Mountain Running James Peak from Rogers Pass via the North Face

Mountain Running James Peak From Rogers Pass Via The North Face 

An excellent way to run James Peak (a local 13er) is via the North Face and the Rogers Pass trail. You can do it from the east side via St. Mary's Glacier, but that way usually has a few people on it. Running James Peak from the north, however, is great because the trail is clear and very runnable, and there are usually no people. There are two options: you can run it from East Portal/Rollins Pass up to Heart Lake and Rogers Pass, then south along the Divide to the top. Or, you can start on the Corona Road and run the Rogers Pass trail the entire way. We did a 9 mile version a couple days ago running from the Corona Road up that a little, to Rogers Pass and then along that to the top of James and back. 100% runnable, not a soul to speak of, and even a decent time at 2:17 roundtrip. 

Heading up... 

View from the top 

Cruzing back down...

Trail Running in Grand County

Trail Running In Grand County 

Grand County has some of the best trail, mountain, and forest road running in Colorado. There are over 600 miles of quiet dirt forest roads, miles and miles of single-track, and plenty of alpine peaks to run. I can't believe that I've neglected this amazing location for so many years. The wildlife is some of the best in the state, the trails are empty, and the variety and elevations are perfect. We have been getting in plenty of miles this spring between 8,000 and 12,000 feet - every other day we hit up a new thing to run. And the running is really perfect! Here are some shots of the flowers encountered on every trail run we do. Such a great place!

Early Season Mountain Running - Shadow Mountain in RMNP

Early Season Mountain Running - Shadow Mountain In Rocky Mountain National Park 

Yesterday, Tara and I went to run Shadow Mountain, which lies on the outskirts of Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a good early season (or in this year's case, late season because of the snow pack) mountain run to get you ready for the higher peaks. The views from the Shadow Mountain Lookout Tower are also well worth the run, and if you do it on a weekday you are most likely to have the entire mountain and ~12 miles trail system to yourself. 

The below description is for running from the Shadow Mountain Dam side. For running from the Grand Lake side, see here. 

Views along Shadow Mountain Reservoir 

From the trailhead, run on the east shore of Shadow Mountain Lake for approximately 1.7 miles to a signed fork in the trail. Go right to start the Shadow Mountain Trail. Run uphill on the Shadow Mountain Trail for 3.2 miles to the saddle between the small rise which holds the Shadow Mountain Lookout Tower and the summit of Shadow Mountain. The Shadow Mountain Lookout Tower is only 0.1 mile to the west so it's worth a quick visit. Otherwise, run/bush whack up from the saddle 0.45 mile southeast to the summit of Shadow Mountain. From the top, it is all downhill... On this day it took us 2 hours and 12 minutes to do the roundtrip, and we stopped plenty along the shore on the way back to enjoy the water. 

Climbing through the thick forest

Views from the top looking at Grand Lake and the Never Summer Range 

Cruzing down... 

The numbers for those who care.... 

Distance Roundtrip: ~12 miles roundtrip 

Start Elevation: ~8,400 feet 

High Point: ~9,966 feet 

Total climbing and descending: ~4,778 feet 

Difficulty: Medium Other People Factor: Minimal 

Time: 2 - 5 hours depending on how often you stop to enjoy the views.

The Second Option - More Telemark Park Fun

Another short video of some fun stuff in the WP park on freeheel teles. Option One, the other park telemark video is here. Nothing outrageous, but fun stuff. Hope you enjoy!


Second Option - Freeheel Telemark Park

One Option - Video of Freeheel Park Skiing

One Option - Video Of Freeheel Park Skiing 

Put together a couple clips from some park freeheel skiing over the last couple days. I'm still learning park tricks - this is my first season in the park - and thought I would make a fun little clip. Don't see too many telemark skiers in the park, despite how much fun and challenging it is. Hope you enjoy!


One Option: A Simple Freeheel Run from Peter Jones on Vimeo.