See which users have climbed a peak

[Chicago Transplant]

For the last couple of years I have been keeping track both ways, % complete and number remaining by range. Having 76% of the Elks done looked bad on paper, but that was only 11 peaks. I forget what my percentage at that time was on the SJs, but I know that I had more than 46 peaks at that time because it was the realization that I had the entire Elk Range and more worth of San Juans to go that shifted me to focus trips based more on how many were left while still trying to keep a balance=. I also looked at combos to see how many actual drives it would be, and how to use vacations to my advantage (such as taking a couple of days before or after a Wemi trip to hit the ones in the LaPlata range).

I have also been trying to get at least 1 Wemi backpack in and trying to get the nasty ones with snow. Last year bad snow pack, this year broke my thumb. Not as bad as a leg because I could walk, but I couldn't grip an axe or whippet if I were to need to arrest and I didn't feel like skiing in a splint was a good idea, so ended up going dry.

I can't say the end of the list has been all dread peaks, but it did make me wish I had mixed them in a little better. Part of what happened was holding the ones I wanted to do with snow, then not getting enough of those so they piled up on me. As the list dwindles I just decided to knock a bunch out dry. I'll just repeat them for ski descents some other time instead so they can redeem themselves!

I do have a pretty high tolerance for the junk peaks, I usually try and write my TRs to make them sound worse than I thought they were to try and make up for it. Especially if I have a partner with that I can gauge their feelings from.

[Flyingfish]

Just looking through lists of peaks the Elks scare the crap out of me. For multiple reasons but foremost is I don’t do much if any snow climbing which forces them to be loose and dangerous. Even living and spending my non-hiking days recreating in the southern and west elks doesn’t make the loose crap any better

[nunns]

Just looking through lists of peaks the Elks scare the crap out of me. For multiple reasons but foremost is I don’t do much if any snow climbing which forces them to be loose and dangerous. Even living and spending my non-hiking days recreating in the southern and west elks doesn’t make the loose crap any better

+1. The only one I have done is Castle, which from what I understand is orders of magnitude easier than any other Elks 14er (not counting Conundrum). And even on Castle, there were times when I had to remember to focus and think clearly about what I was doing, test the holds, etc.

Sean Nunn