Mark Anderson just below the boulder-problem crux of Carnage (5.13d). Photo by Kate Anderson

Colorado’s Shelf Road , a network of vertical limestone cliffs near Cañon City best known for sunny moderates, has a new 5.13d pitch and may soon get its first 5.14. On Sunday, March 7, Mark Anderson redpointed a striking, super-technical arête at Cactus Cliff that was bolted in the early 1990s but apparently never free-climbed. Listed in the guidebook as Wild Virus, the newly redpointed climb has been renamed Carnage (5.13d).

Carnage ascends 5.11 ground to a big rest ledge, followed by sustained 5.12 climbing up the prow, with the desperate crux coming below the eighth bolt in the form of an “ultra-subtle V10-ish boulder problem [that] slaps directly up the arête.” Anderson, an engineer who lives in Morrison, spent four days working on the route and sent on his ninth attempt.

At Mountain Project, Josh Janes, one of Anderson’s partners, wrote, “After two frustrating burns on the fourth day of working the route, Mark decided to throw in the towel for the day and give his sore bicep a week of rest, despite having unlocked subtle new beta for the crux. Later in the day, however, it occurred to him that the moves that tended to tweak his arm came after the crux, and it wouldn’t hurt to climb up to that point one more time to reinforce the new beta…. Without any expectation of sending, he crushed the crux sequence and then persevered though the upper section for the FFA—an inspired performance!”

Anderson finishing up Carnage's crux. Photo by Kate Anderson

A potentially even harder route is in the works. According to Anderson, Ben Schmitt has been projecting a bulge on the wall between Carnage and Cure for the Common Crimp that is said to be at least 5.13+. “Ben’s been working it for a few weeks, and he’s one-hanged it a bunch, so he could send any day now,” Anderson said.

“I had been convinced that Shelf was climbed out, but now I’m starting to see the crag with new eyes,” Anderson added. “I think there’s still a lot of potential, especially for harder routes, though they may not be of a style that’s fashionable these days.”

Josiah Middaugh and Keri Nelson won the men’s and women’s 10K at the Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Championships in Beaver Creek on Sunday. Middaugh, who won the U.S. championships in New York the day before (yes, it’s confusing), smoked the 10K course in 47:45. Simon Escorcia and Kelly Escorcia took the 5K titles. More than 300 people entered the various races.

More results after the jump.

Men’s 10K
1. Josiah Middaugh
2. Josh Eberle
3. Bernie Boettcher
4. Mike Kloser
5. Jason Michalak

Women’s 10K
1. Keri Nelson
2. Brandy Erholtz
3. Cynthia Lauren-Arnold
4. Jeanne Cooper
5. Myriah Blair

Mmmmm...pizza! See below for a link to the recipe. Photo by Gregg Larson, HutTrip.com

By Gregg Larson

Editor’s note: Gregg Larson is the creator of HutTrip.com, a two-year-old website that offers tips and news about the 10th Mountain and other Colorado huts. This article has been adapted from a post at his site and is used with permission.

Anyone who has been doing hut trips long enough has developed a set of recipes that they take each time. I have run into just about every type of chef while visiting the huts, from freeze-dried food chefs (just add water!) to people who seem to bring up an entire fridge worth of food.

Here are a few things I have learned when planning hut-trip meals. First, my appetite drops when I am at altitude. It takes me a few days to finally get adjusted and enjoy a large meal. Therefore, the first adjustment I make with hut-trip meals is to go with smaller portions but more meals—meaning lots of yummy, high-protein snacks. Second, I stay away from foods that can go bad quickly or have a greater chance of carrying bacteria. So, as much as I like a salad, I usually save these for home and rely on cooked foods. Third, remember that everyone else will over-pack food, guaranteed.

I look for a balance of great-tasting meals that don’t take up a ton of space or weight, or require excessive use of the kitchen or creation of garbage. I have no desire to pack down a bunch of food I didn’t need, especially cooked food that wasn’t eaten.

