Durango Adventure Retreat***May 15-18, 2008

East Animas Climbing Area

Durango was founded in 1880 when the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad built a line from the nearby mountain town of Silverton. The track, now called the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, brought ore from mountain mines into smelters in Durango. Today vintage steam engines carry tourists from Durango to Silverton and back again through the Animas River gorge, much the same way it did 125 years ago!

Situated at the edge of both the San Juan Mountains and the desert Colorado Plateau, Durango has since become a mecca for outdoor recreation. With its Purgatory ski resort, stunning single-track trails for mountain biking, and proximity to steep mountain river systems such as the Piedra, and the Animas, Durango is a mountain town that can do it all. Thanks for joining us and welcome to another great weekend in the mountains!

Friday, May 16

Looking Down Canyon--Piedra River

The San Juan Mountains are currently in the midst of one of the best snow years in recent memory. This translates into great whitewater! We'll be running the Piedra River, which drains the south facing terrain of the San Juans east of Durango.

There are two options on the Piedra, the Upper Box (class IV) and the Lower Box (class IV+). Both run through 1000-foot-deep canyons and alpine rain forests. The decision on which stretch we'll run will be made last minute and based on water levels. We'll be working with a local rafting company on this day, which will begin in Durango (after a great night out on the town!) getting outfitted in river gear. Then we'll shuttle to the put-in (about 1.5 hours) and run the river.

After the trip we'll transfer to our basecamp at Junction Creek, located north of Durango. The camp will be outfitted with tents and sleeping kits, and once we're situated appetizers, beer and wine, and delicious mountain fare will follow!

Saturday, May 17th

Durango Single-track

Saturday promises to be another full day of fun in the mountains. The slate of activities includes hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and for the ambitious, an alpine ascent of Snowdon Peak! More information will follow so people can sign-up ahead of time and we'll have a rough sense for who wants to do what. Some groups will depart directly from camp, while others, such as the rock climbers, will do a short van shuttle to a new venue called East Animas. We'll be working with a local mountain guide company on this day called Southwest Adventure Guides.

Following the day's activities we'll reconvene at our Junction Creek basecamp at which time Heidi will once again take all your money in No Limit Texas Hold-em! We'll also introduce version 2008 of our orienteering contest. This year the Tyrolean Traverse will be mandatory!

Sunday, May 18

Snowdon Peak