Recently I decided to shake up my training a little, so a few weeks ago some friends of mine and I hiked up Mt. Princeton, a 14,197 ft peak outside of Buena Vista, CO.  Hiking 14ers is one of the things I really enjoy doing here in Colorado because of the challenge it offers me and how accessible the hikes are from our house. 

However, this particular trip was like no other.  We chose to take the “less traveled” route and the reason why it’s less traveled is because it’s classified as a Class 3 route meaning scrambling on loose rock.  After camping the night before, Mark and Steph (friends of mine from college) and Kent (a friend of Marks) started at 5:30AM and after 5 hours of climbing, we made it to the Class 3 section at about 13,200 feet. 

Every step was challenging as you just don’t know which rocks are loose and which are not.  The wrong step could mean a very bad day.  We worked as a team and got through each section successfully with a few minor scares.  These first two pictures are of Steph and I traversing up to a snow patch debating how to proceed.  We are pretty small in the pictures if that gives you and idea of the size of the rock face.  This was the toughest part of the day.

We made it to the summit at around 12:30PM and took an easier way down to the car. It was such a great time, but not for anybody scared of heights as these pictures show.  We had a great time and for Kent, who just turned 65, said it was one of the best hikes of his life.  It’s always great to try something new and challenging!