Grays/Torreys
05/28/10
9 miles/3,600 vertical
Sierra and I
2:34:58 RT
Grays Ascent #20
Torreys Ascent #19
14er Ascent #220
Woke up before my alarm this morning and decided to get going early with the intention of avoiding getting seared by the sun and post-holing. The road to the Stevens Gulch TH is passable and in good condition for just about any car, aside from a few lingering patches within sight of the TH, the road is snow free and smooth (relatively).
We got to the TH a little after 6am and futzed around for a bit, not in too big of a hurry. Started from the bridge at 6:30am and I was amazed at how much snow had melted since last week. The trail was dry for the first few hundred feet, then was mostly snow, but was well frozen and easy to walk on. Last week, I followed the bulk of footprints lower through the valley, as not many, if any had stuck to the actual summer route. Today however, I tried this again and it was a big mistake and gave me a newfound appreciation for “trap door” snow.
After a slow start through the willows, I made it to the well tracked trail just below the sign under Kelso’s slopes. From here, the trail conditions improved dramatically and post-holing would generally not be an issue for the remainder of the day. I jogged a few sections, but mostly hiked, as I was a little sore from running Evans yesterday. I knew this going in and it was my intention to go somewhat casual no matter what and just get in a short altitude workout.
Since the trail to the saddle was well tracked, I decided to go up Torreys first while the snow was still frozen. I was wearing Microspikes which helped quite a bit, as well as the well formed footprints from those who had gone before me. The wind was a bit gusty through here, so I took it slow and careful, as I did not have my axe and a fall could potentially be a bit of a setback.
I plodded on what snow remained on Torreys, mostly staying on top and spent little time there, as the wind was a bit cold. The trip to Grays was a bit easier than last week and the trip back to the TH was a cruise on the still hard snow, finishing a few minutes after 9am.
Splits:
Stevens Gulch TH: 0:00
Saddle: 1:08
Torreys: 1:23
Grays: 1:43
Stevens Gulch TH: 2:34 (avg HR 139/max 161)
