Sunday, August 23, 2009

Pikes Peak (14 of 14)!!!

Due to Pike Peaks trail length we drove up halfway then hiked the rest. I personally didn't enjoy the crowded peak, but the ride down was great. The first two miles down had only a few ridable sections. The next three miles were on and off ridable. Then the last eight miles were 99% ridable, making it a tiring descent. As the last 14teener the end was extremely gratifying. Over all I would recommend Pikes Peak for beginner unicyclist but be aware there is a good three out of thirteen un-ridable miles coming down.

Also, check out the "14 Fourteeners Final Overview" video in left panel.

Mt. Elbert (13 of 14)

Mt. Elbert was not a fun hike up. The mountain has false peaks making Elbert extremely annoying to climb. The top was beautiful with jagged cliffs on one side. Coming down the top sections were either too steep or too rocky to ride, but about a mile from the summit the trail turns into a fun unicycling trail. About two miles from the summit we hit the woods which were a lot of fun to ride weaving around switch-backs.

In the end I would recommend this mountain for intermediate mountain unicyclist.

Mt. Antero (12 of 14)

Mt. Antero was one of our shortest ascents.  It had a incredibly cool ridge then a short but straight up hike to the summit.  The rocks were extremely loose resulting in a few big falls coming down.  Once down the top pitch the trail started to get better along the ridge.  Finally I ended going down a jeep trail.  Overall the mountain has sections for beginners and sections that are almost impossible.  The trail isn't good for unicycling but any unicyclist can unicycle the doable parts of this mountain.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Redcloud Peak (11 of 14)

This peak is aggravating, before we were able to ascend the peak we were forced to traverse half way around the mountain.  Once we started ascending the mountain the terrain was extremely difficult to unicycle and the trail goes along a cliff at some places making it intense unicycling.  As we reached the top, a storm came in and we had a short white out blizzard.  At this point we decided we didn't have enough time to climb Mt. Sunshine which is next to Redcloud.  Descending red-cloud the last 3 miles was perfect unicycling.  In the end, I would recommend this mountain for very determined intermediates and experts.

Handies Peak (10 of 14)

Handies was an incredibly easy peak. The trail was a slowly sloping 7 mile trail.  There was very few technical spots but only lasting 100 yards at the most. On the way up we were surrounded by jagged peaks and encountered a beautiful pond at the mid point.  The top of the peak was gorgeous with views in all direction of the San Juan ranges.  This 14teener I would recommend for all unicyclists.  Beginner or Expert unicyclist can enjoy Handies.