Half Peak is an interesting one. We were a bit curious about how this peak would be for skiing because the mountain isn’t really conventional in shape. It’s a giant, gentle sloping ramp with a big flat summit, much like like a butte.
Even though most people consider the ski season to be all wrapped up by May, it’s actually the best month of the whole year when it comes to climbing and skiing high peaks in Colorado. The late spring storms just seem to really stick.
Once we were on top and we could look down the line of Grenadiers to the east, and to the impressive Needle Mountains to the south, we were all keenly aware that we were experiencing something special.
Looking back, skiing Jupiter Mountain, 13,830 ft., might have been our most straightforward day of our whole Weminuche Wilderness traverse.
A five day ski traverse through the Weminuche Wilderness, from Needleton to Elk Park, with ski descents of Jupiter Mountain and Vestal Peak.
I had a great solo day up on Mount Cronin yesterday, skinning and skiing the Sawatch summit in 4:10 roundtrip. There was a little bit of wind but the snow was great and the exit back to the trailhead was fast.
While Dallas may rank lower in elevation when compared to its peers, the community consensus ranks it as the most challenging Centennial summit to climb. So in a strange bit of numerical irony, #100 in elevation ranks first in difficulty.
Holy Cross Ridge. It may not be the most creative name for one of Colorado’s Centennials, but as a ski objective the mountain is definitely inspiring.
“I’ve been looking forward to skiing Thunder Pyramid for years, so I was excited to have had an incredible day climbing and skiing the West Face this past weekend with Ted, and friends Darcy Conover and Adam Moszynski.” Christy
