Tom Grundy 2016 year end report

As some of you may know I try to write a year end report every year. Sometimes they don't really come at the end of the year though. In any case I wrote one up for 2016. I also mail these out so if you want to be on that list you should tell me. Google seems to have changed their contacts thing so that it is less like a computer and useful and more like a phone and hobbled so it is possible the report went into your spam folder this year.

on the summit of Longs Peak with Sam and Raquel

Tom Grundy 2016 Year End Report.

This year I am going to try something novel and new – writing up the year end report near the end of the year!

I'm starting in March 2016 since that is where the last report ended with a return to Bishop from overseas adventures. Mostly I was busy catching up with lots of little tasks that had piled up in my absence. And bouldering, a fair bit of bouldering. Then I took a trip to central Texas for YogaSlacker festival teacher training and to get pretty miserably sick – I might have been patient zero there. On the way back I taught at the Red Rock Rendezvous and stayed after with Nalumon for a few days for more climbing and a hot spring hike. Then back to Bishop. I got in a day of skiing in Yosemite. There were plans to climb the Colorado 14ers (peaks over 14,000 feet tall) this summer, so I began training for that a little bit with some gentle running and a few uphill efforts. As the weather warmed a few hikes into the Sierra including a Hurd –  Johnson - Trapezoid – Goode traverse and a training acclimitization hike up Mount Langley.

By the end of June I was packed up and on the road again to Colorado. First was Wanderlust music and yoga festival in Snowmass with the YogaSlackers and then the 14ers started July 4th. I won't bother listing them all here but in general I started in a range with Sam and Raquel and then after they left to work in various places I finished up the range before starting the next one. In July we did the Elk Range. Nalumon joined us near the end and although she didn't do any of these 14ers she did join in on rock climbing, camping, backpacking, and backpacking up a 13er. Then it was on to the San Juans. I wasn't able to finish them all with Sam and Raquel but Nalumon joined me on the second half of them.

In August I went to SLC for the summer Outdoor Retailer show and then back to Colorado for more 14ers with Nalumon before she escaped but I was rejoined by Sam and Raquel. We were working our way through the Collegiate Peaks when my truck radiator exploded. That put a crimp in our style but with their help I got back rolling again to do a few more before Wanderlust 108 in Fort Collins and then finishing the range up by myself with some early snow and a few days to rest and recover.

It was now September and with S and R back we did the Sangre De Cristo 14ers in some lucky weather windows and some rather grim conditions. After a brief respite in Pueblo we were back at it with Pikes Peak and then Longs Peak to finish up my effort. 57 in all and all of the 53 “official” 14ers except Culebra which I purposefully skipped because it is on private property with logistic and cost issues. These 14ers entailed hiking about 457 miles and 177.5 thousand feet of elevation gain. Then I hurt my bum knee and we taught at the Yoga Journal Estes Park Conference before rushing back to Bishop for Wilderness First Responder training at my place there.

The WFR training ended in October but there was little rest to be had with a visit from Nalumon and then another trip climbing in Red Rocks. It seemed like I would have a bunch of time to catch up for the rest of the year but then I discovered that I was going to Nepal and Thailand – yay and yikes. I scrambled to get everything ready for that and then whoosh off to the opposite side of the world in November.

In Nepal I met up with Sam and Raquel and we flew from Kathmandu to Lukla and trekked up to Gokyo by way of Tengboche before they had to return. I parted with them in Namche Bazar and trekked up to the Everest base camp area and Kala Patthar before returning via Kongma La. I got to experience sickness, cold, stunning views, tired legs, an early morning earthquake, and flying into and out of what has been called the sketchiest airport in the world.

In December I went to Thailand and immediately down to Krabi and Tonsai for 10 days of rock climbing. Sadly I wasn't in as good climbing shape as the last time I was here but I still met some great people and had a good time. Then I joined a bunch of other YogaSlackers for the Koh Lanta adventure complete with slacklines, waterlines, snorkeling, and acro. After that we went back to Tonsai for a few days before a day in Bangkok and 40 plus hours mostly awake flying back to LAX and the return to winter and what passes for responsibility in my life. Many thanks to the people I shared adventures with as well as the sponsors and people that allowed me to spend vast amounts of time away from home.

As usual if you don't want to be on this mailing list or you want this sent to a different e-mail then tell me. Also there are links to various trip reports on my web page and blog.

http://www.electricant.net/grundyman/index.html

http://tomgrundyman.blogspot.com/

more 14er action and a break at the OR show

I have now finished the Elk and San Juan 14ers (21 total). Nalumon joined me for the last 4 - as well as support car and hiking companion for a number of the other peaks.

