Torreys Peak - 14,267 ft

Date: 7-23-2005

Climbers: George Barnes, Aaron Reid

Route:  Kelso Ridge, Class 3

RT distance:  7.0 miles

RT time: 4 hours 55 minutes

Time to summit:  2 hours 45 minutes

Time on summit:  15 minutes

Time to trailhead: 1 hours 55 minutes

Elevation gain:  3,040 feet

USGS Quadrangle:  Grays Peak

Trip Report:

Quote of the day:

"Are all these piles of rocks for the three people in the world who can't follow the trail?"

    Aaron and I knew that doing a popular peak on a weekend would be interesting, so we met at the Park and Ride in Highlands Ranch at 4 AM with hopes of beating the crowds.  Arriving at the Stevens Gulch TH shortly after 5 we were still greeted by a fast filling parking lot.  Aaron made a remark about "hardcore cottoneers".  We grabbed our packs and were on our way down the trail by 5:15 AM.

   The alpenglow on Torreys made for some perfect photo opportunities.  The full moon was visible long after sunrise, but I didn't have the talent to capture any really stellar alepnglow-full moon shots (though I tried).

   Aaron and I made good time up the moonlit trail, hitting the Torreys-Kelso saddle in 55 minutes.  After a quick break we started up the ridge, following a faint climber's trail.  Aaron had done this route before, so he would take the lead up the ridge.  The first crux popped up shortly after leaving the saddle and Aaron made it look easy:

   The route requires a fair amount of scrambling on loose talus, a bit of a change from the bomber ridge on Lindsey, but still fairly enjoyable.

   It wasn't long before we reached the class 4 headwall crux of the route.  Aaron said that it could be avoided on either side on loose scree, but easy climbing on solid rock sounded more agreeable to both of us.  I'm still a little surprised this is considered class 4, it felt more like class 3 because of the solid foot and hand holds.

   This crux is followed by the "knife edge", which was a little underwhelming.  It certainly warrants some attention, though it seems to be a little over-hyped.  Aaron put the "shufflers" to shame as we walked across the edge upright.  I followed with a little less style, using my hands on occasion for extra security.

   After the knife edge the ridge is pretty much over and we topped out just before 8 AM.  After 15 minutes on the summit we began our descent of the standard (class 2) route on Torreys.

   I'd heard rumors of the giant cairns on this route, and they were just as revolting in person.  Aaron and I did some stealth cairn disassembly whenever possible on our way down.  Never fear, cottoneers, they're all still well over 6 feet tall and visible from at least three miles away.  It was refreshing to hear a non-hardcore climber exclaim what would become the quote of the day.

   After passing countless climbers on their way up we made it back to the TH at 10:10, for a RT time of just under 5 hours.  The parking lot was now completely full and the road down from the TH was lined with cars for over half a mile.