It's officially a tradition....for the 2nd consecutive Summer, some of the old TELUS crew got together in Colorado for a backpacking trip through some of Colorado's finest wilderness area. This year's objective was the Aspen 4 pass loop. This ambitious backpacking trip located in the Maroon Bells/Snowmass wilderness is routed over four mountain passes (West Maroon - 12,500 ft.; Frigid Air - 12,415 ft.; Trail Rider - 12,420 ft.; Buckskin - 12,500 ft.). For 4 days and 3 nights, we hauled everything we needed to sustain on our backs (we didn't need the beer, vodka and wine, but it didn't hurt) across 27 miles and 8000 ft of cumulative elevation gain. It was an amazing trip to say the least, and I've got a newfound respect for my flatlander buddies who all came from sea level and hit the trails hard the next morning. Vern (aka Cowden from Seattle), Nigel (aka Nippard from Ottawa), Archibald (aka Hogan from NJ) and Little Willie (aka Bob from DC)...you guys made me proud!

Some of the top highlights from the trip include: Polar bear swims in the Crystal River and Snowmass Lake, Handstands on the passes, out of this world campsites complete with fire rings and wood, good weather (we apparently avoided the downpours that occurred daily in Aspen), fly-fishing lessons at Snowmass Lake, getting across each pass with no incidents, raman noodles, my ipad (to ensure sound sleep next to Marmot 3), and above all, the company of the group....can't think of a better group of guys to head into the mountains with (Saleem, Neel, Chris and Scott, you're honorary members in this group of course)....