Grays and Torreys

 

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Tuesday, August 8, 2000 - Grays Peak and Torreys Peak (The Twin Peaks)

Ah, beautiful Torreys and Grays.  We had a surprising number of people wanting to climb for the second day in a row.  The drive was a bit longer, and we all got to discover the pleasure of driving on mountain gravel roads.

We started the climb shortly after sunrise and enjoyed the change of scenery from the previous day.  While on Quandary we were basically confined to the ridge, here we could climb up through a valley with more streams and vegetation.  It was very nice.  Further up on the climb we crossed paths with some mountain goats.  They were at rather close range and some of us got great pictures.

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Grays and Torreys at sunrise

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Abby and Brandi on the move

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Mountain goats
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The goats didn't seem to startled by our presence

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Rick and the crew check out the wildlife

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Taking the switchbacks to the summit of Grays

Although a few of the group turned back before reaching the summit of Grays, the rest of us briefly gathered there and huddled behind the rock wall, trying to avoid the cold wind.  A couple of the climbers decided to descend to the trailhead and the rest of us headed towards Torreys.  Although this is one of the easiest opportunities to get two fourteeners in a day, they still definitely stand out as two separate mountains.

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Taking a short stop on the windy, chilly summit of Grays Peak

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Todd Lentz, climbing stud

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Brandi, high above the basin below

The weather was considerably more favorable on top of Torreys.  Little to no wind, warm sunshine, and some nice rocks to camp out on.  We sat up there enjoying ourselves for quite some time before deciding to descend to the saddle and make our way back to the trailhead.

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Gerald, taking it easy

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Abby, enjoying the second summit of the day

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Grays Peak from the summit of Torreys - notice the well-defined trail switchbacking to the summit
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Kathy, Rick, and Holly on the summit of Torreys

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The philosophical Gerald Anglum

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Mt. Evans, Mt. Bierstadt, and the connecting Sawtooth Ridge

It was supposed to be a simple drive back to Breckenridge but the rough roads did a number on our car.  It was probably either a balance or alignment problem, and it shook the car so violently coming out of the Eisenhower Tunnel that I had problems going any faster than 40 miles an hour.  We limped it back to Breckenridge and to a tire shop.  It turned out that it was just the balance.  That's the kind of car problem I can handle, but ever since I've kept my eye out for something of the 4-wheel drive variety...

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Last Updated:  Friday, October 20, 2000