Rocky Mountain Life

Summits for MS Conquers the Crestones

Last weekend the Summit County crew decided to head south and take our chances with the weather forecast. Since the Rocky Mountains have been in full on monsoonal flow we've seen afternoon thunderstorms for almost two weeks straight and the forecast for this particular weekend was no different with storms starting earlier on Saturday. 

Upon arriving at the trailhead we surveyed the weather, taking note of the storm currently sitting directly on top of our destination as well as another front lingering to the south west. "Let's just start walking" has become the M.O. for our groups so we shouldered our packs and headed for Cottonwood Lake at the base of Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle. While most people opt for hiking in from the other side of the range we chose the shorter yet steeper road less traveled, AKA the Rick Route.  

Although we were initially concerned with route finding on this trail it turned out to be fairly straight forward. What we hadn't counted on was the massive swarms of mosquito's covering every square inch of the trail from start to finish. These were some high altitude skeeters as they didn't relent even as we crossed the 12,000 foot mark. After a little bit of rain, a ton of mosquito's and about three and a half hours we landed in the basin and found Bryan and Heather, who had approached from the other side and found a perfect campsite. 

After chasing marmots, taking a brief walk to check out the lake and some semi-re-hydrated food we called it a night as the rain continued to fall steadily. 4:30am  came rather quickly so we snoozed for a little while finally rising at 5am with boots on the trail at 5:30am. 

The climb to Crestone Peak started right outside out tent so there was no route finding issues to contend with. We were about a 10 minute warm-up hike to the base of the Red Gully and from there you basically go straight up and take a left at the ridge. Upon reaching the summit we all refueled and relaxed for a bit but didn't hang around too long knowing that the largest challenges still lie ahead on the traverse to the Crestone Needle. 

We parted ways with Heather and Bryan about half way down the Red Gully as we headed for the Traverse. The Peak to Needle Traverse is known as one of Colorado's four Great 14er Traverses so we knew we had our work cut out for us. After a few snow crossings, ledgy downclimbs and gully traverses we found ourselves at the base of the infamous Black Gendarme faced with two options. Given the choice between a sporty 5th class climb followed by a spicy knife ridge or traversing around to another gully we opted for the more interesting route. After everyone had safely ascended the crux pitch and crossed the knife ridge we only had a few more ledge traverses in front of us before the infamous airy 4th class wall that leads to the summit. 

Everyone had been eagerly anticipating this wall, some with excitement and some with a bit of dread. The climbing was fun, solid 4th Class with conglomerate knobs making for an exciting airy scramble to the summit. Jeb even paused to snap a picture of Rick and I climbing with a rainbow below us, not a bad way to knock off one of the Four Great Traverses. Once again, with weather building around us we did not hang on the summit for long and quickly made our way to the standard route off the Crestone Needle and bee lined it for Broken Hand Pass. 

The down climb back to camp was uneventful and we were soon packed up and beating steps down the trail as the clouds built. A quick detour on the Marsh Route and a driving rain storm kept the otherwise benign walk out to the car interesting. Everyone took at least one spill on the now rain slicked slabs before getting back to solid trail and putting the hammer down to avoid the wrath of the super skeeters that live in those woods.  We stopped at Amica's in Salida for pizza and beer to celebrate another successful outing in Colorado's Rocky Mountains.

For another perspective on the trip visit www.summitsforms.org and consider making a donation to a worthy cause! 

What's Happening in Summit County

Festival in the Park

The Summit Rotary|Krystal 93 Festival in the Park will be held on August 8-9 in downtown Dillon. ADMISSION IS FREE! Lots of live entertainment, the Friday night headliner Carolyn Wonderland. Saturday afternoon headliner will be Cassie Taylor and the Saturday night headliner is Free Fallin' - A Tribute to Tom Petty. Award-Winning Brews and mouth watering BBQ along with a Kid's area & Amusements. More info & concert lineup, click here.

Summer Concerts at Lake Dillon Amphitheatre

Krystal 93 welcomes a great line-up of live music this summer at one of the most beautiful concert settings in Colorado, the Lake Dillon Amphitheatre. From cover bands to amazing originals, you are sure to find great entertainment in Dillon this summer! Check out the line-up, along with info on other summer events in Dillon when you click here.

Concert in the Park Series in Frisco

Krystal 93 welcomes great performers every week as the Town of Frisco is proud to bring together great music for a great cause at the FREE Outdoor Concert in the Park Series at the Historic Park Gazebo & Lawn at 120 Main Street. Get the lineup for the summer when you click here. Refreshments will be available for purchase to benefit the local non-profit designated for the evening. The Concerts in the Park are pet-friendly with leash; no alcohol is to be brought in from outside the event as beverages are available for sale to benefit the local non-profit organization. All concerts 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Krystal 93 welcomes bicycle racing enthusiasts to Summit County for Stage 5 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Stage 5 begins in Woodland Park and finishes in downtown Breckenridge. Friday, August 22nd, racers will be back where last year’s challenging finish up Moonstone Rd. will be repeated again. This nasty little climb can kill a break or launch a winner. Follow the highlights live thru the day on Krystal 93. The Town of Breckenridge will present a free concert after the day's race with Big Head Todd & the Monsters at the Riverwalk Center. If you can't make it to the show, tune-in to Krystal 93 as we will broadcast the entire concert live!

