Blog revival

After more than a year, it's great to revive this blog!

This afternoon I came across these fun pumpkins. Look closely at the photo ... is that a turtle perched in the center of the birdbath?

Guideology, Blurb #1

Note: This is the first installment in a blurb-series. This is my own original work of fiction.

Guide => someone who shows another “the way”.

Ology => “any science or branch of knowledge”

Few road trips start with a visit to a cemetery…or a battlefield for that matter. However, Meg knew the Little Bighorn Battlefield would be of interest to her clients. The day began with an early start. Driving at dawn along the winding county road, she suddenly stomped on the brakes, narrowly missing the fox.

At first glimpse the creature looked like an overgrown cat. Then as the approaching headlights illuminated two piercing eyes, the fox stood froze in the middle of the road just long enough to give Meg a scare.

Her heart racing, she slowly reached for the stereo knob and dialed down the volume. By now the fox had trotted to the side of the road and stood staring at the idling vehicle.

Meg turned her gaze directly toward this curious creature as she lowered the side window.

“Hey you”, she called gently. “Thanks for moving.” “Thanks for showing up today.”

Continuing down the road, Meg’s thoughts focused on the Fox and its medicine.

...to be continued.

All content on this web site is Copyright © by Jilly Salva
All rights reserved.

The life of a mommie mountaineer

Lurking within a small subset of humanity is the league of mommie mountaineers. Some of us reach celebrity status such as Arlen Blum or the late Julie Tullis.

Us moms squeeze in a whole lotta living into our waking hours. Some of us work an office gig, while others dabble in the outdoor industry. We weave family time right next to workout time.

When we’re not out bagging peaks we still have fun and choose to do things like:

Sew superhero capes
Cook lasagna from scratch
Tutor our kids
Bandage a wounded cat
Organize an expedition
Hold a crying child
Give a warm hug
Say “I Love You”
Take a friend climbing
Create short videos
Eat chocolate for dinner
Carry someone’s backpack
Read topo maps
Wear girlie clothes
Host a slideshow
Take a rad roadtrip
Pray … run … dance … sing … shout … stretch … smile

Have fun and be safe out there.

A return to Northern New Mexico

New Mexico has always held a special place in my heart. It’s the birthplace of my daughter, where I bought my first home and the land of many adventures.

During the off-season, I took some down time to road trip with Alison throughout the northern mountains.

A must see for anyone visiting the area is Taos Pueblo. Ceremonial days are more interesting than visiting at other times of the year. Be sure to check out the tribe’s calendar and visiting hours for details. My personal favorites are San Geronimo Day and the Deer Dances.

Any tour to Taos should also include a stop at the Millicent Rogers Museum. The collections intrigued and entertained us, especially the textiles, large garden sculpture and unique jewelry exhibits.

To round out our time we included a mini-tour to Chimayo to see the Santuario de Chimayo. Regardless of your spiritual background, this enclave will touch you deeply. The path leading up to the church is lined with rosaries, candles and offerings for prayers.

Once inside the original chapel, we were overwhelmed with the abundance of artifacts, photos, and pleas for blessings that completely cover the walls.

*All photos for this blog entry are courtesy Alison Salva. When you use any photos from this blog, please list proper photo credit.

Cheers, Jillywray

Campusing Colorado Style

My life's been a whirlwind of activity and travel for the past two months. Here's a rough cut of some campusing footage I captured during one of the Boulder Rock Club's campusing clinics.

Splitter Day at Lumpy Ridge

Trip Report
November 1, 2008
Sundance Buttress, Lumpy Ridge
Sidetrack 5.9 Trad, 6 pitches
Climbers: Jill Salva and Tim Davis

On Saturday, under partly cloudy skies, Tim and I got a leisurely start leaving the Lumpy trailhead after 8am. The hike out to Sundance Buttress is rather long (for craggin’), yet well worth the effort.

We arrived at the base of Sidetrack in 90 minutes. By then, the thin veil of clouds dissipated revealing blue skies. Using a standard trad rack, we ascended the towering buttress for 6 pitches of awesome crack climbing.

There were two parties on Mainliner (next to us) and one party waiting to climb Sidetrack after us. My favorite part of the climb was the last pitch of 5.9. It was absolutely wonderful!

For a complete route description and climber comments, see the Mountain Project web site.

Have a great week all!

Lost Creek Wilderness: New Bouldering Problems

Over the weekend, Alison and I met up with Bob Dawson, Dwight Sunwall, Scott Nichols, Steve Cassin, and Sharon Adams in the Lost Creek Wilderness. They were poised for a Sunday ascent of McCurdy Tower and Peak 11328. Alison and I were more interested in exploring the stellar rock piles near the Twin Eagles Trailhead.

