Here's the quick intro:

I'm Mike, and I live in a place far from the mountains - Sioux Falls, South Dakota. However, even with living far from the peaks, I've hit a few mountains in my day. I have experience in standard hiking/backcountry, scrambling, technical rock climbing (low-mid difficulty), and general mountaineering. A couple notable ascents are Mt. Bierstadt and Cloud Peak. I will be getting into ice this winter. For training I run a few triathlons each summer and mountain/road bike.

I live in eastern South Dakota, so my trips are less frequent than I would like. Also, climbers are few and far between here, so finding partners is difficult. My demanding job (startup software company) is getting less so, so I've decided to begin dedicating some time to the outdoors. You can learn more about me at intheexpanse.com

This summer I hope to start going out substantially more. My goal is to begin contributing to the climbing community, find people to go with, and get out there. Hopefully this up-and-coming site is a great place to begin.

Climb on!

-Mike

Hi Mike - welcome to the site! scrambling is my favorite, personally! Sounds like you are in really great shape! What kind of climbs are you hoping to do this year?

Matt -

I'm open to what others are climbing, and what is in my experience/skill level.

In my initial research of Colorado's climbs, I've looked at Longs, Wilson, or Capital for a shorter outings. I'm hoping to do a bit longer outing and hit Eolus, Windom, and Sunlight in a 2-3 day push. That might be getting a bit ahead of myself, we'll see.

Right now I just need to find people to climb with, I don't want to go at this solo (I hear too many bad stories). As I mentioned, I live in South Dakota, and there are VERY few climbers here. So whatever people are assaulting I'll probably be up for trying (as long as it is within my skill level My summer schedule is pretty flexible right now.

Let me know if you hear about an open invite climb, or if you have anything planned this year that you need/want a climbing partner on...

-Mike

Hi Mike,

I would probably not call Longs, Wilson or Capitol "short outings" but all three are on my list for this summer as well. I do not have a partner for Capitol yet and that is one that I will need one for. Since you're in the Dakotas I suppose that presents some interesting challenges for getting out hehe.

You mentioned skill level - what are you comfortable with? Capitol is pretty crazy.

Check out the knife edge!

www.100summits.com/gallery/gallery.html?func=viewcategory&catid=36

I guess the meaning "short" depends on how a guy looks at it By short I mean I should only have to take a day or two off of work to make the trip. The Eolus/Windom/Sunlight gig looks like it will take more time.

In regards to Capital Peak, it does have some pretty crazy sections (I've seen the pictures of knife edge!). However, the route I've looked at is rated "Class 4", which means I'll probably need ropes (which I'm comfortable with), but no technical climbing. I would say I'm probably not up for doing Capital in winter or in marginal conditions, but on a good day it seems doable. I think the worst part is probably getting over vertigo on Knife Edge...

South Dakota is actually not so far away - just an hour and a half airline flight or a good day's drive. I fly once and awhile for work anyway, so it's not so difficult to coordinate schedules to make a trip happen. Just requires a bit of planning...

Ah right on - well - most people don't rope up for Capitol. The exposure exists but it is manageable. Actually, I don't think most people rope up for any 14'ers except for some of the technical routes (Crestone Needle's Ellingwood Arete). I'm planning on doing Capitol in August or July (can't remember) - date is in my blog on the site hehe.