Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
We left Broomfield around 3:30am which put us on the trail around 5:45am. I was surprised that the exit literally put you on the road to Grays. No real searching, just take exit 221 off of I-70 and trudge on up the dirt road. We had no problems in our Rav4 and later on the way down we saw everything from a Civic to a Prius parked up high on the road. We were impressed! There were some spots where we were glad to have awd and wondered how the tiny cars made it unscathed (maybe I should try bringing my mazda 3 next time instead).
BY THE WAY. This is important to me. Not so much to my dog or my boyfriend, but there is no real place to go to the bathroom besides the composting toilet at the parking lot. Just an FYI...there are a few trees right at the start but then it all disappears and there's no where to hide.
We started in the dark and when the sun came out I made us stop like 50 times to take pictures of sunrise. Lo and behold:
It was a real nice hike through the valley and the trail is nice, groomed, and easy to follow. Once we got to the end of the valley and started climbing up it was still very easy to follow the trail. We took the regular standard route up Grays then traversed over to Torreys then down the exit path on the saddle. No snow on the saddle and pretty straightforward.
View from top of Grays and our summit shot:
Summit shot on Torreys:
View of Grays from Torreys:
Here is Breeze's photoshoot. Note that in pictures with her *intense* stare she was staring at a pupperoni (her summit snacks):
This was Breeze's 2nd and 3rd 14er and just like the first she blazed a trail up, dragging us behind her. Luckily for her we did Torreys as well and I think it only took two 14ers in a day to finally tire her out.
It wasn't as crowded as Quandary (at least it didn't feel that way). We finished around 12:30pm and the drive back...well, I think you can imagine traffic coming back on Labor Day which led to our first rule: 14ers only the day before people would be coming back from ~the mountains~ (Saturdays usually, but in this case, Sunday would have been alright...maybe?)
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Comments or Questions
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
