After a few days in Vail we headed back to Salida for some more epic all mountain.We were going to do the crest trail since B-rad had never done it but after a couple beers at a local bar we were persuaded otherwise.Our new route isnt in any of the guidebooks, probably for good reason.We parked at around nine thousand feet and rode/hiked up to almost thirteen.Gnar is the only description of the climb.Loose chunder,sand, and no oxygen made for one of the hardest ascents Ive ever done.Once at the top though, we had the view.All around us were storms.We were above treeline for a long while and were totally exposed and scared because of the lightning.Luckily the only precipitation we got was a little sleet for a minute.We couldnt have dreamed up a better downhill.Just as epic as the climb we bomb down what seems like endless flowy singletrack for about an hour only stopping to give the hands a shake and slap some high fives.Helmetcam is soon to follow.Stay tuned.
