Sojourner Mountain Guides

17/02/2025

Weekends are for ice climbing! It was a cold and snowy start to the morning, but it warmed up nicely and we had the crag all to ourselves for the day.

10/02/2025

Just because it’s sunny in town doesn’t mean it’s not still winter up high. We had a snowy day exploring and breaking trail through Glacier Gorge in Rocky Mountain National Park. We finally had a little blue sky pop out at the end of our hike providing a lovely finish to our day.

06/02/2025

It has been windy and warm in Rocky Mountain National Park! We had a super pleasant hike up to Emerald Lake and were able to enjoy time on the Lake without being blown away!

20/01/2025

With an Extreme Cold warning in effect for the Northern Front Range we decided it was a good day for hot chocolate and cookies… on a hike up to Emerald Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park!

They say there is no bad weather just bad preparation but we have to still have to say it was very very cold and windy. Expedition mittens and hand warmers were deployed but all in all the adage held true… we had the right gear and had a great time!

We even hiked briefly with a Fox who seemed to be completely unperturbed by the chilly conditions.

If the National Park is open the we are probably there hiking in all weather! Let us know next time you want to test yourself against the elements! ❄️❄️❄️

14/01/2025

Winter is in full swing in Rocky Mountain National Park! Time for snowshoeing and skiing!

Thanks for capturing the first shot!

21/10/2024

A beautiful day in Eldorado Canyon with vibrant fall colors and perfect temps. It’s good climbing out there folks!

08/10/2024

Lovely summer days hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park! Can anyone name the peak? 🧐

07/09/2024

It’s hard to beat late summer climbing on Lumpy Ridge! It’s finally starting to get a little cooler and the climbing is only getting better.

This route (Picture 2-4) is the creatively named “Magical Chrome Plated Semi-Automatic E***a Syringe” 🤷🏻‍♂️ 5.7, 5 Pitches on the Pear. It is a great intro option for Lumpy Ridge climbing and feels pretty spot on for the grade. You can also walk off halfway through the climb if you need the option.

Perhaps my favorite part of the entire outing is rapping off the back of the Pear into a peculiarly deep and narrow corridor that separates it from the rest of the mountain. There are a number of fun steep climbs back here as well and on this day we got to run a few laps working our steep hand crack technique on “Jam on it” 5.9. (First Picture).

Where are you planning to climb this fall?

02/09/2024

17/08/2024

Multi day trips are one of our fav parts of summer! These ladies came to conquer four days of hiking in the Leavenworth Basin just beneath Argentine Peak. The weather dealt a windy hand, but these four crushed the hikes despite conditions. Mornings were full with big hikes and afternoons filled with hammocks, reading, card games, and naps at base camp. What could be better?

camp

11/08/2024

Guides Day Off! Had a great time getting out with some birthday laps with a good friend on Lumpy Ridge in Estes Park.

We climbed Mainliner (5.9, 5 pitches) on the Sundance Buttress which is mostly a really enjoyable 5.8ish ramble with two short and very protectable 5.9 cruxes. Good slab and crack technique are sure to help but the route is more friendly for the grade than many other Lumpy 5.9s in my opinion.

We also ran up Plumb Line (5.9, 5ish pitches) a seldom climbed adventurous route on the East slabs of the Sundance Buttress. It was a bit dirty (we both got lichen in our eyes) and the 5.9 cruxes felt awkward and physical but ultimately the climbing was still enjoyable!

08/08/2024

Can anyone name this super classic rock climb in Eldorado Canyon State Park?!

We had a blast climbing with Christine from New York earlier this week. She absolutely cruised this climb despite spending a few years away from the sport. She was dropping hand and foot jams with the best of them. Nice work Christine!

Do you know the climb? It’s the Bastille Crack 5.7, 5 pitches on the Bastille in Eldorado Canyon State Park. It is about a 1 minute hike from the parking lot and starts right off the road. You can’t really get more accessible than that.

Be ready to share the route with others and climb courteously, we had at least 5 other parties on the route at the same time as us, even on a Monday!

