Thanks Britt! I have to say that I loved your Estes Cone Trip Report. That Mt. is special to me too! Last summer I worked at the YMCA of the Rockies, which borders on the National Park. Early one morning I put on my hiking boots and just started wandering the grounds of the YMCA. Estes Cone is hidden from view by Thunder Mt. from my dorm room but it came into view as I was climbing a hill nearby. I though to myself how cool it would be to climb to the Cone starting from where I was standing (not driving to a trailhead). I made the 6 mile (one-way) trip following trails through the Park, but the real excitement began on my descent. I decided to use as little trail as possible on my return. Just after storm pass I left the trail and began heading north. That's when I ran into the biggest black bear I've ever seen. Scary, because I was alone, but also amazing. The bear didn't pay much attention to me and soon just passed me by. I continued off trail through forest, meadows, and the best stand of Aspen I saw all summer. Estes Cone, one of my most memorable hikes, that was just too great for words.
Thanks so much for your nice words about the trip report. Thanks also for sharing your little story, that's very awesome. The mountain always have a way of somehow showing us things that seem to stick in our mind for eternity, but can never be described in words. Thank so much for adding this page, congrats, and I wish you the best in climbs to come. Happy trails and I'm sure I'll be talking to you on here! Take care!
Hey man, great page. This is the kind of stuff that belongs on SP. Now, if I were you i would talk a little about the rock quality of the range. It's basically chip rock, the stuff that they pile around railroad tracks, and an absolute bitch to hike on. Some people don't mind that stuff but some do. Warn people about what they may encounter. I have a friend that is a big climber and he would rather have a root canal than hike on that stuff. I'll admit, that i will go back tothe Never Summers but I'll go back in April or May when all that stuff is covered in snow.
I climbed Nimbus and Cumulus in early May this year and never once stood on chip rock, so seeing your shots made me pretty happy i climbed them in the early season. In Roach's RMNP book he mentions how bad the rock is and that gave me the idea of doing something in early spring.
Bad rock doesn't equte to bad mountains. I loved that experience and really think that range is beautiful. I'll post a few shots.
One last thing, you may want to mention that this range really gets dumped on in the winter. The N-Summers get more snow than the west side of the Park. Those storms really build and reload out west, they hit the N-Summers and unload, leaving the west side of the Park with less snow. That's why they call them the Never Summers!
Those are some really nice snow pictures, thanks for posting! I'll bet that was a real adventure back in May. You've made some good suggestions and I'll address the chip rocks to potential climbers when I get the chance.
Good page for an interesting mountain. Plenty of detailed info and good photography. Thanks for posting!
My detailed proofreading report, if you are interested:
lies the cloud peaks -> lie the cloud peaks
it's own mystic -> its own mystique
it's noticeable red rock hue -> its noticeable red rock hue
it's Never Summer neighbor's -> its Never Summer neighbors
summit approach -> summit approach.
and came in handy -> , which also came in handy
In the route page:
the trail make -> the trail makes
at the intersect -> at the intersection
bouldering -> boulder field (notice the incorrect HTML tag right after "bouldering": a-slash instead of slash-a. There's a few of those incorrect closing tags.)
today effect's on it's local watershed -> today's effects on its local watershed
Rob A - Jul 14, 2005 4:58 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentCool Page. Keep up the good work.
Later, Rob
coljayms - Jul 15, 2005 9:25 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks Rob!
mountaingazelle - Jul 14, 2005 6:42 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentGood page and nice mountain. It looks like you could have a full day of ridge walking with this one by adding Stratus and Cumulus.
coljayms - Jul 15, 2005 9:33 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks! Yep, you could hit the three peaks along this ridge after a very, very, long day. I hope to get back there next year for another go.
Ed F - Jul 14, 2005 7:31 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentAlready 4 star material. Thanks for adding.
coljayms - Jul 15, 2005 9:41 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks! You've got some top-notch mountain pages so that means a lot to me - James
Larry V - Jul 15, 2005 12:08 am - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentI hope you'll give a little more detailed directions to locate the trailhead, as you finish the route page.
coljayms - Jul 19, 2005 9:41 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentAdded better directions, thanks for advise!
mtwashingtonmonroe - Jul 15, 2005 9:06 am - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentNice work! Another great Never Summer Range Peak! Thanks for sharing!
