Pre-Baby Summer Extravaganza

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Less than 2 weeks until Baby Bettner is due!!


As many of you know, our little bundle of joy is due at the end of August.  Kelly and I have done the best we can to make the most of our summer until then.  Here's a little recap of what we've been up to.


June 1 - June 6: Southwest Road Trip
In early June Kelly's parents visited us at our new home before we all went on a little southwestern road trip.  We started in Arches National Park.

Kelly holding up Landscape Arch.






Kelly and her dad enjoying a view of the LaSal mountains.


After leaving the Moab area we drove down to the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona to see Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay").

Kelly and her mom with Spider Rock in the background.


Ancient cliff dwellings in the canyon.






Watching for raptors (aka "birds of prey" to the non-birder) on the canyon rim.


What a touristy family...


From Canyon de Chelly, Kelly's parents continued to their home in Tucson and Kelly and I made our way home with 2-night stop at the Apple Lodge Bed & Breakfast in the San Luis valley.  On our drive from Arizona to the San Luis valley we made stops at the 4-corners, Mesa Verde National Park and Wolf Creek Pass.

Kelly at the 4-corners.


Dorking out at the 4-corners, haha.


Kelly at the start of a Mesa Verde cliff dwelling tour.




Apparently the builders were small people.  I almost had to get pried out of this doorway.


Wolf Creek pass shortly before the big wild fire.




From our bed & breakfast in the San Luis valley we were able to take advantage of our third National Park of the trip - Great Sand Dunes.  We also saw Zapata Falls and played a rousing game of miniature golf.

Temporary creek at GSNP.


Standing atop "Big Dune."


Kelly reaching the top of "Big Dune."




Zapata Falls - a waterfall in a narrow slot canyon.


Mini golfing at the Apple Lodge Bed & Breakfast.



June 16 - June 22:  Royal Family Kids Camp
Not long after the road trip Kelly and I had a remarkable week at Royal Family Kids Camp.  RFKC is a camp for foster, abused and/or neglected children.  At camp these kiddos get the opportunity to feel like kids and celebrate personal successes, something many of them rarely get to experience.  It is truly an amazing week.  I have no pictures, because we are not allowed to take pictures at camp for the protection of the children (it's the law).  If you want to make a difference in the life of a child, I strongly recommend you check out Royal Family Kids Camp.  It will change your life for the better.


June 25 - June 27:  Gore Range Grand Traverse
At the end of June I did the Gore Range Grand Traverse with Jake and Blair.  I already wrote about that HERE.

Gore Range Grand Traverse.


Atop North Traverse Peak.



July 1 - July 22:  PA Work and Family Visit
Last summer I worked for Global Mountain Solutions.  It has been great getting to continue working with GMS this summer as well.  The GMS jobs involve doing mountain rescue and access work for seismic crews on natural gas fields.  My first stint this summer was in my homeland - Pennsylvania.  The weather was hot, but the scenery was certainly fantastic.  It had everything from fields of blueberries, to black bears, to deer, to old growth forrest, to rattle snakes to natural artesian springs.  Every once in a while, when the group that I was working with took a break, I got to set up my hammock on beautiful vistas.

Not a bad day at the office.


So lush...


Trust me, the job isn't all that easy.  I just don't feel like taking pictures of the difficult stuff.


Not a bad view for my morning bathroom break.


Checking out Hyner View - a common paraglider and hang glider launch.



July 23 - August 2:  Colorado Time with Kelly
Upon returning to Colorado from the east, I did my best to take advantage of some good flying weather.  I finally got off the ground at Kenosha Pass!


Kelly and I spent a lot of quality time together, too.  We hadn't been together much since I had been working out east, and it was great to get some quality time.  One of the highlights was painting her belly like a baseball for a Brewers v. Rockies game.  Our good friend Renick Christopherson hooked us up with a terrific experience at the stadium, too.

Family portrait.


We made it on TV!


The legend, Bob Uecker.


Behind the scoreboard.


Changing the score.


The Brewers win!


Of course, a good amount of our quality time was also spent together in the mountains.

Loch Lamond.


Off-roading fun with the truck.




Everything about this picture is awesome.

