Having friends around for goals like these makes it feel like a party instead of a difficult push. When I asked Mathias to join me for the first section, he said, “Yes, but only if I can join in for the whole thing.” At first, I hesitated. I wanted to be solo for at least a portion of it, but I realized having a buddy to get through the difficult mental moments and to celebrate the wins would be quite nice. Mat is the best person I could have asked for to join me. He knows how to keep his shit positive and together.
The lead-up wasn’t ideal: I’d been battling stomach issues (maybe got something from creek water?) for ten days prior and wasn’t sure if this attempt was going to happen. After two days of feeling normal, I woke early Tuesday morning, stoked and ready. The air was clear of wildfire smoke, my belly was calm, the forecast splitter. As Johnny Cash says (or maybe Mathias Gruber said it for the first time), “If the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise,”–it's a go. Excitement charged me up Capitol and we were moving off the summit as the sun came up.
We dropped into Pierre to chug some agua before up and over the short, but brutally loose Satan’s Ridge.
Phia—one of my best friends and main adventure buddy since college— would be jumping in to run with me after Pyramid. Phia’s grandpa had stashed a rope on Satan’s Ridge some 40 years ago, intending to go back for it to descend into Pierre Lakes. He never returned. Five years ago, Phia, her mom, and brother found it stashed under some rocks and used it to climb down into Pierre. On my training runs I wondered if I would see that same rope.
A month ago, I found a brand new rope anchored on a refrigerator-sized block on the low point of the ridge. The rope was hanging over tons of loose blocks. Pulling on it felt stupid and during a training run I stayed as far away as possible. This time around, I climbed up the couloir thinking of the rope as more of an emergency grab than something to pull on. Giving the rope a few tugs here and there, a helpful (if not precarious) hand. Mat and I remained quiet, remaining side by side and moving together the whole time. Topping out, we hugged and I let out a sigh for completing the section that scares me most.
With the help of good chats, Snowmass felt strong and efficient. By the time we entered the Lost Remuda Basin the sun was hot and exhaustion started to set in for my first low of the day as I struggled to get food in. We passed many dry creek beds, so when we arrived at the lake below the west ridge of S Maroon it was a no-brainer to jump in. A gaggle of Ptarmigan hung out nearby as we swam. As soon as I realized how helpful that reset was I knew I was going to need a few more.
The west ridge on S Maroon is similar in character to the Bells Traverse, just consistently steep, less traveled, and a little bit looser. I was excited to get onto the Bells Traverse. It is my all time favorite and where I feel the most comfortable. Heading down we saw a goat, always a good sign in my book.
We made it off the rocks and on to the first real trail we had been since the Capitol / Daily saddle. It felt freeing to really run and have the tight knees released.
My dad and boyfriend, Mitch, provided great relief when they met us before going up Pyramid with some broth and extra snacks. I had scouted the backside of Pyramid during my training runs, checking out the route Chris Hopkins and Simi Hamilton used. I did not love the chossy descent. It felt like a bad fall was imminent, especially if it was dark and I was tired. I was frustrated with myself for not taking the tempting option to cut off six miles, but in my gut I knew it was the right choice for me. Once we were committed to the front side descent I felt nothing but relief running towards the Bells parking lot where I knew friends were waiting.
In planning, I told Mitch I wanted to keep the two aid stops under 15 minutes. He laughed. We arrived around 1:00 am, and fifty minutes later, after more and more broth and feet-up recovery, my stomach and knees were reborn. With Phia and Mitch joining in for the night, our duo became a crew. We cooked the first few miles heading to Copper and Triangle Pass. As we got deeper into the night, the wheels started to come off and I began to feel another round of lows. I had to walk some of the very runnable trails. Caffeine did nothing to help. I let out some tears, maybe a little more than some, coming to terms with the fact that this was going to take longer than I was aiming for. After a long night, the sun rose and I screwed my head back on. I focused on the wildflowers, mostly pussytoes, nearly the last in bloom. Summer is ending too early.
Are we gonna stop at the hot springs? Unavoidable, they were calling our name. At Conundrum Hot Springs, we of course made the time to revive the legs.
Phia took the lead up Conundrum and we reached the sixth summit of the day. I decided to take Simi’s line here and went ridge direct. With the scree field approach aside, I thought it was a great ridge.
We cruised up Castle, had a round of celebratory hugs and busted out the last 6 miles on aching knees.
Who knows maybe I’ll try again someday to do this a wee bit faster. For now, I’m just happy to have connected the 7 fourteeners in the range in a single push. I got to know the mountains that surround and inspire me. Maybe some more chicas will get out and give it a go?
My invaluable tools:
- Kettle Bone Broth!
- Friends
- baby wipes in a plastic bag
- Naked Running belt
- Some model of Salomon Running Vest
- Never Second Gels, Bolt Energy Chews, Honey Stingers, Spring
- Some model Petzel Headlamp
- Oakley Sutro sunglasses
- Sportiva Helios
- Garmin inReach mini
- Coros Apex Pro