We only saw the sun for short bouts during the day. Sunrise looking at Broken Hand Pass was one of them.

Every once in a while you get that phone call or email about going to ski some peaks, and the sheer challenge of the proposition is what makes it attractive. Skiing Challenger and Kit Carson in the same day was hard last time we did it. I don’t think we made it any easier this time. Our day started around 4 am with Anton Sponar, Matt Kamper and myself jumping on sleds at about 10,000 feet on South Colony Road. Motoring up to the upper trailhead was and adventure in itself with plenty of bare spots and side hills along the way. Forecast for the day was looking like cloud cover for most of the day with some bouts of snow and wind. The forecast didn’t disappoint, at least not in its accuracy. We put our head down and skinned and booted to the top of the Bears Playground, the entire time knowing in our head that we were going to meet the wind as soon as we crested the 13,100 foot saddle that connects Crestone Peak, Humbolt and the Kit Carson group.

From here we wondered around a bit in the whiteout of the wind and clouds, but ultimately made our way 1,000 feet down to the base of the Cole Couloir. Crampons on, skis on our back and its up the stairway to heaven for a while.

The weather cleared as we started our bootpack up the Cole Couloir.

But not totally, clouds seemed to hover for the rest of the day.

Anton and Matt inline on the stairway.

This is where we started our traverse to Challenger on the Avenue. Long way down!

We hang a left and cross the avenue, which always seems to take longer than expected. Eventually we find ourselves at the saddle between Kit Carson and Challenger.

Matt starts the traverse across the avenue. Some spots were spicy, some deep, some just tedious.

Climbing in this part of the Sangre De Cristos feels like the tetons in its own way. Anton following along on the avenue traverse.

Scott Schmidt..er... I mean Anton Sponar along the way on the avenue.

A 20 min skin later and we are on top of Challenger Peak. With plenty left to do on the day, we transition quickly, and drop in to ski into the Kirk Couloir.

#1 and done. Lots more climbing to be done.

Transition time!

Matt dropping in on his 3rd to last 14er.

Anton dropping in. The snow was pretty good on Challenger.

Kit Carson looms above our powder turns. Matt enjoying his cruise toward the finish.

Anton never really has a problem playing along if we get to ski pow.

After skiing out the bottom of the chute we find ourselves traversing hard right while dropping elevation to the valley floor.

The Kirk is a beautiful couloir that fits right in with the incredible couloirs of the Sangres. Too bad they don't get 3 times that much snow.

Matt ready for more.

It's always fun skiing below big walls.

We end up just a few hundred yards down valley from the apron leading to the Outward Bound Couloir. From here we decided to forgo the extra transition as the snow seemed good for booting. We started cramponing up and around to the apron and then the ladder began.

Just another transition on the day. Should be the last time we put the crampons back on.

1,500 feet later we are at the top of the couloir and 500 feet give or take from the top. The next bout of snow and wind has kicked up, to make for a chilly finish to our climb.

Matt is almost to the top of his 2nd to last 14er to complete the list.

20 min later we are on the top doing our best to make a smooth and quick transition to be ready to ski. By this point it is 5 pm and the snow has refrozen on top making for a very long ski to the valley floor in Spanish Creek.

It was in pretty good off the top.

Breakable Crust = Jump turns.

Anton doing his best Scott Schmidt impression.

Sometimes we had good turns.

Going and going and going.

Once out of the bottom of the Cole Couloir we do a dropping traverse to end up as high in Spanish creek as we can, but we are still a bit over 1,000 feet from being back to the top of Bear’s Playground. We put our skis back on and plodded our way to the saddle for one more ski descent.

One foot in front of the other is about as much as we could do...

Looking at Columbia Point from Bears Playground through my goggles.

This long of a day deserves a sunset shot to end the trip report. A long day with good rewards, and a couple steps closer to the ultimate goal for Dr. Matt Kamper.

Obviously skiing this late in the day, the only goal is to get down safely, and despite the breakable crusts best efforts, we were back to our sleds before we knew it; and soon after, back at our cars, capping off a 7,500 plus or minus ft day that dragged on for 17 hours.