Fall in the Rockies is a great time to get out and enjoy the last warm sunny days of Indian summer. Last weekend, we enjoyed a great day of climbing with my longtime climbing partner Jeff Evans, my colleague Skyler Williams, and new friends Nick Hemmert, Annette Jewell, and Victoria Jewell.
We climbed a true 5-star classic, the Kelso Ridge of Torreys Peak, which is only an hour west of Denver. After a short hike, the climb ascends 1,800 feet up a steep and narrow ridgeline and reaches a crux at a narrow knife-edge that has to be saddled up like a horse. It is a challenging Class 3 route with tremendous drop-offs to each side and is considered a training ground for climbers looking to tackle more technical routes.
Scrambling at the bottom of the ridge.
On a knife-edge ridge, falling is not an option!
After six hours of climbing, we celebrated another fantastic summit. Congratulations to Annette and Victoria on their first 14er! Additionally, we are excited to share that the climb raised over $6,000 for No Barriers! Special thanks to Nick and his Denver-based company, Ability To, for all of their efforts in fundraising.
Yet another successful summit!
We are lucky to be able to meet new friends and spend beautiful fall days in the Rockies climbing. It’s funny how the No Barriers spirit has a way of emerging everywhere. Only after the climb did we find out that Annette suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, and that a climb like this was something she always wanted to do, but wasn’t sure it was possible. It was great to have her with us and get to see the No Barriers mindset in action!
