Hi y’all, Rusty here. Last week my Dad was in town so we decided to hit a 14er while he was here. We were going to hike Longs peak, which is the big one you can see from my house, but a freak August snowstorm blew in on Saturday and buried everything above 12000 feet in snow. Longs peak is pretty technical. There is a part called the keyhole followed by the trough where you are scrambling up slick granite over a 1000 ft drop. This is challenging when it is dry, but if it’s covered in snow you need climbing gear (which I haven’t invested in). So we decided to do something a little less technical but just as close, Gray’s Peak and Torrey’s Peak. These are two 14ers about a mile apart. As you can see from the pics, it looks like we could have been hiking in January. This was 14er number #9 for me (I have already done Grays) and 14ers #1 and #2 for my Dad. Good times!

Starting the ascent of Torrey’s

Hiking in the snow up to the saddle.

Summiting Torey’s Peak

Dad’s first 14er

Going up Gray’s Peak

Two 14ers in 2 hours

View from the top – This is the supposed to be the hottest, dryest time to hike!