Krystal 93 welcomes OneRepublic to Red Rocks

ONEREPUBLIC returns to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Monday, September 1, 2014. Doors: 6:00pm || Show: 7:30pm. TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, JULY 25 at 10AM! Get tickets online thru www.axs.com.

Summer Runoff Continues!

Every week all summer long, Krystal 93 will be giving away prize packages during the huge Summer Runoff. Big Snow = Big Water and now the rivers are running great! Listen to Krystal 93 every Friday afternoon for your chance to win summer fun prize packages, like rafting and ziplining and other summer fun. 

Summer Dock Parties at the Tiki Bar in Dillon

Join Krystal 93 throughout the summer with our parties by the docks of the Dillon Marina at Pug Ryan's Lakeside Tiki Bar! We'll be giving away a lot of prizes, including Red Rocks concert tickets and more. Here's the schedule for the entire summer, so put these dates in your calendar now! August 13th and September 10th, parties are the 2nd Wednesday of each month.

Summit County Softball Reports

Listen to Krystal 93 every weekday for the latest scores and standings from our local Summit County Softball teams. The 9:20am report is presented by The Blue Moon Bakery and the 4:20pm report is sponsored by the Dillon Dam Brewery.

eTown

Every Thursday evening, Krystal 93 presents an hour of great music and conversation on eTown. This radio show is recorded in Boulder, Colorado. Every eTown show is taped in front of a live audience and features performances from many of today's top musical artists as well as conversations and information about the world around us. At eTown, they build community through music. Tune in to Krystal 93 every Thursday evening between 7 & 8pm for eTown!

Krystal Blue Plate Special

Every weekday morning just after 11:30, tune-in when Tom Fricke plays a set of blues tunes. You'll hear a set of three blues tunes, ranging from rootsy to rockin'. Just in time for lunch, we have your Blue Plate Special every weekday.

Krystal 93: The Most-Listened-To Radio Station!

Year after year, radio ratings companies measure the listening audiences of local radio stations. Year after year, those ratings show Krystal 93 to be the Number One rated radio station in Summit County with a listening audience nearly triple that of our nearest competitor. If you have a business and want to reach the most people with a discretionary income in Summit County, you need to advertise on Krystal 93!

Summer Red Rocks Concerts

Tedeschi Trucks Band - July 25th
Lyle Lovett and his Large Band - July 28th
Amos Lee w/the Colorado Symphony Orchestra - August 1st
Railroad Earth - August 2nd
Foster The People - August 6th
Ray LaMontagne - August 7th
Train - August 10th
Dirty Heads - August 13th
The Head & The Heart - August 14th
Rodrigo y Gabriela - August 17th
Jack Johnson - August 18th
Jack White - August 30th
Reggae on the Rocks - August 23rd
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - September 20th
Kings Of Leon - September 24th
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with Steve Winwood - September 30th & October 1st

More Concerts...

Ziggy Marley - August 19th, Ogden Theatre, Denver
PHISH - August 29,30,31, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City
The Black Keys - November 13th, Pepsi Center, Denver 

Today's Top Local News Stories

Last Free Family Fun Night Tuesday

On Tuesday, July 29th, the Frisco Adventure Park will be offering the last free Frisco Family Fun Night of the summer season. Families are invited to come to the Frisco Adventure Park from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. for an evening of exploration and fun. Each week the Adventure Park will feature a different Park amenity to highlight, and the Frisco Adventure Park Day Lodge will serve as home base for the evening. The featured movie will be “Brave” where a princess is determined to make her own path in life and defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom.

Summit County Commish in DC

Summit County Commissioner Dan Gibbs in Washington D.C. testified yesterday at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on wildland fire preparedness and next year’s proposed budget for the Forest Service.  According to the Summit Daily, Gibbs, a certified wildland firefighter himself, testified in support of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act.  Much the same as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes get emergency funding, wildfires would get help through the act, instead of using money from local Forest Service budgets, which have been exceeded the last eight of ten years.

Three Rescue Calls on Quandary Peak

The Summit county Rescue Group found itself having to respond to three simultaneous search and rescue calls on Tuesday, July 22nd - all on Quandary Peak.  The first call was received at 12:30 p.m. for a hiker who fell at the Summit and sustained a head injury and possible knee injury.  As the first two teams made their way up Quandary, a second call was received at around 2:30 p.m. for a second hiker who had fallen and sustained a serious lower leg injury.  As the second team was hiking in, towards tree line they came across a hiker who was experiencing what appeared to be altitude issues.  Charles Pittman, PIO with the SCRG says "Multiple rescues in a single day do happen on occasion , but several simultaneous missions on the same mountain are fairly rare."

...more news on the Local News Page - including the latest Summit County Softball report 

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