Here is a list of things I usually don’t bring up:

1. Bread. It squishes and gets wet. Bagels too. (Flatbreads and tortillas work.)
2. Coffee. It’s a major pain to clean, and the grinds are messy. (Starbucks VIA instant coffee is awesome, however.)
4. Crackers. They break.
5. Bananas. They go bad quickly. (Apples and oranges are great.)

Breakfast Ideas

1. Granola with yogurt and fruit.
2. Breakfast burritos. Note that eggs can be messy to clean up.
3. Instant oatmeal. Easy to make and clean up, and it fills the tummy. I love mine with raisins, fruits, and some brown sugar.
4. Bacon. Mmmmm, bacon!
5. Tang. If it’s good for the astronauts, it’s good for me.
6. Lox/cream cheese. Simple, light, and great protein.
7. Pancakes. Get Bisquick Shake ’N Pour mix for easy clean-up.
8. Chorizo. Great multi-tasker: good in burritos and on the side; full of flavor.
9. Dehydrated hash browns. Available at Costco.

Lunch Ideas

Lunch on a hut trip means a few different things: what you need to consume while you are hiking up, snacks while you are out touring or skiing, and a formal lunch during a break. I focus on making lunch small and light, with lots of options for different tasty treats.

1. Flavored tuna packets. They come in single-serving packets that keep things clean…tasty too!
2. Crackers. Despite what I said above, I usually go for an assortment of crackers. They usually break, but they are good, and the crumbs are good in soup.
3. Smoked fish. One of my favorite snacks at the huts: Full of protein and oils, this is usually the first thing I go for when I am done with the hike.
4. Miso soup packets. Miso is a great quick way to start getting warm protein into your diet once you make it to the hut.
5. Chicken noodle soup packets. Ditto.
6. Chocolate. Mmmmm, chocolate!
7. Cured meats such as salami or prosciutto. Rich and spicy.
8. Cheeses. Whatever suits your taste, but I like rich cheeses full of flavor, especially at the hut.
9. Jerky.
10. Apples and oranges.
11. Hard candy. Something to do while climbing; eases parched throats.
12. Nuts. Cashews and pistachios are great, but don’t throw the shells in the fire—you have to carry them down.
13. Quesadillas.

Dinner Ideas

I really don’t have a strong appetite for dinner—or for cooking it—until the second or third night on a trip. So, I solved this problem with one of my favorite ideas: Get take-out food from your favorite restaurant and freeze it in a vacuum-sealed bag. I have yet to meet someone who didn’t drool when I served chicken masala or General Tso’s chicken at a hut. This is quite simply the easiest, cleanest, fastest, and best-tasting gourmet food you can make while at a hut. Here’s a video I made showing how to do it:

After my mandatory boil-in-a-bag meal, there are a few other food ideas that we often employ:

Pizza. If you can’t finish it, there will be people in the hut who will. Check out a recipe here.
Pasta.
Fajitas: chicken or flank steak.
Stir Fry.

After I come up with a set of meals, I ration out what I want and leave the rest home, and personally I err on the side of less. On my first hut trips I simply threw a bunch of food into my bag and carried a lot of it out. Now, I think about how many veggies I need and how I can plan meals that share ingredients—breakfast burritos, quesadillas, and pizza, for example. I like to get rid of extra garbage while I am at home or at the hotel the night before, and I either vacuum-seal my portions to keep them fresh and dry or put them in a zip-lock bag. Finally, I keep a journal of what worked and what didn’t, and I review it before my next trip, always trying to refine my methods.

High on Harvard, headed south. Photo by Ben Conners

Sure, we’ve already featured an ascent of Mt. Harvard this winter, but Ben Conners and Matt Kamper’s climb last Sunday was a stylish one-day ascent of Colorado’s third-highest peak, with a ski descent right from the tippy-top. Plus, we can’t get over how great the Harvard area looks in winter.

Entering the key chute below the summit. Photo by Ben Conners

Conners and Kamper climbed the south ridge of the 14,420-foot peak. The winter closure on Cottonwood Creek Road added 3.5 miles to the morning skin and yielded big numbers for the full day: 20.5 miles round trip, with 5,700 feet of vertical. Neither forecast (weather or avalanche) was perfect, but the boys got lucky with the former and carefully managed the latter, giving them a beautiful day out. Eight hours up, three hours down—you gotta love skis!