Then I went down to the hot lowlands to the Outdoor Retailer show which was a bit of a break in some ways, but grueling in others. I did get a new pair of lightweight Leki poles and a few other things for the rest of the 14ers and there are some potentials in the works which will be pretty exciting if they pan out.

I started a trip report page for the 14ers which is just a skeleton right now but I hope to complete all the links some day. This isn't going to happen while I am out climbing peaks.

http://www.electricant.net/grundyman/co14ers.html

Sam waits for a mtn goat to yield North Maroon to him

Meanwhile I have been busy plotting out the next section. My tentative schedule is below (subject to change based on all sorts of factors). If you want to join in for one or more of these adventures get in touch - I am on T-Mobile so my connectivity is pretty poor, but hopefully I can get messages. Contacting Nalumon or Sam and Raquel might be more successful at least some of the time. Generally I try to get an early start (6 am is often the goal although sometimes it ends up being more like 7 or 7:30) to avoid the afternoon storms.

Aug 9 Mt Holy Cross

sometime between the 9th and the 16th, probably trying to avoid the weekend and taking the 15th off unless that seems like a good idea.

Gray and Torreys
Evans and Bierstadt
Quandary Pk

Aug 16th Sherman
Aug 17 Lincoln, Bross, Democrat, etc
Aug 18 Elbert
Aug 19 Massive
Aug 20 Missouri, Oxford, Belford
Aug 21 La Plata
Aug 22 Huron
Aug 23 Harvard and Columbia
Aug 24 Shavano and Tabeguache

Then on to Fort Collins for the Wanderlust 108 on the 27th.

After that I plan on finishing any peaks in the area before heading down to the Sangre de Cristo range.

Sam and Raquel finish the catwalk to Eolus

a welcome sunrise high on the buttress to El Diente

Colorado 14ers

As some of you may know, I am attempting to climb the Colorado 14,000 foot peaks this summer. These are known as 14ers and there are somewhere between 53 and 73 but most put it between 53 and 57 or so (sub peaks that have less than 300 feet of prominence are the reason). If they are nearby to another 14er and easily done or considered a significant peak (like N Maroon and El Diente) I plan on doing them too.

In any case, I was going to do these with Sam and Raquel who last year got me to run an Ultra (100K race) but didn't finish it themselves. They sent a list of days and I came up with a brutal schedule to try to squeeze all the peaks in - then the available days became less and less - so I am trying to fill in the rest of the peaks myself.

Right after Wanderlust Colorado we started strong but with only 3 days in the Elk Range -

July 4th Castle and Conundrum
July 5th Pyramid Pk
July 6th Maroon and N Maroon peak (with a rather exciting traverse between them)

Fisheye pic on the summit of N Maroon

Later I got Capitol and Snowmass peaks. I did those as overnights hiking in to the base of the peaks with Nalumon but climbing them myself.

Nate took a pic of me posing on Capitol

here is a Video Nate made of Capitol - I joined him for most of the peak from the camping area and show up in the video about 1:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2tt9L4Vcks&feature=youtu.be

This is Nate coming back on the knife edge of Capitol - he is the one who made the video

Then it was on to the San Juans... Once again Sam and Raquel were able to do less days than originally planned. We didn't meet up as planned either and on July 20th I did the Wetterhorn by myself and then hiked back to the car where we met up and headed up Uncompahgre - too late to avoid the lightning which hit a little too close for comfort.  I was tired and moving pretty slowly by then too.

Then on a much longer drive to the Purgatory Flats TH where we hiked in from 5:30 to midnight to Chicago basin. There on the 22nd we did Sunlight and Windom peak one day and the 23rd Eolus and N Eolus. Then we hiked partway out. Nalumon took the train and joined us at base camp. She also was able to take more weight out with her making our packs lighter for the hike out. Then we went and did Sneffels the 25th before Sam and Raquel headed off to SLC.

Nalumon and I hiked into the Navajo Lake basin and up above the lake to a camp spot at the base of El Diente... The next morning on the 27th of July I started early and climbed El Diente, Mt Wilson, and Wilson Peak before returning to camp and hiking out.

Nalumon has been acting as "support car" and slowly acclimating to the altitude and hiking up hills and mountains. She has been a great help in keeping me properly fed and sane.

17 peaks in - although according to 14ers.com I've done 11 of the top 15 most difficult peaks so perhaps between that and getting somewhat acclimated to the altitude and long uphill days things will get easier? - probably not.

Hopefully over the next few days I can finish the San Juan 14ers before the OR show.

This is a pretty rough cut of what I've been up to - but I mostly haven't had much time and internet access. I hope to do a much more complete set of trip reports eventually with things like pictures and elevations and a count of tears and goats and so on...

Meanwhile you might be able to see where I am on the spot tracker...

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Dc9Uh3Nfi5gSoXCZcVqStstGq6beNZ8X