Great Colorado Getaways

Going Wild

By Dan Leeth

Mild and moderate activities have their places, but when the summer sun hits the hills, some of us crave wilder, muscle-wielding activities that pit nature against self.

It might entail fighting fatigue in the pursuit of a haughty height. It may require tackling trepidation while careening into the maw of a river rapid. Or perhaps it involves a finger-gripping search for a perch high on a soaring slab of stone. For those seeking heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping, ego-enhancing challenges, here is a trio of my favorite outdoor activities, each perfect for going wild.

Scale a summit

Boots laced, I saunter up the trail. Ahead towers one of Colorado's famed peaks topping 14,000 feet in height. The first few early-morning miles lead me through forest where birds, not text-messagers, twitter in the trees.

Timberline arrives at 12,000 feet and the views open. Slow and steady, I slog upward toward my goal. The peak has become a fairytale princess that inspires me to battle an army of muscle-singeing dragons.

Shortly before noon, I reach the summit. Around me stretches a panoramic montage of summits and valleys. Surrounded by beauty, I devour lunch beneath the shimmering glow of accomplishment.

Colorado may not boast the highest peak in the lower 48 (that honor goes to California's Mt. Whitney), but it certainly has more of them. Of the 68 summits topping 14,000 feet in altitude, 54 stand in the Centennial State, and climbers need not be as daring as Sir Edmund Hillary to scale one of these "fourteeners." About a third boast easy trails to their tops that lure hundreds of "peak baggers" every summer weekend.

Of course, "easy" is a relative term. Most fourteeners require hoofing it up heights and distances that make StairMaster workouts look like sissy play. Done in the thin air of high altitude, huffing and puffing is the norm.

"The key is deep, diaphragmatic breathing," advises Nate Goldberg of the Beaver Creek Hiking Center. "Instead of stopping and starting, keep a nice steady pace."

Goldberg and his staff lead trips up some of Colorado's milder fourteeners, including Mount Elbert, the state's highest point at 14,440 feet above sea level. Other starter summits include Grays and Torreys Peaks off I-70, Mt. Bierstadt from Guanella Pass, Quandary Peak south of Breckenridge and Mt. Sherman near Fairplay.

No matter which peak is picked, it's important to start early and reach the summit before noon. Afternoon thunderstorms form quickly, and being high when the sky turns electrical can become a shocking experience. Always carry a pack loaded with food, water, clothing and rainwear, and never hike solo.

"You don't want to leave luck to the mountains," insists Goldberg. "You're too much at risk if you're not well prepared." The Colorado Mountain Club (303-279-3080, www.cmc.org) features member-led climbs, and the Beaver Creek Hiking Center (970-754-5373, www.beavercreek.com) offers commercial ascents of fourteeners. Gerry Roach's "Colorado's Fourteeners from Hikes to Climbs" is a favorite guidebook to the top peaks.

Raft a rapid

Ahead roars a cataract whose name implies the local mortician does a bang-up business. I jam my sandal-clad toes between the raft's inflatable hull and its floor. I may get drenched, but I definitely don't want to be jolted overboard for a lifejacketed swim."Easy left," instructs the guide. "Now, straight ahead. Hard!"

Six of us paddle like escapees from "Deliverance," bucking and bouncing around boulders, waves and holes. A 20-second lifetime later, the stream flushes us into the calmer current below. Soaked with success, I take a deep breath and prepare for the next plunge.

We in Colorado are lucky with runnable rivers stretching from the Front Range to the Western Slope. For most of us, whitewater lies a short drive away.

"There's nowhere else in the United States that you're going to get as many different opportunities to raft as you do here," says Colorado River Outfitters Association board member Johnny Cantamessa. "We have everything from family float trips to some of the hardest whitewater in the world."

The most famous of all the state's raftable rivers is the Arkansas from Buena Vista through Royal Gorge, but there's far more. Colorado has no less than 26 additional river stretches hosting commercial trips, which vary from half-day thrills to week-long expeditions.

For novice and family-friendly whitewater, there's the scenic Upper Colorado near Kremmling, the Shoshone section of the Colorado through Glenwood Canyon and the Lower Animas, which winds through Durango and beyond.

More challenging rapids can be found in Clear Creek near Denver and the Poudre outside Fort Collins. Northeast of Gunnison, the Taylor River serves up dam-metered water in a scenic setting.

Experienced paddlers will find the Upper Animas north of Durango features exhilarating whitewater in one of the state's most remote regions. Above Kremmling, the Colorado River traverses Gore Canyon, a bracing venue that hosts international rafting championships.

No matter whether it's bouncing down a brisk stream or plunging down a puckering churner, river rafting provides one benefit not found in many outdoor sports. It offers the opportunity to bond.

"When you get through a rapid with seven other people, there's a kinship and a camaraderie at the end of the experience," says Cantamessa. "Rafting brings a level of excitement you can share with others."

The Colorado River Outfitters Association (303-229-6075, www.croa.org) provides information on rafting, a list of member outfitters and the rivers they serve.

Climb a cliff

I cling, spider-like, to near-vertical rock, a single rope serving as my safety web. Clad in special soft-soled shoes, my feet balance precariously atop nearly imperceptible stone bulges. My left fist is jammed into a two-inch-wide crack. My right clings to a knob that even a lizard couldn't sunbathe atop. My knees quiver.

Looking up, I mentally map my moves. Employing what I hope is a dynamic repositioning of appendages, I push, pull, reach, grip, jam and lift. I now balance five feet higher up the tall rock wall.

"Nice moves," my belayer encourages from below. "Now comes the hard part."

Unlike peak bagging, rock climbing is not about the destination-it's about the journey. Routes matter. The summit doesn't.

Rock jockeying can be divided into two basic subsports. At the low-tech end there's bouldering, where unroped climbers tackle rocks close to the ground, seldom venturing more than a dozen feet off the turf. Boulderers typically climb in groups with one person spotting while another climbs. Because minimal equipment is required, bouldering provides cheap thrills at a rock-bottom price.

At the opposite extreme is technical rock climbing, which involves the use of rope, harness and a partner. The climber is tethered to the rock with a rope-tensioning belayer ready to arrest a fall. To be done safely, the sport requires training and practice.

"You wouldn't take up parachuting or scuba diving without knowing how the equipment works," observes Kevin Smith of Denver's Thrillseekers Sport Climbing and Equipment. "The same applies to climbing."

With artificial climbing walls featuring routes and holds of varying difficulty, rock gyms like Thrillseekers provide ideal venues for learning the basics. Beginners receive instruction and within an hour can be ascending with their own belayers.

"We presume you have no gear, so we put you in climbing shoes, harness and belay equipment," Smith explains. "We teach how to tie yourself in when you're the climber, how to belay your partner when he or she is climbing, as well as other important safety skills."

After a few indoor sessions, it's time to move from rock gym to rock face. With experienced partners serving as belayers, trained newbies can soon be out pitting nature against self in heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping, ego-enhancing challenges on the cliffs.

The Indoor Climbing website (www.indoorclimbing.com) lists rock gyms in Colorado. Information on popular bouldering sites can be found at www.frontrangebouldering.com.

Dan Leeth is a freelance writer and photographer based in Aurora.

Great Colorado Getaways