Monday, February 1, 2010

Mountain Climbing in Colorado



Our friend Gunny took along some Nature's Coffee Kettle beverages when climbing Quandary Peak and Mt. Holy Cross in the Colorado Rockies....

“It was a great climb and very, very cold! All the product was great!

*We started at my base camp of 9985 feet. We were in an expedition tent at that time so stove was warm and the nights were only in the teens. I brewed up some coffee and soup, both were a hit, the soup was excellent!

 *We packed that evening for a trip to the trail head and the product all packed very well. I was able to roll/fold the packages and had no problems finding room. They are light weight as well.

* We left the next morning, temps were -1 degree at the trail head, no winds yet, headed up to tree line and took the first break. We were at approx 11,500 feet and well protected. The soup and tea were a hit. They stood on the snow well for a few minutes, but I would recommend placing a foam mat under it to keep the product hot and keep the snow from melting under it.

* Broke tree line and the winds hit It was gusting at approx 25 MPH with a temp of -8 degrees and it was getting fun at this point! We took our next break at approx. 13,800 feet. We were fully exposed and bitterly cold! I melted some snow and started to brew coffee. I will admit it was a struggle to get the cap off. I passed it to a team mate who also attempted to remove the cap, no luck. I gave it on last try and the seal broke free. We enjoyed our coffee in a hurry. it did get cold quick but in all fairness to your product, the weather was extreme at this point.

* We continued up and debated turning back at 14,000 feet. The winds were blowing at a steady 40 mph and the temps had plummeted further! We were 200 feet from the summit, so I made the call to push on and we topped out to the coldest summit I have been on.  It was bottoming our thermometer in the pack out at -15, not factoring the 40 mph wind chill. We spent 3 minutes up top. I took some photos and we started down.

*One of the guides had injured his knee and was starting to drag. I divided up gear and headed down first to remove my gear, reload fuel and come back up to assist them down. I made it back to tree line and realized it was getting dark and the lows were going to start bottoming out at -15 at 7000 feet. I brewed up one more tea - took a few quick drinks and poured the rest in my insulated Nalgene and started back up to meet them.

*I found them at dusk at approximately 12,800 feet. I did a few changes in the order of travel, traded poles out with a client who had fallen and bent his and started back down. We worked our way back thru the forest to the trail head and found the base camp manager ready to call SAR. I loaded everyone up and we headed out.

*I have some frostbite on my middle finger which I had the skin removed from yesterday, a bit on my nose, otherwise all is well.
 
The products were all great, and with the exception of the cap problem, there were no issues. I would highly recommend these to anyone and will most certainly use them again.”