05/08/2024

The sun ☀️ is out and we are chasing the shade! We had a great day out sport climbing with Ally and Will from Florida in Clear Creek Canyon just outside of Golden, CO.

We spent our day at the Canal Zone which is a super accessible crag with a bunch of quality routes from 5.8 to 5.11 in difficulty. The best part of this crag though is it is North facing and stays in the shade most of the day!

We found a nice flow of climbing and working on technical skills including lead climbing best practices. Will even scored his first outdoor leads! All in all it was a fantastic day out.

Have you ever considered hiring a guide for a sport climbing day? It’s a great way to make sure you get the most out of your time when visiting a new area as well as getting instruction and feedback on your technical skill set!

27/07/2024

Guides Day Off!… sort of. I was doing some scouting in the Leadville area for some upcoming programming and got to tag Mount Sherman (14,009 feet) along with two of its neighboring 13ers Gemini Peak and Dyer Mountain in roughly a 6 mile loop.

Did you know we guide Mount Sherman!? It is a really accessible 14er and great for getting into tagging these taller summits. One of my favorite parts is the catwalk ridge leading to the summit, it is plenty wide to feel comfortable but drops off steeply enough on each side to give an excellent sense of airy exposure without really being exposed 😎.

There is also a ton of mining history in the area with many old structures in various states of disrepair. It is always impressive to see just how high up and remote mining activities were conducted.

All in all a wonderful outing! Check it out!

13/07/2024

We had a great day out climbing the First Flatiron with Emma on Thursday!

We climbed the Direct(ish) East Face 5.6 (7ish pitches) taking a couple route variations for more comfortable belays and to give us space from another party. One of the fun things about climbing on the First is how many options you have for putting routes together and making your own adventure.

It was hot but not as hot as it is going to be this weekend 🥵. An early start is definitely the way to go on the E. facing route this time of year.

This was only Emma’s second time climbing outside and she absolutely crushed! Way to go!

Let us know if you have your sights set on anything big this summer!

22/05/2024

It’s finally warming up on the Colorado Front Range and the rock climbing is excellent! We had a couple of great days climbing in the Boulder Flatirons earlier this month and we are ready for more! Where are you excited to climb this summer? Let us know if you want to get out!

31/03/2024

We had a fantastic day backcountry skiing with some sweet folks from Boulder yesterday. They had solid resort skiing experience, are new to the backcountry, and they wanted an overview of how to plan a day in the backcountry and see some lower risk zones they could ski in Rocky Mountain National Park.

We started the day at the Birds Nest and spent an hour learning how to make a tour plan that considered factors like recent and forecasted weather, avalanche hazard, group objectives, travel logistics and more.

Then we headed out to the field! Our goal was to ski an area called the “Easy Alleys”which is a collection of lower angle slopes to the SW of Lake Haiyaha. About a mile and a half tour from Bear Lake, the Easy Alleys can be great fun to ski in fresh snow conditions. The standard approach does contain some exposure to steeper open slopes that can avalanche, so careful evaluation of conditions is important.

We spent our day touring and skiing through the surreal landscape around Lake Haiyaha and discussed everything from avalanche safety to good touring & powder skiing techniques to the best recipes for backcountry ski tea. (If you’re curious, 1 black tea bag + 1 ginger peach tea bag + water + honey & lemon juice to taste is our favorite.)

We ended our day descending the Mario Gully, bouncing down pillows before a boot scootin’ traverse to Nymph Lake, where we caught the summer trail back to the trail head.

All in all, it was a great day out with some wonderful people. With April just getting started, we have plenty of ski days ahead of us. Give us a shout if you would like to get out for a day!

26/03/2024

Did you know Boulder has arch you can hike to? The Royal Arch trail is a 3 mile out and back hike with options to add on longer trails around the flatirons. This group came from the Carolinas and were looking for some hiking, but after the big snowstorm across Colorado, it was tough to find any dry trails. Micro spikes and trekking poles made this hike doable. There is 1,400 feet of elevation gain, with most of that as you approach the hike. Be ready for big steps and challenging hiking but awesome views!