Our adventure began Saturday evening with delightful conversation while roasting marshmallows over a roaring campfire. It didn’t take long for the fire-talk to turn into a full-blown trip planning session. Before long we were plotting new adventures. Sooner rather than later, we turned in for a restful night of sleep.

On Sunday, the crew rose at first light and headed out for their summits. Alison and I slept in until 9am! After sharing details of our surreal dreams, we rose and cooked a hearty breakfast. There’s something about cooking outdoors that brings out a renewed appreciation of food-as-fuel for our bodies.

After breakfast we eyed some sweet granite rock piles. I’ve been impressed with the quality of rock in the Lost Creek Wilderness. Stellar granite makes for fun scrambling and bouldering.

We focused on one rock pile in particular and named it “Breakfast Rock”. We spent a couple hours ascending silly-fun lines of varying grades, all the way up to V0+. My favorite line was a bouldering problem I dubbed “Up and Over”.

Enjoy the fall weather and have a great week all!

Cross Training with Vinyasa Flows

Are you looking to spice up your winter cross-training? Have you tried vinyasa flows? Vinyasa flows are synchronized breath-to-movement sequences. While a bit outside of the box for more traditional sports training; yoga’s restorative, strengthening and balancing powers may just be the ticket for your next onsite or uber-mountain loop.

After my encounter with the mountain lion earlier this year, I took a long break from solo night running. Road running was a poor substitute for the rejuvenating affects of traveling with complete abandon under the stars. So I mostly gave up night running……(for a while).

Looking back, I tried to analyze what it was exactly that appealed to me about night running and why had I come to rely upon its medicine. After introspection, it became obvious……two key elements had fueled the driving force behind my night running addiction.

1. The ability to more completely control my breath
2. The ability to more completely control my thoughts

For me, these are also the two key elements of a yoga vinyasa flow.

After experimenting with a summertime of vinyasa flows (instead of epic hours running) my results have been dramatic. These postures have vastly strengthened my nervous system and improved my overall clarity and sense of well-being. So much, that yesterday I set a personal record when out ticking a few summits. The technical terrain literally “flowed” beneath me.

Prior to entrenchment on my yoga mat, I would not have guessed its impact would be so profound on my technical climbing and overall cardiovascular fitness. If you’ve never tried vinyasa flows, I highly recommend them as a training aid for:

+ improving flexibility
+ strengthening your nervous system
+ calming the mind (say goodbye to your monkey brain)
+ opening your heart
+ releasing the residue of old gunky emotions that, more often than not, get deeply embedded within our bodies causing dis-harmony and dis-ease

Please feel free to contact me with questions, or for customized training support. Whether your goal is to hike your first 14er or get into technical climbing, I’m always happy to assist you in attaining those goals.

Have a great week all!

Thumb & Needle, Prospect Mountain

I recently guided a group of young climbers up at the Thumb and Needle crags on Prospect Mountain in Estes Park. This area is especially suited for beginner and emerging climbers. The routes range between 5.3 on up to 5.11.

The short but steep trail approach is enough to quiet even the most loquacious youngsters – but that won’t last for long. Once they drop their packs and gear up, their chatter will swell into the air and focus on who’s going to climb all the way to the top.

Something young people tend to do more readily than adults, is work in teams. The kids broke out into small groups for ground school where we taught them how to properly put on their harnesses and helmets. We also taught them how to tie into the rope and safely belay and lower another climber.

Each student had the opportunity to climb a number of routes. All made it to the top of at least one climb. Most reached the top of several routes. Even kids who were obviously reluctant to be off the ground, gave their best effort to face the challenge square on.

One young climber marveled at how “cool” his climbing shoes were. He declared, “These have good “gription”! When I asked him what exactly “gription” meant, he said it meant that the shoes had great grip and friction. Grip + Friction = Gription. It was obvious more than one kid would include the word “gription” in their daily journal entry.

As the small teams of climbers cheered each other on, the day flew by quickly. Before we knew it, the time came to pack up and hike out. Another fun-filled day in the outdoors.

Have a great weekend all.

