Denver Seminary

We arrived bright and early at the trailhead and got started just as it was getting daylight. Here is a pic of me transporting my Wayward Bottle on the Colorado Trail. There was a couple feet of snow on the ground, but we were fortunate to have had hikers break the trail for us; this saved us a lot of energy and time.

Here’s Nathan standing on a bridge that marks the beginning of the South Mt. Elbert Trailhead. From this point forward the trail climbs several thousand feet out of the valley. As we neared the tree line we could hear the distinct sound of a jet engine or wind; I am still not sure. The forecast called for 15 to 20 mph winds and gusting to 35 mph - I am guessing a meteorologist messed up. Right before we crested the ridge we sported our wind stopper gear and stepped into a wind tunnel. The winds were simply raging. What a hoot!!! I lost count on how many times we were knocked over from this point forward.

Here’s Nathan taking a break out of the wind. If you look closely you can see the wind whipping the snow on the neighboring peak.

Here we are on top of the highest piece of real estate in the state of Colorado at 14,433 feet. At this elevation you have approximately 55% of the oxygen that one would have at sea level. That translates into moving a little slower and breathing a little deeper.

I am sorry to report that I strapped my snowshoes on top of my Wayward Bottle and could not get to it for this photo opt. The winds were simply too strong to linger on top. So, we gave each other a high-five, snapped a couple pics, and started our decent.

Here’s Nathan glissading off the side of Mt. Elbert. “Glissading” is a technical term for adult sledding…just without a sled. My top glissade speed was 12.5 mph. What a sweet way to get off a mountain.