August 3 - August 16:  CO Work
At the beginning of August I got a call from GMS about more mountain rescue/access work.  This time the work was in Colorado instead of Pennsylvania.  With a baby on the way and the work being within driving distance in case anything happened, I couldn't turn down the opportunity.  Although this job was also for seismic work on natural gas fields, this project was in a much different stage than those in Pennsylvania.  Therefore, my work was a little bit different as well.

My morning commute.


My Evening Commute.



August 16 - Baby Bettner:  Joel & Kelly Time
Right now Kelly and I are just tending our garden and prepping our home for the arrival of our first born!

Daily harvesting.


The nursery is ready.



I'm so extremely blessed.

Gore Range Grand Traverse

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Check out the little video here.



This past Tuesday (June 25) and Wednesday (June 26) I did the Gore Range Grand Traverse with Jake and his roommate Blair.  We started on the east side of the Gore Range at the Rock Creek Trail Head and ended on the west side of the Gore Range at the Deluge Lake Trail Head.

We left the Rock Creek Trail Head a little bit after 8 pm on Tuesday night with the intention of hiking in the dark for a little while once we left the trail.  We were able to get exactly where we had planned on camping, but it took a bit of bushwhacking in the dark to make it happen.  If anyone had been watching us the would have gotten a good laugh.  I was the only one with a functioning headlamp.  Jake's strap broke and he had to hold his, and Blair just used the light on his iPhone.

When we reached camp it was just about as perfect as one can hope for - peaceful stream, cool temps and a beautiful night sky.  We slept under the stars...or at least we tried to sleep.  I had a horribly stuffed nose and got perhaps a cumulative of one hour of sleep before the alarm clock buzzed.

On the 26th we woke up at 5 am and had a leisurely start to our day.  We were hiking by 6 am.  It was a stunning morning.


Shortly after leaving camp in the morning.


Beautiful morning for a walk in the mountains.


Hitting the alpine...


...and the last remnants of winter's snow.


As I said, it was a beautiful morning to be in the mountains.


Jake and Blair above the last lake on the east side of the Gore Range.


Time for some Powerbar breakfast.



After a little food and soaking in some great views we made short work of the climb to the saddle between Keller Peak and North Traverse Peak.  Reaching this saddle was the first feeling of actually accomplishing something on the trip.  The views were stunning and they were only going to get better as we continued.


Saddle of Keller and North Traverse Peaks.


Jake at the saddle of Keller and North Traverse Peaks.


Me at the saddle of Keller and North Traverse Peaks.



The short hike from the saddle to the summit of North Traverse Peak went smoothly.  When we reached the summit of North Traverse Peak (13,079') we ate and drank a little bit as we soaked in the scenery.


Atop North Traverse Peak looking to the north.


Atop North Traverse Peak looking to the west.


Atop North Traverse Peak looking to the south.


A view of the Grand Traverse from the summit of North Traverse Peak.


Jake, stoked to get started on the Grand Traverse with Grand Traverse Peak in the background.



We were all excited to get started on the Grand Traverse!  After all, this is what all of the effort was for.

The first part of the traverse is a knife edge ridge.  It isn't very technical, but you are over large exposure.  I didn't get many pictures here, but the video shows some of this section.  Stunning beauty in every direction.


Jake enjoying the exposure on the knife edge part of the traverse.



After the knife edge part of the traverse, you come into sections of class 4 and 4+ climbing.  I can understand why some people would choose to rope up for some of these sections, but we opted not to.  This allowed us to move more quickly and efficiently.  It was the perfect balance of challenge without being too technical...extremely enjoyable.


Me on the first little climb.


Jake.


Blair.


Blair.


Me making my way through a section I affectionately refer to as "The Coin Slot."


Jake coming through The Coin Slot.


Jake and Blair successfully through The Coin Slot.


Jake making his way.  It is deceptively hard doing this with a pack on.


Blair making his way.


A little closer look.


Nice spot for a water break with the Sawatch (Mount of the Holy Cross) as the backdrop.


Jake stoked on the climbing.


Me making my way up the final ascent of the traverse.


Smiling for the camera...


...and climbing again.


