It was the spring of 2017 and Peter was getting ready to graduate at the University of Denver while Audrey was rounding out her junior year before embarking on an internship in Grand Teton National Park. Our mutual friends planned a spring sport climbing/camping trip at Shelf Road outside Canyon City, CO. Around evening campfires and daytime craiging we started to get to know one another talking about spring skiing objectives. By the end of the weekend, we made plans to ski Dead Dog Colouir on Torreys Peak. A week later, Audrey, Peter, and BK embarked on the mission from Denver early on Saturday morning. BK and Peter had spent the night before out late at dinner with their friend Josh and neither slept much before Audrey was at the door at 3:30am. As they skied up to the peak in the early morning light, Audrey and Peter had some time to themselves where they continued to get to know each other. That day the group did not make it to the summit, but it continued to foster the seed of Audrey and Peter’s relationship. The lack of success on Torreys did not deter them from looking at other peaks to ski across Colorado, as we decided next to ski Quandary Peak on 4/20/2017. We ascended the peak as the sun awoke in the east on a perfectly calm and clear Colorado morning. On the summit we reveled in the accomplishment listening to one of Peter’s favorite songs Champagne Supernova. It seemed that just maybe this partnership could work out after all.

The proposal mission began during the fall of 2021 when we were trying to find a smoke-free region of the Eastern Sierras for a climbing adventure. It had been a particularly smokey wildfire season and the summer seemed to slip away from us, and we realized that we hadn’t enjoyed a climbing adventure between the two of us all summer. We departed the South Lake trailhead at dawn and ascended the Bishop pass trail until we ventured off trail towards Herd Peak and began the climb. Moving through the rock brought smiles to our faces as we ascended golden granite to the top of Hurd Peak. We then traversed the ridge line to Peak 12,192 hooting and hollering along the way. The third peak of the traverse is Trapezoid peak. To our delight, we were above the smoke that stewed in the valleys below. We soaked in the warm sun and clear air, marveling at the many sky pilot wildflowers that dotted the peak. It just felt so right to be out exploring together again. We expressed gratitude for all the Sierra has given us, its adventures and opportunities to learn and grow, and how much we had grown to love one another throughout it. At that moment, Peter reached into his backpack and pulled out a ring. Audrey was too excited to even let him ask the question before exclaiming yes! Audrey danced with joy on the summit, just perfect. We continued the traverse over an exposed ridge line to Mount Johnson, the final one in the loop. We descended the heinous north gully off Johnson, and raced the sun back to the trailhead, making it back just before dark.