Rocky Mountain National Park, Twin Sisters, and Golden

Cindy McCloskey and I arrived in Boulder, CO on December 18th, and then headed out to Rocky Mountain National Park on the 19th to view the freshly snow covered mountains following a recent winter storm.  A few pictures of the Bear Lake area are posted below.  On the 20th, we decided to ascend Twin Sisters Peaks.  Our original plan was to attempt Hallett Peak.  However, strong winds following in the wake of the winter storm, as well as deep snow meant that Hallett Peak would be an improbable goal.  So at dawn we set off from the Twin Sisters trailhead, and began the upward slog along a route that was covered in 1-4 feet of snow.  Needless to say, our pace was slowed down significantly as we broke trail with our snowshoes.  However, the view of the Longs Peak massif was outstanding.  Unfortunately, as we approached the summit of Twin Sisters (west), winds strengthened to well above 50 mph, strong enough that I wasn't able to stand upright.  In addition, the long battle breaking trail had taken much too long, such that we only had 3 hours of daylight remaining.  So we turned around, short of the summit.  I managed to strain a muscle in the upper part of my leg on the way down, so the next day was a rest day, and we hung out in Golden, CO, eating at the Capitol Grill, and visiting the American Mountaineering Museum.