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Grays Peak - July 2, 1987: Grays Peak is in the Front Range and along with Torreys Peak one of the two 14,000 foot peaks in the Colorado Rockies whose summits are part of the Continental Divide. I tried climbing Longs Peak in 1985 and failed to reach the summit. I was not prepared for the technical Class 3 climbing involved. I returned to Colorado in 1987 and decided to try an easier mountain. Grays Peak was selected after doing a little reseach. Grays Peak was my first "Fourteener" successfully climbed. Although Grays is probably the easiest one of the 14,000 ft. Front Range peaks to climb, my sense of accomplishment was, nevertheless, great. After all I am used to living almost at sea level in Schenectady, New York. For me, experiencing visibility of almost 100 miles and breathing the rarified air at high altitude was a real thrill. The hike itself was pretty easy. I started hiking at 5:00 AM. I was on the summit of Grays Peak by 7:30 AM. After spending an hour on top, I started back down and reached the trailhead by 10:30 AM. I was back in Denver for lunch!
A technical note: Although Grays Peak was my first "Fourteener", it is the most recent addition to the Seacord web site. I am quite happy to have found these old photographs after so many years and to be able to share them now.
Starting up the Trail: Hikers use the same trail to approach both Grays and Torreys peaks. There is a stream that has to be crossed at the trailhead, but the weather had been pretty dry during the early summer of 1987 so getting across the stream was easy. When I attempted Longs Peak in 1985, I recalled that the trail starts at about 9,600 feet and that I did not have much of a problem establishing a reasonable rhythm for breathing. But the Grays Peak trailhead is at almost 11,000 feet and my initial adjustment was shaky at best. It took me about 30 - 40 minutes to really get into the swing of things. Because I was inexperienced and did not know what to expect, I arrived at the trailhead at 4:45 AM and began hiking at 5:00 AM. In this photograph, one can see the more or less permanent snowfields on Grays Peak and also some fresh snow near the summit that had fallen the night before. John Seacord
Stephen's Gulch and Stephen's Mine Area From the Trail: The trail up Grays actually follows an historic route originally set up for horses. The owners of one of the mines near the mountain felt that there might be some extra income to be made by allowing tourists to ride a pack horse to the top of the mountain and take in the view - for a fee, of course. On this particular day and this early in the morning, I pretty much had the mountain to myself. John Seacord
Climbing out of Stephen's Gulch: After climbing out of the gulch, the trail levels off for a while and traverses a rocky ridge before the climb up Grays Peak begins in earnest. John Seacord
Looking up the Face of Grays Peak: In this photograph, one can clearly see where the trail forms a sort of shelf along the side of the ridge to the left. After clearing the ridge, a series of switchbacks continues on up the face of the mountain. John Seacord
Animal Life: Hikers in the Grays and Torreys area are almost sure to encounter a few mountain goats. This one let me come quite close. This area also offers terrific scenery with contrasts between the snowfields and alpine tundra. John Seacord
Torreys Peak (14,267') from the Summit of Grays Peak: Many hikers climb both Grays and Torreys in the same day. I decided not to push my luck, having failed on Longs Peak two years before, primarily due to inexperience. Two years later, in 1989, my wife Cindy and I came back and climbed Torreys Peak together. John Seacord
On the Summit of Grays Peak: My footprints were the first of the day on the summit. I reached the summit by 7:30 AM. The only real excitment on the climb came when I slipped and fell on a couple of icy rocks near the top. Beyond the summit and in the distance are Mt. Evans (14,264') and Mt. Bierstadt (14,060'). John Seacord
Looking North from the Summit: In this photograph we are looking down on Kelso Mountain, a 13,000 ft. peak. Coming toward the camera and to the left is the northeast ridge of Torreys Peak. This ridge involves some Class 3 climbing and is used by some as a "warmup" for more difficult ridge running in the Rockies. I was content to spend an hour on the summit of Grays just admiring the view. John Seacord
John on the Summit of Grays Peak: Since there was no one else around, I set the self-timer on the camera to record this historic moment. I didn't aim the camera very well and there is little evidence that I am actually standing on the top of a mountain at all. Indeed, a friend of mine at work who saw this photograph insisted that I probably was just standing on top of a pile of gravel somewhere in Denver. It wasn't until many years later when I climbed Mt. Belford and documented every step with a video camera that I was able to offer some proof of my ability to at least walk to 14,000 feet. John Seacord