-Britt
coljayms - Jul 15, 2005 10:05 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks Britt! I have to say that I loved your Estes Cone Trip Report. That Mt. is special to me too! Last summer I worked at the YMCA of the Rockies, which borders on the National Park. Early one morning I put on my hiking boots and just started wandering the grounds of the YMCA. Estes Cone is hidden from view by Thunder Mt. from my dorm room but it came into view as I was climbing a hill nearby. I though to myself how cool it would be to climb to the Cone starting from where I was standing (not driving to a trailhead). I made the 6 mile (one-way) trip following trails through the Park, but the real excitement began on my descent. I decided to use as little trail as possible on my return. Just after storm pass I left the trail and began heading north. That's when I ran into the biggest black bear I've ever seen. Scary, because I was alone, but also amazing. The bear didn't pay much attention to me and soon just passed me by. I continued off trail through forest, meadows, and the best stand of Aspen I saw all summer. Estes Cone, one of my most memorable hikes, that was just too great for words.
mtwashingtonmonroe - Jul 16, 2005 6:50 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentThanks so much for your nice words about the trip report. Thanks also for sharing your little story, that's very awesome. The mountain always have a way of somehow showing us things that seem to stick in our mind for eternity, but can never be described in words. Thank so much for adding this page, congrats, and I wish you the best in climbs to come. Happy trails and I'm sure I'll be talking to you on here! Take care!
-Britt
Nelson - Jul 15, 2005 7:41 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentGreat work on this one. The route page is excellent. Two thumbs up. Great photos, too.
P.S. Found a couple of typos:
It took us 7 hours to reach the summit of Nimbus due to the difficultly of the terrain at the time. On the decent, we were ...
coljayms - Jul 18, 2005 10:39 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks Nelson! I look forward to seeing more of your Rocky Mt and IPW pictures. Love those new pictures and descriptions of the Navajo climb.
-James
Kane - Jul 15, 2005 9:36 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentHey man, great page. This is the kind of stuff that belongs on SP. Now, if I were you i would talk a little about the rock quality of the range. It's basically chip rock, the stuff that they pile around railroad tracks, and an absolute bitch to hike on. Some people don't mind that stuff but some do. Warn people about what they may encounter. I have a friend that is a big climber and he would rather have a root canal than hike on that stuff. I'll admit, that i will go back tothe Never Summers but I'll go back in April or May when all that stuff is covered in snow.
I climbed Nimbus and Cumulus in early May this year and never once stood on chip rock, so seeing your shots made me pretty happy i climbed them in the early season. In Roach's RMNP book he mentions how bad the rock is and that gave me the idea of doing something in early spring.
Bad rock doesn't equte to bad mountains. I loved that experience and really think that range is beautiful. I'll post a few shots.
One last thing, you may want to mention that this range really gets dumped on in the winter. The N-Summers get more snow than the west side of the Park. Those storms really build and reload out west, they hit the N-Summers and unload, leaving the west side of the Park with less snow. That's why they call them the Never Summers!
coljayms - Jul 18, 2005 11:43 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThose are some really nice snow pictures, thanks for posting! I'll bet that was a real adventure back in May. You've made some good suggestions and I'll address the chip rocks to potential climbers when I get the chance.
smudge - Jul 15, 2005 11:44 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled Commentgood stuff!
coljayms - Jul 19, 2005 9:44 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks! I've been a fan of your Rocky Mt. additions
brenta - Aug 7, 2005 1:35 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentGood page for an interesting mountain. Plenty of detailed info and good photography. Thanks for posting!
My detailed proofreading report, if you are interested:
lies the cloud peaks -> lie the cloud peaks
it's own mystic -> its own mystique
it's noticeable red rock hue -> its noticeable red rock hue
it's Never Summer neighbor's -> its Never Summer neighbors
summit approach -> summit approach.
and came in handy -> , which also came in handy
In the route page:
the trail make -> the trail makes
at the intersect -> at the intersection
bouldering -> boulder field (notice the incorrect HTML tag right after "bouldering": a-slash instead of slash-a. There's a few of those incorrect closing tags.)
today effect's on it's local watershed -> today's effects on its local watershed
coljayms - Aug 18, 2005 9:43 am - Hasn't voted
Untitled CommentThanks for reading this Mt. page! Glad you liked it. I appreciate the grammer corrections and will make the changes when I get a chance
- James