My first fourteener!

Grays Peak (14,272 ft)   
(Yes, I took this picture... my family doesn't believe me...I took the beach sunrise pic with the bird too... I'm proud...)

I've had a goal since we got back to Colorado to climb a "fourteener" (a mountain over 14,000 ft high) before I turned fifty. Monday I reached that goal and it was AWESOME!
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grays_Peak)



Brrr! It was cold, windy and slow-going!

Danny and I attempted to climb Grays Peak last Thursday and were turned back halfway up the mountain by high winds in a snowstorm. We were bummed, but the 3 1/2 hours that we hiked still made for a perfect day, and we were determined to make it back next season to try again.


Snow is hiding the view of Grays here. When you look at the next pic of Mike and Annie, you'll see how visible Grays is without blizzard condtions blocking the view!





Mike and Annie (No snow blocking the view this time!)



Well, my brother Mike suggested that we try again Monday since the weather was supposed to be good, but Danny couldn't go. So Mike and his faithful dog Annie and I left early yesterday for another attempt at getting to the top.

View from trailhead. Gray's is the light blue mountain way in the distance. Seemed so far away...

  We were blessed with the most beautiful day we could have imagined-- I wish Danny could have been with us!

Unfortunately, Mike started having some serious breathing problems close to the same spot where Danny and I had to turn around last week, so he and Annie rested while I climbed to the summit of Grays.


Although I worried about leaving him behind, I have to say it was the most exhilarating experience to make it to the top! And the view?!  Well, these pics don't begin to show what it was like. I wish my camera could have captured what my senses experienced... I'm hooked!  I want to do this again and again... with Danny next time. :-)

See Breckenridge's ski slopes in the distance (to the left)? What a view!

The sign says "Grays Peak 14,272 ft". Three guys we met on the trail loaned their sign to me once we made it to the summit. 

:Looking south at Pikes Peak in the distance