Dreaming Real in Little Girl

Dreaming real in little girl
Artist mother spins the wheel
Dances hot, dances cold
Dances youngly, some say bold

Dreaming real in little girl
Artist daughter writes with zeal
Dances hot, dances cold
Dances youngly, some say bold

Climbing high, climbing low
Connecting always, earth below
Heavens above, dropping in
Merging energies from within

Outside bright, shimmering star
Shining lightly wherever you are
Brave in courage, sweet in divine
Unleashing beautific creations sublime

Dreaming real in little girl
Artists women change the world
One does mountains
Other does pens
Mother-daughter-sister-friend

Argo Gold Mine and Mill

Before the birth of my daughter, I had plans for an early retirement in Alaska. I was going to homestead, marry a good man, build a modest home and live off the land in a snowy Shangri-La. The thought of walking into the “big open” and climbing/skiing for days on-end still fills my heart and soul. I’ve often wondered if in a past life I lived in Alaska, perhaps during the gold rush.

Alaska isn't the only place there was a gold rush. Colorado has its own gold rush history and lore. I recently spent an afternoon at the Argo Gold Mine and Mill in Idaho Springs. This impressive and historic treasure is a must-see for anyone interested in Colorado mining history. The grounds serve as a graveyard for rusting yet interesting pieces of mining equipment and hulking machines. The grounds also hold one very large stoney meteorite (you can even touch it!) Apparently this rock was found not far from Idaho Springs.

Inside Argo, former miners deliver an hour-long presentation where they pass around gold samples such as the large gold nugget seen in the photo above. They identify more than a doszen minerals and gemstones with tongue-twister names. You get the sense of how hard digging underground for ten hours must have been by viewing a series of old photos that vividly illustrate the conditions workers endured in the mines.

After the indoor presentation, you go into the yard and they fired up a huge and L-O-U-D drill. Then you're bused up the hill where you embark on a short self-guided mine tour followed by a walk through the Argo Mill itself. If you stop and close your eyes, you can travel back in time and feel the deafening sound of the mill during its heyday….or imagine the smells and temperature extremes. Once back at the main building, we opted to pan for gold and gemstones.

The Argo Gold Mine and Mill Tour is suitable for most ages. Kids under the age of 10 will likely be bored with the indoor presentation, but would enjoy the mine & mill tour as well as panning for gold and gemstones.

Have a great week all!

Lost Creek Wilderness, Kick-Ass Mega-Loop

"Peak Y" (12,274')
"Zephyr Peak" (12,067')
"Peak Z" (12,244')
Payne Benchmark (11,780')
"No Payne" (11,789')
Shawnee Peak (11,927')
"Platte Peak" (11,941')
Foster Benchmark (11,871')-unranked
Mt Blaine (12,303')-unranked
N. Twin Cone Peak (12,323')

29 miles RT
7,300' gain
10 summits

With few 11ers and 12ers under my belt, I joined a group of peak bagging maniacs for a mega-loop in the Lost Creek Wilderness (LCW) on Saturday (Sept 27th). The Aspens were changing colors and the thought of undertaking such a tremendous bushwhack/tundra hike in a spectacular setting appealed to me.

Starting at 5:45am at the Long Gulch trailhead, we easily topped out on the summit of Peak Y and made our way over to Zephyr Peak. One by one the summits rolled before us. Up and down we traveled the undulating terrain, chit-chatting and catching up on each other’s lives while sharing this grand adventure.

By the time we meandered to Platte Peak, dark ominous clouds were building off in the distance. Mighty willows tried to impede our progress, however, we sucked it up and bashed through their thickets. At times our feet plunged deeply into soupy, marshy, muddy stretches of tundra.

On the summit of N. Twin Cone Peak the sky darkened and thunder began to rumble. On our way over to S. Twin Cone the sky darkened even more, as graupel tumbled down from above. Seeing successive bolts of lightening convinced me it was time to descend.


Ten summits is no slouch for a day out in the hills. S. Twin Cone (12,340’), Kenosha Peak (12,100’), “X Prime” (12,100’) – soft ranked (280’ prominence) and “Peak X” (12,429’) would have to wait until another day.

Bob and I descended the Rock Creek drainage, which challenged our navigational skills in the disappearing daylight. We eventually met up with the road for the last few miles of trudging back to camp. We arrived at 9:00pm for a 15.25-hour day. After some chocolate brownies and beer it was time for sleep. Another great day out in the hills.

Mummy Range Summit Fun

September 20, 2008
Mount Chapin 12,454 feet
Mount Chiquita 13,069 feet
Ypsilon Mountain 13,514 feet
Fairchild Mountain 13, 502 feet

With summer days surreptitiously slipping into fall's spicy colors, I figured this would be my last attempt at “Mummy Kill” this year. Mummy Kill is a gigantic arcing route in Rocky Mountain National Park which begins at the Chapin Pass Trailhead and tags the summits of Chapin, Chiquita, Ypsilon, Fairchild, Hagues, Rowe Peak, Rowe Mountain and Mummy Mountain, finally exiting at the Lawn Lake Trailhead. At over 18 miles and 7,000ft elevation gain it is truly a tour-de-bliss for those who enjoy long outings!