Jake and Blair making their way up the final ascent of the traverse.


Smiling for the camera.



Spirits were high when we reached the summit of Grand Traverse Peak (13,041').  Just as with North Traverse Peak, we ate and drank as we soaked in the views.


Me on the summit of Grand Traverse Peak.  Arms up was the theme.


Jake on the summit of Grand Traverse Peak.


Blair on the summit of Grand Traverse Peak.


Enjoying the view after finishing the Gore Range Grand Traverse.


Summit of Grand Traverse Peak looking north.


Summit of Grand Traverse Peak looking south.



After an enjoyable stay at the top we made our way down to Deluge Lake and the USFS hut near it.  Jake decided to glissade down the snow as much as possible and was soaked when he reached the hut. We waited for him to change before beginning the 4 mile hike to the Deluge Lake Trail Head.


Deluge Lake still had quite a bit of ice on it.



The hike to the Deluge Lake Trail Head was fairly unpleasant.  It was hot, and we were all a bit dehydrated.  The trail is only near water at the very beginning and very end, even though it could have followed the creek the entire distance.  It also stays flat for a long period of time before becoming quite steep, and this was hard on our knees.  In any case, we finished it off without any incident.


After the 4 mile trip down from Deluge Lake we were happy to have successfully crossed the Gore Range via the Gore Range Grand Traverse.



It was a great time, in a beautiful place with good people.

Quieting My Ego on North Maroon Peak

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I don't normally post about failed attempts at a summit/ski descent, but I thought it might be a good idea to post about this one.  I hope that the folks I ski with on a regular basis read it and it helps us continually make wise decisions in the mountains.


Background:
I have been trying to ski the north face of North Maroon peak for several years now.  Since it is well within my comfort zone and ability, and it is such an iconic peak, it feels like it calls out to me.  Every year, however, I have either had issues finding a partner, been denied by avalanche conditions, or had other obligations (work, trips, other peaks, etc.).

This year, after finally successfully skiing Mount Moran I was itching to check North Maroon off the list as well.  Things were looking promising.  I had a partner lined up to ski it with, a weather window and I was in good physical shape.


May 21:
My ski partner backed out of the trip.  We had been planning on leaving the next day, May 22.  I certainly understood his need to back out as he had some time sensitive issues to take care of.  I decided to push the start of my trip back another day, and leave on May 23.  I looked for other partners, but found none.


May 22:
I debated whether or not I should go solo.  More or less, my reluctance to go solo was because I simply like to spend time with other people in the mountains.  Being solo does present some heightened risk factors, though.  For instance, in case of an injury I would have no help.  But that is a bit of a moot point for a ski descent like this.   The chances that a partner could help you if you get hurt are slim.  This is not the sort of place where one simply gets hurt...

I decided to go solo.


May 23:
After the drive up to Maroon Lake, I loaded my pack and set off for camp.  The views of the north face of North Maroon were great and I was excited to be there.

Starting the hike to camp.


I hiked in 2.4 miles and 1300' vertical to camp with a brief stop at Crater Lake to enjoy the view.

Home sweet home.



May 24:

4:30 am - Knowing that with my fitness level I could comfortably put away ~1200' vertical in an hour, and that I was only ~3,350' vertical from the summit, I set the alarm clock for 4:30 am with the plan of hitting the trail at 5 am.  I figured this would give me plenty of time to make it to the summit before things got too warm.

As I was eating breakfast a group of two passed me, also on their way to the summit of North Maroon for a ski descent.


5:00 am - I clicked into my skis and hit the trail about 15 minutes behind the other group of skiers.  The first face that I encountered looked pretty benign.  It was only ~700' vertical of mostly side-hill skinning.  I was planning on having this face out of the way in 30 minutes (by 5:30 am).  Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

The night had been clear and cold, and the snow surface was brutal for a side-hill skin.  In fact, it was quite difficult to even get the butt of my ice axe into the snow surface.  The group ahead of me made decent time on the face by boot packing much of it (I talked to them about it later).  I was continually going from trying to skin, to boot packing, to trying to skin.  For a while I felt like I was on a Nordic Track.

