HikeArizona.COM

Hello All! First, thank you to everyone on this sight for providing such a deep well of hiking info! As you can tell I'm new to the sight and honestly, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the info!

I don't know anyone yet but I'm hoping to change that in the coming months. I've always been a hiker but over the last few months I've gotten more serious about my fitness and hiking. This summer I will attempt to summit Mt Sneffels near Ouray, Colorado as part of a program called Summit for Someone. Sneffels peak cracks the horizon at approx. 14,450. The route my guided group will take follows a glacier to the top. During the climb I will be taught the basics of mountaineering including proper use of crampons and ice axes, ropes, self arrest etc.

I'm asking for your help in developing my fitness. Most of my training has been centered around the Piestewa Peak area humping around an increasingly heavy pack. I could use some variety and a hiking partner that could show me some new trails. I'm a freelance journalist so my hiking schedule is very flexible.

Additionally, I've pledged to raise $4,000 as part of the Summit for Someone series of summer hikes. The money raised goes directly to youth programs which introduce at risk urban teens to the pleasure and freedom of the great outdoors. To date I've already raised more than $2,100!! If you'd like to be a part of my journey and help me reach my financial goal you can donate by clicking on my name on the donation page of the main Summit For Someone page. Please, consider the impact your donation can have on kids who have never experienced anything but the concrete and steel of the city they were raised in.

Thanks in advance for any help you may offer. I look forward to meeting some of you.

Regards,
Nick Calderone

When the snow clears, you'll probably want to get up to Flag and climb Humphrey's to get a glimpse of some higher ground.

Sounds like a cool thing to be involved with!

I did Mnt Sneffels last year. If you go late in the summer, like August, you shouldn't need any snow gear. By then the couloir as you turn left from the Lavender Col should be free of snow enough that you can get around it. It is a fantastic hike. It gets a bit freaky as you hang out over a nice drop as you go up the chimney to the final summit push. But once you are past that you are home free. But it would be nice to get that snow equipment training anyway; since it is hard to find that kind of thing in AZ.

PS - there is a good book called Climbing: Training for Peak Performance by Clyde Soles that tells you just what to do to prepare.