Peak 9 (13,195) & Peak 8 (12,987) by Brian Schultz Friday July 22, 2016

Roundtrip miles: 6.4 miles from Peak 10 road, Breckenridge
Elevation gain: 2,200'
Start to finish: 5 hours 5 minutes
Participants: Brian Schultz and grandson Tyler

We drove the Peak 10 road out of Breckenridge and parked at 11,600', past the Overlook Restaurant and just before the road turned rougher. We headed up the road at 7:50 AM, a late start, but we had an excellent weather forecast and our day would be short anyway with the high elevation start.

We exited the road when we neared Peak 9's south ridge and hiked up easy terrain to the summit. We reached the top at 9:20 and twenty minutes later descended the north ridge. The north ridge had some easy but fun scrambling as we dropped down to the Peak 9/Peak 8 saddle.

Tyler moved much faster than me to Peak 8 and had been waiting several minutes before I showed up at 10:45. Two women soon arrived from Peak 8's east ridge. Both were locals from Breckenridge and avid skiers who've been up here many times during winter months. After a stay of 40 minutes, we headed back to the Peak 9/Peak 8 saddle and descended from there on a trail into the basin.

When the trail began an upward course, we left it and contoured to one of the switchbacks on the road below. Willows only required a minimum of bashing to get through, and once we reached the road, it was fast hiking back to the truck. We got there at 12:55.