The photos here are reproduced with permission; see the full report and many more photos at 14ers.com.

Peak Steward field training in June 2009. Photo by Brian Wallace

The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative is making a big push to expand its eight-year-old Peak Stewards program, in which 14er fans volunteer to spend several days educating visitors about the alpine environment, Leave No Trace practices, and peak-specific regulations. The nonprofit has added six one-day training sessions this winter and spring, hoping to more than triple its volunteer corps. We asked CFI education and outreach coordinator Brian Wallace to fill us in:

Mojo: So, briefly describe the Peak Stewards program.

Wallace: CFI’s mission statement in general is to protect and preserve the natural integrity of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks through active stewardship and public education. The Peak Stewards program exclusively focuses on the education portion. Peak Stewards receive specialized training in alpine ecology, 14er-specific Leave No Trace, Forest Service regulations, and visitor interaction techniques.

Mojo: How many volunteers do you have?

Wallace: We had 40 trained at the beginning of last summer and 30 active, completing a total of 140 days. This year I am hoping to recruit and train at least 100 more individuals, with aspirations of over 500 volunteer days on the peaks.

Mojo: What’s a typical day like for a Peak Steward?

Wallace: That depends on what their personal goals are. If they are looking forward to climbing the mountain, then by all means they can climb the mountain and volunteer as a steward at the same time. If they would like to steward without climbing (many of our older volunteers do this), then hanging out at the trailhead and educating visitors as they arrive is also an option.

Mojo: Do people get assigned to one peak, like a sort of adopt-a-peak program? Or do they visit multiple peaks during the summer?

Peak Steward's station at Lincoln-Democrat-Bross trailhead. Photo by James Jimenez

Wallace: Again, because I am trying to maintain a volunteer program that is convenient, it depends on the preference of the steward. We have a list of priority peaks that we try to fill. In general, though, I try to encourage stewards to visit the peaks they want to. We do ask that a Peak Steward volunteer at least four days per season, but some give two and some give 15, so it all basically equals out.

Mojo: Do the stewards ever end up feeling like cops? Do any hikers resent their presence?

Wallace: It’s funny and appropriate that you would ask this. There’s an educational technique called “authority of the resource” developed by George Wallace at CSU that transfers the authority from the “agency” (CFI, USFS, “laws,” etc.) to the “resource” (delicate tundra, for example). We basically train our Peak Stewards to avoid saying “You can’t do this” and instead say something like, “You would have less impact on the natural environment if you did it like this instead”—for instance, not cutting a switchback. We really try and avoid the police mentality.

That being said, there will always be people that don’t like someone giving them advice, even if it is for a worthy reason, and some hikers don’t enjoy seeing anyone from an agency while using public lands. But the majority of the people we interact with are very grateful to see volunteers trying to mitigate the amount of ecological damage that occurs on the peaks.

Mojo: What do the volunteers get out of dedicating their free time to this program?

Wallace: I would be willing to say that 90 percent of our Peak Stewards would be climbing the peaks regardless of whether they were volunteering. This allows people to volunteer while doing something they already receive great pleasure from. Instead of just being a user of public lands, they can actually help protect and preserve these lands, a mentality that will hopefully carry over into a general outdoor recreation ethic.

We do have some swag-type items that we try to offer Peak Stewards who post the highest number of days, but that all depends on what we receive in donations from gear companies. And there could be a tax break! Under most circumstances, volunteers can write off their expenditures as charitable contributions.

Mojo: How do people get involved?

Wallace: There will be trainings throughout the spring and early summer. The next one is this coming Sunday (March 7) at the Boulder REI, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. All the trainings that are on the schedule so far can be found at our website.  If people want to register or get more info, they can contact me at 303-278-7650 or by email. We’ve also got a Facebook page that people can check out.

Mojo: Cool, Brian, have a great summer!