Starting at 5:45am I made quick work of Mount Chapin’s summit. As the sun began to peek over the plains, there was enough light for me to see a lone set of elk tracks in the snow. To my surprise these tracks rolled over the tundra before me as if a to show me the way. Elk are plentiful up in the park and these majestic creatures are well known for their strength and stamina.

Plentiful are the tales of how native peoples would flush elk up onto the divide during communal hunts. Perhaps the terrain before me was prime hunting territory? The concept still intrigues me. Click here for more info on the rich history of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Pushing onward, the summits of Mount Chiquita and Ypislon Mountain offered breathtaking views and I continued to follow those elk tracks across a snowfield over to Fairchild Mountain.


After a brief rest on Fairchild's summit I swooped into The Saddle below Hagues Peak. Within minutes, the weather ceiling began to lower. About 500 feet below the Hagues summit, snow was dropping from already darkened skies.

As I retreated to The Saddle, the Thunder Beings roared loudly … shaking the entire Lawn Lake valley and drenching everything with rain. Seems my full Mummy Kill circuit would have to wait for another day.

Have fun and be safe out there!

Imogene Pass Run

For those folks who might be thinking about a mountain race - Imogene might be for you. Saturday, I did the up and down. That's a cool 17.1 miles 5,310 feet elevation gain. Basically you run/hike from Ouray up over Imogene pass and then down to Telluride.

I felt near-naked at the start; even though I was wearing running tights, a short-sleeved tech shirt, light gloves and a lightweight jacket. No backpack.....what a concept. (I didn't even bring a camera!) The weather was absolutely perfect. It never got too hot on the way up and the aid stations are well stocked. Every one was friendly and I traveled among a small band of veterans who shared their "Imogene war stories" with me.

One woman thought the uphill portion must be like the grueling hours of labor and childbirth. After laughing so hard that I had to stop and catch my breath, I assured this sweet woman (who has yet to experience motherhood) that the excruciating and near-death experience of labor and childbirth was definitely in a league of its own on any suffer-scale and that there was no way reaching Imogene Pass could even remotely resemble the passage into motherhood.

Since I am mortal, and rather slow by mountain running standards, my plan was to make the summit before the noon cutoff time. To my surprise I topped out at 10:38 am and felt terrific. With such an incredible view at the pass, I hung out there for a bit, marveling at the experience of being up there with so many cool people.

The descent into Telluride is described as being "technical" over loose talus. Maybe if you are a road runner you'd consider the trail "technical". I thought it was wide and very good. Sure there are some loosey-goosey rocky sections, nothing I would consider technical. The day was so beautiful, the other runners were so beautiful, the scenery was so beautiful that it made me feel beautiful. I had to walk some of the descent just to savor the outing. (Total time clocked at 4:31:37.89)

For more information see the Imogene Pass Run web site.

Longs Peak, Keyhole Route

School might be in session but don’t tell that to Longs Peak. People are playing hooky from work and school in order to scale this mountain. Conditions are great and the Keyhole route has returned to non-technical status. Although another large storm could change things quickly, climbers continue to hedge their bets and set their sights on the summit of Longs Peak at 14, 259 feet.
Jim and Alex Ritter were all smiles when I met them at 1 am for our recent ascent of Longs. More than half-way through the trip this father-son duo from Omaha, Nebraska were still beaming as we passed below one of the well-known bulls-eye markers.
These men put in a strong effort, achieving a new personal altitude record. Congratulations Jim and Alex! Way to go!

Climbing Moons

Thursday I was up in the Notchtop - Little Matterhorn Cirque in Rocky Mountain National Park. This area sees little foot or climbing traffic compared to Longs Peak. We had the entire area to ourselves. Notchtop's alpine routes are good. The lesser known Little Matterhorn and Gabletop have routes with surprisingly solid rock.

By the time we reached Two Rivers Lake on the approach, we were treated to a plump moon hanging over Notchtop Mountain. Even though this was a waning moon, it got me thinking about the magical properties of full moons and how much time I spend out climbing under the various phases of the sun and moon.

After some reading, I learned that Native Americans often refer to the August full moon as the “Green Corn Moon”. http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org is an interesting web site that contains free resources, teaching tools and lesson plans for teachers.

To learn more about celebrating the Green Corn Moon, Click here

Getin' Out, Having Fun

This short entry is dedicated to Summer Hailey who entered the world on June 30th. May she grow-up tall and strong just like her way-cool ultra-running mom!

