Return to the Rockies—Epic Times in Estes Park, Colorado
Colorado. Land of my birth.
It was good to have a homecoming, returning to the Rockies for an episode of Epic Trails. If you’ll believe it, even though I was born less than two hours away, this was my first time in both Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. To say this visit was long overdue is an understatement.
Estes Park is located just northwest of my hometown Denver, Colorado and is right on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. Despite the familiarity of the region, it was all new.
"Estes Park is wild with adventure opportunities, and that’s not even accounting for the National Park in its backyard. "
Last year, Rocky Mountain National Park was the third most visited national park in the US with an incredible 4.5 million visitors. The crowds are well deserved, as the park is breathtakingly beautiful and naturally inviting to adventurers of all levels. But my mission in this trip was mostly to explore outside of the well-known park and travel the much less visited, but just as impressive, adventure options of Estes Park.
When I first met Tim Resch of Estes Park Outfitters, I knew I was shaking hands with a true cowboy, a man of the land whose style and methods feel like an ode to a bygone era. He’s an authentic “mountain man” who lives on a mountaintop with a vast amount of wildland surrounding him for his horses and his trusty dog to enjoy. Tim agreed to take me on a horseback ride through the mountain trails and under the looming eye of the majestic Twin Sisters Peak. As we rode horseback, Tim recounted wild tales—yarns that unravelled slowly and then rolled back together for a hilarious punchline. It’s clear he’s been doing this for a while. He’s an engaging and experienced guide who has “telling the tall tale” down to an art.
In the evening, Tim and I started a fire and watched the sunset over the mountains while sharing some authentic Colorado whiskey. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
For my next adventure, I met up with Vanessa Polcari and Kalley Rittman, two Kent Mountain Adventure Center (KMAC) guides who lead me through the Estes Park Via Ferrata. Via Ferrata literally translates into “iron path” and it is just that—a path of iron rungs and cables that navigate up cliff faces and mountain ridges. It’s an exhilarating mixture of climbing, mountaineering, and a high-wire circus act.
Photo by Max Stussi
While wearing a harness, helmet, gloves, and specially designed safety clip devices (they look like lobster claws) I worked my way from rung to rung, clipping and unclipping from one section of cable to the next. It’s a super fun way to experience the mountains and the makes exploring the exposed cliff faces more accessible for those not quite ready for rock climbing.
We summited, and while our time on the Via Ferrata came to an end, the adventure was far from over. The three of us rappelled down one of the cliff faces to two portaledges where we’d be spending the night. Portaledges are hanging tent systems traditionally used by climbers who are climbing bigger walls than can be ascended in one day. More recently, they’ve become a bucket-list experience for daring individuals who want to sleep somewhere unforgettable and gain big-wall skills. The portaledge experience with KMAC includes skilled guides who set up the platform and—bonus—cook dinner!
Vanessa and Kalley made a deliciouscouscous and tikka masala dinner as the sun dropped below the horizon. Thethree of us dined in style, laughed with full bellies, and then watched as the nightsky emerged. It was a truly unforgettable experience to have stars arcingacross the sky as we slept perched high above the rocks below.
The town of Estes Park itself is small,only about 3,000 residents. But it swells with activity in the summer and fall,as literally millions of people pass through, using it as a basecamp for RockyMountain National Park and the surrounding wilderness. It’s a charming townfull of beautiful cottages, the main drag of town bustling with people browsingbookshops, sipping delicious coffee, and feasting on savory kettle corn. With rockypeaks separating roadways and streams running right through town, its naturalbeauty swims effortlessly between mountain town and wild landscape.
Estes Park has long been famous for its climbingopportunities. The region has produced world-class climbers and attracted peoplefrom all over the world looking to get dig their fingers and toes into thefantastic granite. Being slightly-less-than-world-class, I was eager to seewhat the region had to offer more recreational climbers like myself.
I met up with Buster Jesik, another KMACguide, to try my hand at the classic Estes Park climbing area known as JurassicPark. Jurassic Park is a beautiful climbing crag that offers lots of optionsfor climbers of all abilities. One of its most famous climbs, called ‘Edge ofTime’, is a wing of rock that juts out beautifully and has a great view ofLongs Peak in the background. I immediately knew I wanted to climb this 5.9classic, which, whiles on the moderate/easy side, is a challenging climb thatrequires more balance than strength. And with only four spaced out bolts forprotection, you do not want to take a fall.
As I got on lead, I had to calm my mind. Ittook me a couple tries to work through the crux. But once I worked it out, Iwas able to cruise to the top and enjoy the remarkable climb. Lead climbing isa skill I’m still learning to get comfortable with, so making it to the topfelt like a good accomplishment for myself.
Estes Park is wild with adventure opportunities, and that’s not even accounting for the National Park in its backyard. I loved my time here - getting to know local legends, mountain biking the single track, sleeping on cliff edges, and running the trails of Lumpy Ridge. The people and wilderness welcomed me with open arms and provided me with an adventure I won’t soon forget.