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Torreys Peak - July 1, 1989: Torreys Peak is in the Front Range and along with Grays 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. My wife, Cindy, did not accompany me on that hike, but I did (rather easily) reach the summit on my own. After discussing my success on Gray's Peak in 1987, Cindy decided she wanted to climb a fourteener with me, so we decided to go back and give Torreys Peak a try. Getting to Torreys involves heading west on I-70 past Georgetown and exiting at "Bakerville". Bakerville is not really a town, just exit and entrance ramps off the Interstate. From here, one drives up a rough but passable dirt and gravel access road to get to the Grays / Torreys trailhead. The trailhead is located in a region well-known for mining activity in the 1800's. A short hike brings one to abandoned mines that afford an interesting historical perspective. I think the scenery in this region rates an "A" and the view of Grays and Torreys and the adjacent fields of snow, willows, and wildflowers is worth a visit even if one is not interested in climbing the mountains.
A technical note: On this particular climb I had only slide film available for my camera. And this was long before I had a computer or scanner or any other way of archiving and sharing my photographs. Heck, back in 1989 I didn't even know what a "JPEG" was. But in March 2001, Cindy convinced me to buy a scanner and I finally got around to scanning the slides from the Torreys Peak climb. July 1, 1989 turned out to be a perfect day. You will not see a single cloud in the sky in any of the photographs. And I am happy to be able to share these photographs now after so many years have gone by.
Starting up the Trail: Hikers use the same trail to approach both Grays and Torreys. There is a stream that has to be crossed at the trailhead and there was considerably more water here than in 1987 when I climbed Grays Peak by myself. Cindy was not happy when she fell in the stream and started her hike off with two soaking feet. This was Cindy's first attempt to climb at high altitude. It took her about 45 minutes to get comfortable with her breathing rhythm. It was quite cold, but we finally broke out into the sunlight. Cindy started to feel better once she saw these wildflowers. Because the humidity was so low, Cindy's feet were almost dry by the time we reached this point. In the background is the col between Grays and Torreys. To climb Torreys, one has to reach the col and negotiate the ridge to the right. John Seacord
Grays Peak (14,270') and Torreys Peak (14,267): Grays is to the left and Torreys is to the right. The full skyline to the summit is visible in this picture. Just visible is another ridge coming down from the right of Torreys' summit. This ridge involves Class 3 climbing and is used by some as a "warmup" for more difficult ridge running in other parts of the Rockies. Cindy and I found the "easy" Class 2 climbing on Torreys to be "sporting" enough for us. John Seacord
Torreys Peak and "Dead Dog" Couloir: This photograph was taken at approximately 12,500 feet. Dead Dog Couloir runs up the side of the mountain in the center of this picture. This route provides intrepid climbers with over 1,000 vertical feet of steep snow climbing almost all the way to the summit. Not visible are some skiers who were enjoying the snow bowl to the bottom center of this photograph. Without question, this was the brightest and clearest day I have ever seen at high altitude and, as a photographer, I was having difficulty compensating for the reflected light from the snow. John Seacord
The "Snowbridge": At 13,000 feet climbers heading toward Torreys Peak have a choice (at least during the first half of the summer they do). One can continue on up the Grays Peak trail to get above the snowfields and then switchback toward Torreys or one can take this "shortcut" to the col. Since we felt that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, Cindy and I opted for the shortcut across the snowfield. Some guidebooks recommend against this shortcut and probably with good reason. It was fairly easy going in the morning, but by the time we were coming back down, the sun had a chance to warm the snow and the footing was more difficult. The snow kept collapsing out from under our feet as we were doing the traverse. Very exciting! John Seacord
The Col and the Final Push to the Summit of Torreys Peak: The snowbridge took us to the col at 13,500 feet. I was slowing down and Cindy was laboring. In trying to keep Cindy's feelings at the forefront of my thoughts, I suggested that we could turn around any time she wanted to. Cindy told me I was out of my mind. In this photograph, Cindy has walked on ahead to contemplate the summit pyramid of Torreys Peak - some 700 vertical feet above us. We encountered several mountain goats in the col and the wind was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. John Seacord
Nearing the Summit: This view is to the south and west. Visibility must have been at least 100 miles and the view just seemed to go on forever. The Sawatch Range is in the distance. Out of sight in the valley below is Breckenridge, Colorado. John Seacord
Grays Peak from the Summit of Torreys Peak: This view is to the south. Look closely and you can see how the trail switchbacks up the face of Grays Peak. The trail was constructed to allow horses to carry tourists to the top of the mountain during the latter part of the 1800's. On the horizon and about 80 miles away is Pikes Peak. John Seacord
Mt. Evans (14,264') and Mt. Bierstadt (14,060'): Mt. Evans is in the center of the photograph and Mt. Bierstadt is just to the right. Mt. Evans boasts the highest paved road in North America. Mt. Evans is about 150 feet higher than Pikes Peak. John Seacord
Cindy Signing the Register at the Summit of Torreys Peak: When all was said and done, Cindy felt reaching the summit was an accomplishment worth documenting - a "peak experience". John Seacord
John on the Summit: The obligatory photograph. I was probably thinking about how reaching the summit means that the climb is only half over. John Seacord
Another View from the Summit: This view is to the north with Rocky Mountain National Park in the distance. The bare spot in the middle of the photograph is the clearing where the so-called "Bakerville" exit off I-70 is located. John Seacord
Almost Back to the Car: Cindy had to stop on the descent to take care of some urgent business - luckily the willows were about 4 feet high and provided some cover. When we came to the stream at the trailhead we didn't bother trying to hop from rock to rock to get across. We just walked through the water and it felt great. When we got back to the car, we each downed a bottle of "Mountain Dew" and dried our feet off. We laughed most of the way on the drive down the dirt road back to I-70. It was the end of wonderful day of hiking. John Seacord