The mysterious personal locator beacon (PLB) that baffled rescue groups and law enforcement this winter had been mistaken for an avalanche beacon by the guy who received it as a gift. The clueless skier (mercifully unnamed) did not read the directions nor register the device, and had been innocently switching it on each time he headed into the backcountry, thus triggering multiple responses from concerned rescuers. Makes you wonder what his skiing partners were thinking—whatever happened to the beacon check? Actually, it makes you wonder a lot of things…

Read today’s Denver Post story here and MoJo’s earlier story about the PLB mystery and interview with Alpine Rescue Team president here.

“That rubble is what the owners left when they walked away from Ski St. Mary’s,” wrote Sinjin Eberle, correctly identifying the final mystery resort in our series and thus winning a copy of Pete Bronski’s Powder Ghost Towns book. Here’s some info from Mr. Bronski about the erstwhile resort northwest of Idaho Springs:

St. Mary’s really has a two-part history. Skiing here dates back to the earliest days of recreational skiing in Colorado; by the 1920s, skiers were hosting July 4 ski tournaments on the glacier. Decades later, Ski St. Mary’s came into existence in neighboring (and private) Anchor Gulch. Like so many other Powder Ghost Towns, it went through a series of name changes and changes in ownership, but ultimately folded. Today, the Anchor Gulch property is the subject of a proposed redevelopment as a snow park (akin to the way Echo Mountain resurrected and repurposed what was once Squaw Pass ski area). Regardless, St. Mary’s Glacier remains a popular and accessible backcountry skiing destination steeped in skiing history.

The final installment of our Powder Ghost Towns video series features film and stills from the abandoned St. Mary’s, Adam, Baker Mountain, and Climax resorts. Pete notes that there has been an important change in the access to the old Climax Ski Area, located on Chalk Mountain at Fremont Pass. Click here for the update. Thanks for checking out the Powder Ghost Towns with us. Visit Pete Bronski’s website to learn more about the book, and search “Powder Ghost Towns” here to see all the stories and videos in this series.

1,500 vertical feet X 20 laps = ouch.

Michael Hagen completed an even 20 laps of the one-mile, 1,500-vertical-foot course at the Endurance Challenge at Sunlight Mountain, a  12-hour suffer-fest at the ski resort near Glenwood Springs. Hagen needed 11 hours 43 minutes to wrap up his 30,000-vertical-foot workout on February 28.

Meanwhile, Eva Hagen won the women’s solo division with 15 laps, or ca. 22,500 vertical feet. Not a bad day out for the husband and wife from Colorado Springs, each of whom won $2,000 for their victories. Competing as a team, the Hagens placed third in the duo category at the 24 Hours of Sunlight in 2009.

More than 140 competitors raced in various categories at the Endurance Challenge, a 12-hour stand-in for the canceled 24 Hours of Sunlight. The Glenwood Springs Post Independent has posted a good story about the race, with full results and a photo of Michael Hagen racing.

Men’s Solo
1. Michael Hagen (20 laps)
2. Billy Laird (19)
3. Travis Macy (19)

Women’s Solo
1. Eva Hagen (15 laps)
2. Meredith Edwards (12)
3. Anne St. Claire (12)

After no one correctly ID’d last week’s abandoned Colorado ski area, we’ll toss in an easy one today. Pete Bronksi will give a copy of his Powder Ghost Towns book to the first person to name this “lost resort” correctly in the comments. On Wednesday we’ll post the answer and a video featuring this resort and others in Colorado.

Search “Powder Ghost Towns” to see all the posts in this series.

Courtesy of Vail Athletic Club

Josiah Middaugh of Edwards won the Vail Winter Uphill race, posting a time of 37:42 for the two-mile, 2,000-vertical-foot course. Middaugh, a top-ranked off-road triathlon racer and past national champion in snowshoeing, had knee surgery in early November and obviously is doing well in recovery. Anita Ortiz, a multi-time national mountain running champion, was the fastest woman up the course, finishing in fourth overall with a time of 42:30. Ortiz was last year’s USATF ultra runner of the year in the master’s division.

Click here to see all the results (box in lower left of the page) and photos from the Vail Winter Uphill.