This video was shot by a guy who climbed Belford a couple of weeks after I did last year. It doesn’t look like he had much more snow to contend with but the wind sounds worse – and it definitely looks colder. We had awesome weather with only a few heavy gusts in the last few hundred feet.

YouTube scouting continues. This series certainly looks less sketchy than some of the other Wetterhorn videos that I’ve posted.

My YouTube scouting of Wetterhorn Peak continues. This one has bit of a, um, pucker factor. By the way, thanks to Jeff Valliere for emailing me some background info on this climb.

I have seen Everest described as a simple “walk-up” meaning that no actual climbing is involved so I thought a quick review of what defines climbing might be helpful. I will use the South Col route as the example.

One point to keep in mind that the base definition of “technical” often means that climbers must use crampons and an ice axe. This implies skills with snow travel, crevasse rescue and self-arrest techniques – all of which are needed for a safe Everest climb from base camp to the summit; and back.

People seem to confuse technical difficulty and overall difficulty when discussing climbing. It’s important to remember that a walk-up can be physically challenging (for most), dangerous, and even deadly.

A really impressive video for an impressive first 14er summit:

Blanca Peak is the fourth highest summit in Colorado and highest in the Sangre de Cristo Range. It is most easily accessed via Lake Como trail, a.k.a. the “Trail of Tears” by the King family. Most of this video was shot in September of 2009, though there are shots of Blanca’s east face from the Huerfano River side shot in June of that year and a nice time lapse shot from companion peak Little Bear in 2007. This was brother Matt’s first 14er summit; a worthy accomplishment coming from Lincoln, NE. Look for very cool time lapse of Little Bear as seen from Blanca.

There’s more on Blanca over at 14ers.com.

If I attempt Wetterhorn this summer it will be my first class 3 climbing. It looks challenging – mentally and physically – but if training continues to go well this summer I think it’s within reach.

A nice view from Wetterhorn Peak in Colorado – possibly my next summit attempt later this summer.

Mount Oxford is one of three 14ers will be attempting in April. The plan, as it stands now, is to move across the saddle from Mount Belford before descending and attempting Missouri Mountain the following day.

Weather
NWS Forecast

Trip Reports
Summit Post | 14ers.com

Photos
Summit Post | 14ers.com | Google Images

Maps
GeoHack – Satellite, Topo, etc.

Routes
Summit Post | 14ers.com | Trails.com

Discussion
Twitter

Photo Credit: Jokermanj – License

The best part of this project has been, without a doubt, the connections we’re making with climbers around the world. Our next climb is a perfect example of that.

We’re just getting started here but climber Alan Arnette has been a major source of support for us – providing much needed feedback, climbing tips, contributing a post to We Never Stop, and even volunteering to be the subject of our first climber interview. Now he’s offered to host our next climb – a valuable learning opportunity for climbers in our position.

The plan (it’s still evolving) is for the two of us to meet Alan and two of his experienced climbing buddies (Patrick and Robert) in April for camping and crampon/ice axe assisted climbing in the snowy Collegiate Peaks section of Colorado’s Sawatch Range.

Day 1
Drive to the trailhead and hike, likely with snowshoes, to a camp at 11,500 feet.

Day 2
Climb a long ridge to the summit of Mount Belford (14,197 ft – 4,327 m). We’ll break there before making our way over the saddle to the summit of Mount Oxford (14,153 ft – 4,313 m). From there we’ll make our way back to camp for the night.

Day 3
We’ll be climbing early – up a fairly steep snow wall before turning up a steep, somewhat exposed, ridge and heading for the summit of Missouri Mountain (14,067 ft – 4,288 m). We’ll return to our initial camp from there.

Day 4
Break camp. Search for steak and beer.

Needless to say, we’re pretty geeked out about all of this. It’s the perfect challenge for us at this time and fantastic learning opportunity. We also expect it to be a hell of a lot of fun. You can’t ask for more than that.

Stay tuned for more updates as planning and training continues.

Note: The photo of Missouri Mountain is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License by szczepan1990.