⛰️ First Winter Solo Ascent of Cerro Torre

Good morning, Stoke Crew. Fall's here, which means the mountains are basically looking like a Bob Ross painting and I'm not mad about it!

In today's report

• Colin's Haley solo ascent of Cerro Torre
• Winter is coming
• Bike patrol secures unionization
• Peak fall update

Today’s Stoke Story

⛰️ First Winter Solo Ascent of Cerro Torre

The Report: Colin Haley just completed the first winter solo ascent of Cerro Torre through an extraordinary display of technical climbing that pushed him to his absolute limits on one of Patagonia's famous peak! Arriving in El Chaltén on 8/13, the small climbing town nestled near the entrance of Los Glaciares National Park where Cerro Torre sits. Haley spent seven days hauling gear back and forth from town to establish a cache near the Ragni Route, then launched his attempt on September 6th by free soloing the initial terrain before switching to rope soloing due to his heavy winter pack.

The first day saw him climb nearly the entire 1,000-meter route except for the final three crux pitches, climbing through brittle winter ice and excavating rime-covered holds while dealing with poorly protected terrain that Cerro Torre is infamous for. Day two delivered the psychological crux when Haley discovered a serac collapse had exposed blue glacial ice on the final pitch, leading him toward what he thought was a wind tunnel but turned out to be a chest-width vertical crevasse that required 2.5 hours of chipping, squirming, and stemming while abandoning gear just to squeeze through the ice tunnel he had just carved himself in complete darkness. On 9/7 just before 10pm he stood on the top of Cerro Torre.

This was his 3rd winter solo attempt of Cerro Torre! This successful attempt required ice climbing skills, mixed climbing skills, rock climbing skills, snow climbing skills, big wall skills, a high level of physical endurance, skills to thrive day after day in a cold, harsh environment, ski mountaineering skills, cross-country skiing skills, and even mountain biking skills came in handy. The achievement adds to Haley's already legendary status in alpinism and demonstrates the incredible level of commitment and skill required for elite winter mountaineering.

I spent December of 2023 in El Chaltén trekking around the foothills of those legendary mountains like Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. To look up at Cerro Torre and think about solo climbing it…for me, that would be just as hard as trying to go to the moon. It's truly incredible to understand what Colin just accomplished

Fun fact: Mt. Fitz Roy is part of the famous silhouette in the Patagonia clothing brand logo.

I highly recommend you read Colin's long form blog post about the adventure here

Local Stokelight

❄️ Winter Is Coming

Colorado's ski areas got a nice little teaser overnight Tuesday as a storm dropped fresh snow on elevations above 11,000 feet, marking the second snowfall of the season for the high country! Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, and Loveland Ski Area all received at least a light coating of white. A-Basin got snow all the way down to their base area, though not quite enough to start spinning lifts, and they're still waiting for better conditions to begin seasonal snowmaking operations with guns already in place and ready to go.

Confirmed Opening Dates

• Breckenridge: November 7 (firm date announced)
• Copper Mountain: November 7 (firm date announced)
• Aspen Snowmass: November 27 (latest confirmed opening
• Big Sky: November 26

TBD but Targeting Early Season

• Keystone: Mid-October target (opened November 2 last season)
• Winter Park: TBD (opened November 8 last season)
• Loveland: TBD (opened November 9 last season)
• Arapahoe Basin: TBD but "ASAP" approach (opened November 2 last season)

Mountain Briefing

🚲 Park City Bike Patrol to Unionize

Park City Mountain's bike patrol voted to unionize on August 28, forming the Park City Bike Patrol Association to represent more than 50 summer patrollers who previously lacked union representation outside ski season! The organizing drive was led by workers who are also members of the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, which walked out last December in an unfair labor practice strike that ultimately secured better wages and benefits for winter operations. The union is now represented by the Communications Workers of America and has filed unfair labor practice charges.

Quick Look: Seth's Weather Report

🍂 Peak Fall Colors Forcast Update

Seth just dropped an updated forecast showing that peak fall colors have shifted later than originally predicted, with active weather patterns and much needed September rains slowing down the color change across the state. The late season moisture has had two major effects: delaying the typical progression of fall colors and creating more vibrant displays with an impressive showing of reds this year. Areas that appeared to be changing early have now slowed to normal or even late timing.

I'm sure many are familiar with Seth's weather report. Seth has grown a Facebook page of 68,000 followers. He covers all things related to weather in Colorado. Check out more of the fall report in detail here

Trailhead Trivia

Loveland became the first major ski area in Colorado to have snowmaking capabilities. What year did this happen in?

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Answer!

1967-68! Loveland became the first major ski area in Colorado to have snowmaking capabilities using diesel compressors from the construction of the Eisenhower Tunnel.