Mt Elbert & Wind River 2004

This was to be George's second attempt on Mt Elbert after hitting a tough break in 2003. As is the norm, we smashed this into a long weekend flying into Denver and driving to Leadville for the night. At 10,158 ft, Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the US and boy can you feel it after starting the day at sea level and then lugging up your gear to the second floor of the Delaware Hotel. High speed acclimating! Next day we are the trailhead and on our way in favorable weather conditions. We camped overnight right at tree level, had dinner and rested for the next day. It was a surprising moderate hike/climb and we had 360 degree views. A little Tylenol to push back the light headedness and off we went. Success! The hike out was effortless with some postholing from mild temperatures. Only hitch for me, as George was off to do some skiing in the area, was the 2 hour stop on H40 and the mad dash to make my flight back to SFO. Last one on the plane, huffing, puffing and being asked my seat mate if I was ok! Slept the whole way back!

Another trek in George's quest to summit all 50 high points in the US. On this trip he brought along some serious climbers to attempt Gannett Peak in Wyoming from the Wyoming side. We started in Lansdale after flying into Salt Lake City, slept in our rental care at the trailhead and packed out the next morning for our 15 mile drop off, with a short hike to the lake. The terrain was very different from the years of hiking the Central California Pacific Crest as it had a raw starkness to it that I appreciated. The climbing team acclimated for a day and then headed out on an alpine start to bag Gannett. I stayed behind with George's dad and as he fished his heart out, I scrambled around taking pictures and soaking in the solitude. A ton of peaks in this rugged section of Bridger Wilderness. Unfortunately, the peak attempt was elusive as the team had to turn around due to heavy snow drifts. We still celebrated that night and packed up for the long ride home. One twist in all of this, was showing up at the trailhead to a flat tire on our rental! We got that taken care off with the help of the packers, had a good hot meal in town and headed for our flights home. All in all, another good day in the mountains.