14ers.com • Trip Report - Tax Day on Grizzly Peak!

Peak(s):	Grizzly Pk D - 13,427 feet "Cupid" - 13,117 feet
Post Date:	04/17/2009
Date Climbed:	04/15/2009
Posted By:	KirkT

Tax Day on Grizzly Peak!

Grizzly Peak (13427) , Cupid (13117)
April 15, 2009
Route: NorthEast Ridge
Round Trip: 8 miles, 7 hours
Elevation Gain: 4100 ft.
Hikers: KirkT , Shad

After a little over a month away from the mountains Shad and I planned to climb something close to the front range. Weather had thwarted our plans 4 times over the past several months. He needed to burn a vacation day and I had the day off, it was tax day and I could not think of a better way to spend it than in the mountains. Shad had wanted to climb from Loveland Pass for some time and I was itching for something new as well. The weather forecast was pretty good with a small chance of showers later in the day.

We arrived at the trailhead around 7:15 and after a few minutes of gearing up and changing we were off up the hill around 7:45. It was breezy with winds in the low 20's and clear skies. Temperatures were in the low 20's. This is a great little hike very close to the city. We contemplated going over to Torrey's but the skies to the west were building fairly fast so we skipped Torrey's this time around. We summited Grizzly in 3 hours. We both had snowshoes on our packs but never used them once. The trail was wind blown to the East, so much of the trail up high was totally dry. Snow was melting pretty fast around 13000 ft. as well. Total trip time from start to finish was 7 hours. The main purpose of this report is to show the current conditions in the Loveland Pass area, although this current storm problaby changed everything my pictures dictate. Great hike, close to the city with great scenery. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading.

The parking lot at the top of the pass.

Grizzly, Torreys and Grays

Torreys and Grays

Breckenridge, and Ten Mile Range.

Grays and Torreys.

Torreys and Grays

Grizzly Peak

Grizzly

A-Basin, Keytone and Breckenridge.

Grizzly Summit

Wind Loaded cornice on Cupid

Holy Cross

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions (3)

Neil	Great day 2010-09-02 20:09:20 I think I ran into you guys in the parking lot. I was solo driving an Outback and we chatted briefly. Anyway, glad you made Grizzly. I was heading that direction but stopped at Cupid so I could get back to work in time. Bummer for me! Thanks for the photos!
cheeseburglar	Torture 2009-04-17 23:27:55 You know what I mean. To drive the freeway and look in that direction on a nice sunny day is something that bites me every time I drive by it. We‘ll have to build a trail up there soon.
USAKeller	Nice photos! 2009-04-21 19:19:22 I like the shot of the cornice on Cupid. Good write-up! Thanks for the invite . I miss hiking with you. Let‘s make some hefty summer plans!

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