Grays Peak Trip Report 07/03/2014

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Grays Peak - 14,275 feet Torreys Peak - 14,272 feet
Date Posted	07/03/2014
Date Climbed	07/02/2014
Author	MitchellS

Grays-Torreys
So I was at work the other day talking to one of my friends, and he knew I had done some hiking this year. He was asking me for advice on Grays-Torreys, and after about 10 minutes of talking about the hike, we realized that we were both thinking about doing it the same day! We were each planning to bring a novice of the fairer gender along with us to introduce them to some of the easier 14ers. We left Southeast Aurora at about 5am and took 470 to 70, the usual. We made good time to the trail head! Our vehicle was a Honda Pilot (a pretty good size SUV), and it handled the road up to the Summer TH moderately well. There were 3 noticeably difficult portions of the road that seemed a bit hairy. The most difficult portion was an uphill section near an old building. The trail is washed out and bumpy and required 4WD for us. We made it to the TH at 6:45. After a bathroom break and the usual preparation, we were off on the hike! The humidity was high, with very low cloud cover, temperature at about 45. I was in shorts and a sweatshirt and was comfortable. The clouds hung very low, probably down to 11,500-12,000ft. Our hiking companions were enjoying the scenery with adequate breaks, the going was slow to begin with. I hiked Grays-Torreys last year, and the trail was in the same condition as last year. The usual washed out trail in decent condition. There is an information sign at about 1.5 miles in that is supposed to have a view, but everything was obscured in clouds. We continued on our way slowly. At 8am we were at roughly 12,300' (I tracked it with a Garmin GPS watch), and all of a sudden, the cloud layer burned off and we punched through to the open sky above. Seeing the sun come through the clouds to reveal Grays and Torrey's, was one of the most incredible views I've seen. We saw two climbers heading for Kelso Ridge with helmets on, props to them. I explained the route to the rest of the group, and after that we moved along. The sun motivated the girls to get going. For future hikers, I would definitely recommend a quick pause after about 1.5-2.0 miles to examine the trail up Gray's Peak. There are a few different options, I would not recommend the option we chose if you are looking for the easiest hike. We saw a few marmots along the way which was pretty cool!! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them. If you stop at the sign and look at Gray's, you can see the main route, which is a series of switchbacks that utilize most of the face of Gray's. This is the "East Slopes" route. I used this route last year to the top, and it is very straightforward. However, once we summitted, we talked to people that used the "Lost Rat Couloir" route, and this sounded more our style. It is a steeper route, because there is less back and forth on switchbacks. Our group wished we had taken this route, because the switchbacks frustrated the girls. And then there was the version that we took... As we got to the ascent, our group split up. 2 of us wanted to do the combo, and the other 2 were only going for Gray's. I was in the combo pair. We began with the traditional East Slopes route, however I think we continued too far towards the saddle. At about 13,600' we decided to scramble up through some loose rock and scree to get back on to the East Slopes route. All of it was easy Class 2, but I think it was a bit more scrambling than our beginners were looking for. This route was sort of an East Slopes Gray's route combined with a South Slopes Torrey's route. I thought it was pretty fun if you're looking for some extra scrambling. After many breaks and rest stops, we summitted Gray's at 10am, 3 hours in to the hike. We met a couple up there that was very nice and discussed other hikes around the area. We both had the goal of doing Long's Peak by the end of the summer. The summit was pleasant, with a slight wind of 5mph. There was no snow near the summit of Gray's. After 40 minutes of pictures and eating and chatting, my friend and I departed for the Torrey's summit. Looking at the Torrey's trail from Gray's actually makes it look intimidating for the beginner hiker. Don't worry, it's really not that bad. Many of the hikers we met agreed with my friend when she said summitting Torrey's was much easier than Gray's. I think this is because the ascent is short and sweet. From the summit of Gray's, Torrey's is 0.86 miles away according to my GPS. Over that distance you descend about 450' and then re-ascend that height to Torrey's. I prefer the view from Torrey's, although it is very similar to Gray's. We reached this summit in 4 hours and 45 minutes with the same group of people that we summitted Gray's with! On the way up, we saw our climber friends that took Kelso Ridge. They said it was a bit sketchy, as there is still snow in some places. But they said it is mostly avoidable with some route-finding. The cornices along the ridge up to Torrey's peak from the standard route are still in tact and look pretty ominous. I was surprised to find almost no snow on the peak of Torrey's. When I hiked there last year, the summit was snowcapped and the wind was howling. This year was more more enjoyable, with a dry summit and minimal wind. The weather was holding out well, and the wind hadn't shifted to bring in storms yet. I gave a band-aid to a fellow hiker at the summit because of his blister. I carry a pretty comprehensive first-aid kit, and I highly recommend that everyone, even first time hikers carry one. Not necessarily for you, but potentially for other hikers. We began the descent at 5 hours and 5 minutes from departure from the trail head. The route across the saddle from Torrey's still has plenty of snow on it, however the trail is packed and the risk for postholing is minimal. We met with our friends at the ridge and then hiked out from there. We returned to our car after 7 hours and 11 minutes and 8.40 miles of hiking. No speed records, but it was a great day on the mountain, and we introduced some beginners to 14ers! I will attach more pictures when I resize them! Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Grays-Torreys

