Last month, we profiled the gear list of one of our new Brand Ambassadors, Grace Shattuck. This month we take a look at what her husband, Steven "Twinkle" Shattuck brought on a trip to the Maroon Bells to complete his last peak of the 58 Colorado 14ers.

Maroon Bells Traverse

9.5 miles, 4,850' gain, topping out at 14,156 feet. Rated class 5 on the Yosemite system.

Maroon Bells

I had checked the weather prior, and the chance of rain was 10% after 2pm, low enough that I did not bring rain gear, knowing I should be off the peaks by 2pm. My partner, Dustin, and I were starting in the dark, at 5:30am. The starting temp was just above freezing, and the high was in the 60's. However, the peaks were likely to be a bit windy and colder than the forecast.

Maroon Bells Traverse

As such, I brought my Melanzana Wind Pro Hoodie, which is a fleece hoodie that also acts as a wind breaker. It is my favorite piece of clothing I own, and a perfect layer for peak bagging in Colorado! I also tried out a new pair of shoes on this trip, the La Sportiva Bushidos. Typically, I take the La Sportiva Mutants, but both work exceedingly well on semi-technical terrain.

Climbing one of the two towers on the Maroon Bells Traverse

A helmet was carried and used on the class 3-5 sections. The rock on the Maroons is notoriously loose, and several people die on them each year as a result of the loose rocks and technical terrain. A helmet may not save you if you have a big fall, but it'll help with falling rocks from above, or if you hit your head while climbing (this happens more often than you would think).

North Maroon

The hike took me up South Maroon Peak, and traversing the ridge to North Maroon Peak. The ridge is technical, maxing out at high class 4/low class 5. North Maroon Peak was the last peak of the 58 Colorado 14ers for me!

Maroon Bells Summit

Twinkle Maroon Bells Gear

Item Weight (oz)
Backpack
Gossamer Gear Minimalist 14.3
Water System
Two Platypus 1 liter soft plastic 1.6
1 Evamor 1 liter bottle 0.7
First Aid/Hygene/Repair
Minimalist 1st aid kit 2.3
Poop kit (Deuce of Spades, TP, wet wipes) 3
Electronics
iPhone (with Gaia map downloaded for offline tracking) 5
Sony RX100 mark II 8.5
Kennedy Meadows Koozie 0.2
Miscellaneous
Black Diamond Half Dome Helmet 11
Gossamer Gear LT4 Trekking Poles 8.2
Fenix LD02 light 1
Base Weight
Total 55.8
Clothes Items/Worn
Melanzana Wind Pro 200 Hoodie 19
Icebreaker wool t-shirt 3
Brooks running shorts 1
Z-packs fleece beanie hat 1
Darn Tough ankle length wool socks 1
Smith Colson Sunglasses 1
Floral Print Baseball Cap 2
La Sportiva Bushido trail runners 18.2
Total 102
May 25, 2017 — Brian Fryer