This week I got out for trail running, peak baggin’ and stellar lines; nothing unusual, just a few ticks from my lists and a whole lotta fun! So much to climb and so little time!

Have fun and be safe out there.

James Peak: 13,294 feet

The July 4th holiday brought with it scorching 90-degree temperatures! To escape from the heat, I decided to head up to James Peak for a brisk hike and to take a look at the couloirs (Sky Pilot, Shooting Star and Super Star).

James Peak is the 5th highest summit in the Indian Peaks and also the Gilpin county highpoint. Most people climb it via St. Mary’s Glacier. The crux of the day can be getting a legal parking space. Like many high altitude mountain towns, public parking is non-existent,….except for Paul and Erin Johnson’s property. Paul happened to be on hand today and I took some time to chat with him. His parking lot currently accommodates 30 vehicles. It costs $5/day to park. As a long-time resident of the community, he’s concerned about the environment and decided to take action. He installed a port-a-pottie.


When I asked him why he installed the port-a-pottie for such a low volume of visitors, he explained that over the years the number of visitors has steadily increased. Some sources estimate that well over 20,000 vehicles drive up to the community of St. Mary’s Glacier each year and there are no public restrooms. With those kinds of numbers, it doesn’t take long for the human impact to take a serious toll on the environment. Paul shared some of his future plans with me. These include the installation of a self-pay station and perhaps one-day building a retaining wall on the perimeter of his land. Although commerce appears to be lacking in St. Mary's (the local store lasted less than two years) there are "rumors" that the ski area may re-open. Bidding Paul a good day....I walked toward the trailhead.

With a mere 3/4 mile hike to reach St. Mary’s Glacier I choose to walk directly up the glacier itself. The surface was firm with just a few centimeters of boot penetration. No crampons were needed. Moving up and into the moist Jamaica flats revealed alpine wildflowers galore! I observed Alpine Larkspur, what looked like Elephant’s Head, Parry’s Clover, Alpine Sunflowers, Asters, and more! Besides their visual splendor, many of these have their own distinctive fragrance.

The closer I got to James Peak the cloudier it became, and the more obvious it was that couloir climbing would have to wait for another day. (Retreating down a couloir can have serious consequences and that's no place to be in stormy conditions.) Being observant and hyper aware of the weather I decided to push myself, aerobically, by ascending the more gentle SE slopes. Quickly, quickly I rose higher and higher. It always feels so good to be in the alpine! There is a euphoric-like sensation that comes upon me. This inexplicable serenity washes over and through me removing space, time, and all material things.

With the weather changing quickly it was time to descend back to the trailhead.

July is Summer

Will the snows come early this year? Please, let it be so! When you look up the word “summer” in the dictionary, you should see a picture of a person with the word July stenciled on their sweaty forehead. That’s right, a close-up photo of a big forehead covered in teeny goblets of sweat!

With lowland temps hovering in the upper 90s, we decided on a grueling trail shuffle using this heat as a stressor…..in preparation for our projects later this year.

We both prefer cooler weather and were sweating like pigs even before leaving the trailhead. How does one train for the scorching heat of desert sands? Maybe djellabas would have kept us cooler than our tech fabric shirts and shorts. A cold beer would have been good.

Along the way we saw countless sub-alpine flowers and slews of flittering butterflies, flying ladybugs, and even a pack of ravens making throaty purr-like sounds as they surfed invisible thermals.

As we pounded down the last bit of the trail, a snake slithered out underneath my foot causing me to let out a loud, girlie scream!

Medicine Walk

“In Native American Tradition, medicine is anything that will aid the seeker in feeling more connected and in harmony with nature and all life-forms. Anything that is healing to the body, mind, and/or spirit is Medicine. To find a special Medicine that would give answers for a personal challenge or problem, our Ancestors would often walk in the forests or on the mesas to observe the portents or signs that would assist them in healing and seeking wisdom.” (Source: Sacred Path Cards, page 5, by Jamie Sams with Illustrations by Linda Childers)

My spiritual practice includes Medicine Walks (sometimes these are runs). On recent Medicine outings, I’ve attracted lots and lots of bird energy! Have you ever been swooped? Well, I have…….birds are swooping me big time! This is the first June in recent memory where I’ve been repeatedly grazed by birds flying in front, over, and across my body. It’s like these beautifully fragile creators are inviting me to dance and play with them. Or maybe I’m on a hidden camera TV show and these birds are nothing more than battery-powered robots…..Nah.

If you’ve never tried a Medicine Walk, I highly recommend its restorative power. Try one and let me know how it goes.