched first attempt I was on my way. What I didn't realize though was that I would be going much faster than I anticipated with little or no way to stop. That kept things interesting. Not long after beginning I managed to have my hat fly off my head. I flailed behind me in a vain attempt but it was gone, a sacrifice to the mountain. I tried digging my heels in but all that managed to do was spray snow in all directions, principally my face. At one point I flipped around upside down and was heading down headfirst. Second only to ragdolling, that was the worst case scenario so I quickly righted myself. Using my hands and feet to help guide my descent I just hung onto the ride until the slope eased up enough for me to come to a stop.

I made sure I was all in one piece and still had all my gear. Aside from my hat and some extremely exfoliated palms I was alright. I cleared all the snow from my pockets and belt of my now soaked pants and looked upslope to find Nualla. I was surprised to see how far she was up there and how much ground I had covered in such a quick period of time. "Ease up on that craziness", I told myself. Lesson learned. I picked my way back to the trail and by the time I got back to the car I was almost dry. I was grateful for another good day and headed back to the home base.