Our second day in Crested Butte was spent on the mountain itself. Last night, after dinner, we drove up to the base of the mountain / ski resort area, and enjoyed a free concert. While we were there we discovered that CB has recently opened a new "Adventure Park" for children and families. The area included a rock climbing wall, a year-round ice skating rink (which was made of some sort of synthetic plastic material), and a bungee jumping station. So we went back at 9 AM this morning and bought all-day passes that were coupled with passes for use of the ski-lifts, and use of the disc golf course.
We started by taking the Silver Queen lift to the highest point the lifts travel on the mountain, which is the base of the 'Summit Trail.' From there it is a 2 mile hike to the summit.It was Kristen's first time to ride an open chair-lift, and of course it was Miles' and Emery's first time as well. Everyone enjoyed it (although Kristen later said she enjoyed the ride down more ...).
The home we are staying in is 8,800 feet above sea level. The base of Mt. Crested Butte (where this picture was taken) is 9,400 feet. In this picture you can see, in the very distance, the peak of Mt. Crested Butte where I later hiked. The summit is 12,162 feet above sea level.
We all hiked up the first couple of stages and paused for some pictures. The views were really spectacular. And may I add, it's nice to be able to hand the camera off to my son and have him take a picture of Kristen and me?
Kristen and the kids headed back down on the lift to the Adventure Park area, and I continued the hike toward the summit, not knowing exactly what to expect, how far it really was, or how the altitude might impact my stamina. I had brought water, which I definitely needed.
As I proceeded up the mountain, and the trail became less dirt / more rocks, I had a realization that it probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world to be doing this hike without a partner. For that reason I tried to make sure that I was always within sight-lines of other groups of hikers. But it was not very crowded on the mountain, and I did have a very satisfying feeling of solitude as I stopped along the way and snapped pictures. This picture is interesting to me (now that I'm back down and reviewing pictures) because the scope of this peek is just not evident in the photo. If you click on this picture you might be able to see - in the enlargement - a few tiny specs at the top that are people about to summit. The trail I was on took me to the left of this picture, and then back up the ridge on the left side of this picture to the summit.
The last 200-300 yards to the summit was a challenging climb, but the view from the tip-top of the mountain made it totally worth the effort. The three hikers I followed up arrived at the summit about five minutes before I did. When I joined them there (the peak has an area to stand that is only about 4' x 6') I offered to take their picture, and they took mine in return. And then they headed down right away.
I lingered, alone, and just tried to take it all in. There was a small camping box with a book inside. I took it out, signed it, and enjoyed flipping through the pages to see many other names. It was fun to see where people - from all over the world - had come from.
I waited at the top until another group of hikers joined me, and then I proceeded down the mountain just before them (again, trying to stay between groups in case I needed assistance for some reason).
It shouldn't have been a surprise to me, but the trek down was actually a lot more scary than the assent. Probably because I was constantly reminded of how high up I was. In this picture you can see the golf course in Skyland - the community where the Peters' home is located. It was amazing to be able to see their house from the top of the mountain.It's hard to describe what "summiting" felt like. Really an adrenalin rush. It gave me a very small appreciation for what it must feel like for professional climbers who seek even greater heights and more challenging climbs.
After I rejoined the family, we took a second lift up to an area of the mountain that had a disc-golf course. I had imagined that the course was going to be nestled in a valley that was relatively flat. What was I thinking? What a ridiculous assumption. The course was essentially an 18 hole course that you played as you worked your way down the mountain. 2.5 miles long. None of us had the legs to do that, so we played ONE HOLE, and then hiked 20 min. back up to the lift where we had started.
We finished our day with the kids doing the rock wall and bungee trampoline one more time. They had done these activities earlier (when I was doing the summit trail), but they wanted one more shot before we left. 
Miles, in particular, had been working up the courage all day to try to do a back-flip on the bungee trampoline, and I'm happy to report he had success!
If the outdoor activities were not enough to make this a memorable day, the kids asked me to teach them 'Chess' when we got back to the house. I did, and they both picked it up very quickly. Too quickly in fact; I lost to both of them before the evening was over! No joke.For those of you who made it to the end, congratulations! Or should I say, my condolences? And if you are, for some odd reason, still craving more pictures, I'm uploading more from today to our web album. (At least I'm not inviting you over for dinner, then forcing you to sit down in my living room and act interested as I share carousels of Kodak slides!) There may be so many pictures there now that your computer may crash. View at your own risk.