So I was at work the other day talking to one of my friends, and he knew I had done some hiking this year. He was asking me for advice on Grays-Torreys, and after about 10 minutes of talking about the hike, we realized that we were both thinking about doing it the same day! We were each planning to bring a novice of the fairer gender along with us to introduce them to some of the easier 14ers. We left Southeast Aurora at about 5am and took 470 to 70, the usual. We made good time to the trail head! Our vehicle was a Honda Pilot (a pretty good size SUV), and it handled the road up to the Summer TH moderately well. There were 3 noticeably difficult portions of the road that seemed a bit hairy. The most difficult portion was an uphill section near an old building. The trail is washed out and bumpy and required 4WD for us. We made it to the TH at 6:45. After a bathroom break and the usual preparation, we were off on the hike! The humidity was high, with very low cloud cover, temperature at about 45. I was in shorts and a sweatshirt and was comfortable. The clouds hung very low, probably down to 11,500-12,000ft.

Our hiking companions were enjoying the scenery with adequate breaks, the going was slow to begin with. I hiked Grays-Torreys last year, and the trail was in the same condition as last year. The usual washed out trail in decent condition. There is an information sign at about 1.5 miles in that is supposed to have a view, but everything was obscured in clouds. We continued on our way slowly. At 8am we were at roughly 12,300' (I tracked it with a Garmin GPS watch), and all of a sudden, the cloud layer burned off and we punched through to the open sky above. Seeing the sun come through the clouds to reveal Grays and Torrey's, was one of the most incredible views I've seen. We saw two climbers heading for Kelso Ridge with helmets on, props to them. I explained the route to the rest of the group, and after that we moved along. The sun motivated the girls to get going. For future hikers, I would definitely recommend a quick pause after about 1.5-2.0 miles to examine the trail up Gray's Peak. There are a few different options, I would not recommend the option we chose if you are looking for the easiest hike. We saw a few marmots along the way which was pretty cool!! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them.

If you stop at the sign and look at Gray's, you can see the main route, which is a series of switchbacks that utilize most of the face of Gray's. This is the "East Slopes" route. I used this route last year to the top, and it is very straightforward. However, once we summitted, we talked to people that used the "Lost Rat Couloir" route, and this sounded more our style. It is a steeper route, because there is less back and forth on switchbacks. Our group wished we had taken this route, because the switchbacks frustrated the girls. And then there was the version that we took... As we got to the ascent, our group split up. 2 of us wanted to do the combo, and the other 2 were only going for Gray's. I was in the combo pair.

We began with the traditional East Slopes route, however I think we continued too far towards the saddle. At about 13,600' we decided to scramble up through some loose rock and scree to get back on to the East Slopes route. All of it was easy Class 2, but I think it was a bit more scrambling than our beginners were looking for. This route was sort of an East Slopes Gray's route combined with a South Slopes Torrey's route. I thought it was pretty fun if you're looking for some extra scrambling.

After many breaks and rest stops, we summitted Gray's at 10am, 3 hours in to the hike. We met a couple up there that was very nice and discussed other hikes around the area. We both had the goal of doing Long's Peak by the end of the summer. The summit was pleasant, with a slight wind of 5mph. There was no snow near the summit of Gray's. After 40 minutes of pictures and eating and chatting, my friend and I departed for the Torrey's summit. Looking at the Torrey's trail from Gray's actually makes it look intimidating for the beginner hiker. Don't worry, it's really not that bad. Many of the hikers we met agreed with my friend when she said summitting Torrey's was much easier than Gray's. I think this is because the ascent is short and sweet. From the summit of Gray's, Torrey's is 0.86 miles away according to my GPS. Over that distance you descend about 450' and then re-ascend that height to Torrey's. I prefer the view from Torrey's, although it is very similar to Gray's. We reached this summit in 4 hours and 45 minutes with the same group of people that we summitted Gray's with! On the way up, we saw our climber friends that took Kelso Ridge. They said it was a bit sketchy, as there is still snow in some places. But they said it is mostly avoidable with some route-finding. The cornices along the ridge up to Torrey's peak from the standard route are still in tact and look pretty ominous. I was surprised to find almost no snow on the peak of Torrey's. When I hiked there last year, the summit was snowcapped and the wind was howling. This year was more more enjoyable, with a dry summit and minimal wind. The weather was holding out well, and the wind hadn't shifted to bring in storms yet. I gave a band-aid to a fellow hiker at the summit because of his blister. I carry a pretty comprehensive first-aid kit, and I highly recommend that everyone, even first time hikers carry one. Not necessarily for you, but potentially for other hikers. We began the descent at 5 hours and 5 minutes from departure from the trail head.

The route across the saddle from Torrey's still has plenty of snow on it, however the trail is packed and the risk for postholing is minimal. We met with our friends at the ridge and then hiked out from there. We returned to our car after 7 hours and 11 minutes and 8.40 miles of hiking. No speed records, but it was a great day on the mountain, and we introduced some beginners to 14ers!

I will attach more pictures when I resize them!

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

polar

Good job
7/18/2014 2:06pm

I'm surprised that no one has left any comments! Nicely done. It's always nice to introduce new people to hiking, and you're right, packing a first aid kit is important on these trips.

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