What should have only taken me about 30 minutes ended up taking me 1.5 hours.  I was frustrated, but the snow surface was still cold so I kept going.



Side-hill skin from Hell.  Should have taken me no more than 30 minutes but took me 1.5 hours.  This picture was taken from camp the night before.


A slight view of the sunrise.




6:30 am - I had reached the basin below the face of North Maroon.  The skinning from here was much easier.  I hustled and made great time.  I put away the next 1000' vertical to the base of the north face in ~30 minutes.  I was feeling pretty good.  I could see that the other group of climbers was about 30 minutes ahead of me at this point.  I lost ground on the initial side-hill, but made a lot of it up on this section.


7:00 am - I had reached the base of the north face and transitioned from skins to crampons.  I began hiking my way up.  I was moving fast and still making great time despite the poor start.


7:30 am - It was getting warm quickly.  Very quickly.  On a few of my steps I punched through the frozen surface into the unconsolidated snow beneath.  Given that I was climbing fast I made the decision to continue upwards with the hopes of being able to outclimb the thaw.  I knew that if it got much worse I would have to turn around.  It is never a good idea to be hiking over large exposure on poor snow.


7:45 am - At this point I was at roughly 13,300'.  I could see the final cliff band on the north face.  I was just below the middle crux.  I had been hiking at a steady pace and had climbed a little more than half the vertical of the north face.

All of a sudden, a decent rock fall happened to my climber's left.

This gave me pause.  I knew it was warming quickly.  I debated whether I should continue climbing or take the rock fall as a sign that things were getting bad.  Had I been skiing down at this point it would not have been as big an issue.  On skis one is more mobile (ability to get out of the way) and has weight distributed onto more of the snow surface (won't punch into the unconsolidated snow beneath).

Within 30 seconds another sizable rock fall happened to my climber's right.  This wasn't anything to mess around with.  I decided to get off the face as soon as possible.  I down climbed to a safer zone beneath a slightly overhanging cliff (protection from subsequent rock fall) and transitioned to my skis.

Time and location breakdown.  This picture was taken after I had skied down and was waiting for the other group to ski down.

Although I knew it was the correct decisions, it pained me greatly to turn around.  For a myriad of reasons my ego wanted me to continue:

• I have wanted to ski the face for so long.
• The climb and ski are well within my ability level.
• I had put in a lot of work to get to where I was (driving, camping, skinning, hiking).  
• I was so close to the summit.  
• I fealt great physically and was climbing at a good pace.  
• It was only 7:45 am, and I would likely make the summit by 8:45 am (usually a very reasonable time to be on the summit).
• There was a group that wasn't too far ahead of me that was going to ski from the summit.

Even though my ego wanted me to keep going, I had to face the facts and be objective about my decision making.  It was getting warm very quickly.  It is likely I could have continued and made the summit without further incident but the heightened risk simply wasn't worth the reward.  I would have had to rely too much on luck to make it to the summit without incident.  If something were to go wrong in that situation it would be disastrous.  As I mentioned before, this is not the sort of place where you simply "get hurt."

If I had been about 30 minutes ahead on my climb I think I would have been fine.  Curse that 1.5 hour side-hill from Hell on that first pitch.


7:55 am - I delicately transitioned to skis.  I was over massive exposure and had to be careful not to lose any gear and especially not do something clumsy myself.  There are no pictures or video of this because getting the camera out and set-up was very low on my priority list.  I wanted to get off the face as efficiently as possible.  The snow was a bit punchy and variable for the descent, but I made it down without incident and was much more comfortable with the conditions now that I had skis on.


8:05 am - I reached the bottom of the the basin below the north face just in time to see the other group summiting North Maroon.  The snow below the face was really nice, and I took that as a small consolation prize.

I posted up and spent the next hour watching the other group ski down.  After they reached me I congratulated them and we talked for a while.  We all skied down to my camp together, ate some food, then began our hike down to the trail head.



Am I disappointed that I didn't get to ski North Maroon from the summit?  Yes.  Would I make the same decision again if put in the same situation?  Yes.  Do I plan on trying to ski North Maroon again in the future?  Yes.


Some perspective of how far I had gone and how close I was.  I'll get it some other day.