Grays Peak (14,270') and Torreys Peak (14,267')

Today I climbed these two fourteeners located on the continental divide South of Loveland Pass. The usual route up the mountain starts on the East side of the peaks at the Steven's Gulch trailhead. I arrived at the parking lot at 6:45am and there were already 6 cars in the parking lot. I ended up seeing 15-20 people on the trail. I started up the trail and after about 15 minutes I realized that I had left my sunglasses in the car. I turned around and headed back to get them. After starting the hike for the second time I made great time. I headed for Torreys first and made it to the top in 2.5 hours. There was a ton of snow on the trail above 12,500'. I think most of it had fallen in the last few days. It made the going a bit tough, but there was a group of people breaking tracks in front of me which was nice. It took me about 45 minutes to descend to the saddle and climb Grey's Peak. There were a ton of other people climbing the peaks today. Many of them were skiing down as well. There was actually a bit powder near the saddle. I descended down the Grays Peak trail and then tried playing with my new ice axe a bit for the first time by glissading down some slopes where there was a safe runout. I practiced self-arrest and other techniques while sliding down the snow. I took my time on the way down as it was a beautiful day and there was no hurry to get off the mountain. On the way down I passed several groups who were just heading up at around 1pm. This picture was taken in the afternoon when there was still not a cloud in the sky (Grays left, Torreys right).