Colorado
Shirley and I have spent more of our lives in Colorado than in any state except Texas. We skied there for over thirty years, first at Aspen and Snowmass, then at Vail, Beaver Creek and Bachelor’s Gulch. We often vacationed there in the summer, also, leaving the Texas heat for the cool mountain air, enjoying the beautiful Rockies and the hiking, fishing, art galleries, restaurants, music and dance festivals and, of course, photography. In 1998 at fifty-five years of age I began climbing the Colorado Fourteeners, fifty-four mountains in Colorado that exceed fourteen thousand feet in height. I climbed every summer thereafter through 2009 with a small, gradually evolving group of friends from Texas who shared my passion for these beautiful mountains. During those twelve years I managed to summit thirty four of the Fourteeners, but then my climbing career was cut short by medical issues. Those summer weeks in Colorado were some of the most enjoyable of my life, and my climbing buddies remain close friends.
My first Fourteener was Handies Peak in the San Juan Mountains near Durango. This is the view looking north from the summit.
Moon over Mount Elbert in the Sawatch Range. Elbert is Colorado’s highest mountain at 14, 433 feet.
A fellow climber on the summit of Mount Elbert.
La Plata Peak, Sawatch Range, from the summit of Mount Elbert.
A view of the Sawatch Range from the summit of La Plata Peak.
Three happy climbers on the summit of La Plata. I was always amazed by the number of dogs who climbed the popular summer routes on the Fourteeners. Like their humans, they seemed to be having a fabulous time in that thin air.
Pyramid Peak near Aspen in the Elk Mountains.
The Maroon Bells from the summit of Pyramid Peak.
The beautiful red rock of the Elk Mountains, from the summit of Pyramid Peak.
The sun spotlights a rugged ridge in the Elk Mountains, from the Summit of North Maroon Peak.
This and the next few photographs, all taken from Maroon Lake in the Elks, show some of the many moods of the Maroon Bells and their lake.
A beautiful mountain meadow in the Elks.
Mountains of the Sawatch Range watch over the town of Salida.
Mount Antero in the Sawatch range.
The summit of Mount Antero is one of Colorado’s easiest to reach. Antero has produced a lot of silver from a mine near the summit, and a mining road reaches almost to the top.
Descending the road on Antero.
Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak, Sawatch Range. The names of these mountains are from the Ute Nation.
Mount Princeton, Sawatch Range, at dawn.
Mount Princeton.
Capitol Peak, Elk Range. We faced a long backpacking approach to this mountain. In a previous year we had suffered a grueling, debilitating climb—3000 feet of altitude gain up a steep trail with heavy packs— just to reach our campsite at Lake Como in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. This time we had a solution.
Here’s the solution. However, when we reached the steepest part of the approach trail, the wrangler was concerned about the horse’s footing and refused to let him climb it, so we had to strap on our packs and schlep them up the rest of the trail to the campsite ourselves. Nevertheless, this strong, handsome guy saved us lots of miles with heavy packs, and we were thankful to have had him as long as we did.
My home sweet home beneath Capitol Peak.
This was 2008, a wet year with plenty of snow. The climb up Capitol was among the most beautiful I ever made.
The northeast ridge of Capitol Peak, known as the “knife edge”. You fall, you’re dead. I had read about it for years and dreaded crossing it. I had assumed I would straddle it and laboriously scoot up and down it on a very sore rear end.
Here’s how we did it. Two climbers on either side of the ridge were roped together. If one lost his footing, the weight of the other would prevent a long fall.
We moved one at a time, while the other stood at the ready, braced to arrest a fall.
Our young smart aleck of a guide just strolled along the knife edge, completely upright and perfectly balanced, nonchalantly stepping over our rope.
Elk Mountains from Capitol Peak.
There is great beauty near as well as far.
Capitol is a tough Class 4 climb. We were roped together much of the way.
The reddish hues of the Elk Mountains, from Capitol Peak.
Spectacular scenery throughout the day.
The morning after. Relaxing at a lake near the campsite before beginning the long hike to the trailhead
On the same trip, after Capitol Peak we headed for Snowmass Mountain. That’s it in the upper middle of this photograph on the far horizon, peering over the closer ridge.
The approach to Snowmass was not as hard as the one to Capitol, so we carried out own packs and let the horse rest.
We had a beautiful campsite by Snowmass Lake, but the mosquitos were fierce.
Our route up Snowmass started on this mix of snow and rock, then came a snow field, and finally a climb up steep rock.
Here’s what the snow field looked like.
Here’s what it felt like to a 65 year old, flatland, sea level desk jockey.
After the snow, the rocks.
We had time to spend about an hour on the summit, enjoying the sunshine, camaraderie, conversation and the gorgeous views.
On the descent we detoured through a field of beautiful white flowers.
Snowmass Lake at sunrise. It’s hard to hold a camera level while slapping mosquitos.
Among the delights of the Rockies are the critters you meet. This friendly young goat clearly wanted to steal the peach I was eating when he showed up.
This fellow was in the very remote Chicago Basin in the San Juans, but he had absolutely no fear of humans.
Above 12,000 feet or so you begin to see and hear marmots. Their characteristic high whistle has caused them to be called “whistle pigs”.
From summer to ski season. A beautiful morning at Bachelor’s Gulch before the opening of the lifts.
Pre-dawn light at Bachelor’s Gulch.
Another ski season dawn at Bachelor’s Gulch.
And one more.
Late afternoon in Vail, after the lifts have closed for the day.
One of the great joys of Colorado summers, at least for heat-escaping Texans, is just hanging out in the small mountain towns and enjoying the beguiling combination of warm sunshine and cool, dry air. This is Aspen.
Many of Aspen’s excellent restaurants have outdoor dining.
Downtown Aspen is flat, encouraging the proliferation of bicycles.
Well, not for everybody.
The Wheeler Opera House holds about 450 people. One summer I saw Lucia de Lammermoor by Donizetti performed by young musicians participating in the Aspen Music Festival. The opera is set in Scotland, was sung in Italian, and the principal singers were very talented Asian Americans. Wonderful cross cultural diversity.
A sidewalk fountain temporarily stymies two little boys.
But not for long.
Everybody wants that ball.
A nice way to advertise.
Enjoying the Aspen afternoon.
Always ready for a hike.
A great place to read.
We end this gallery in Colorado Springs. Photograph taken at the historic Patty Jewett Golf Course, Pike’s Peak looming in the background.
Colorado Springs is home to the wonderful Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
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The zoo must specialize in elephants. They have a whole herd of them.
A rarely sighted Rocky Mountain rhinoceros.