The forecast for Rocky Mountain National Park was for a clear and mild morning with snow moving in midday. I had been enjoying winter adventures to frozen lakes in RMNP. The snow conditions were stable, so Andrews Tarn sounded like a good destination (this area has some potential for avalanche slopes in the winter).

It took me just a couple of hours to reach Andrews Tarn. I was quite stuck with the aquamarine color of the ice. I took a snack break here. I had planned for Andrews Tarn to be my turn-around point, but it was not even 10am and the skies were bluebird and the snow conditions were ideal. The gleaming white Andrews Glacier beckoned me onwards. Up I headed to Andrews Pass. From the pass I soaked in the view of snowy mountains to the west. I looked over towards Otis Peak. It looked pretty close. I had not ever been to the top of Otis. I decided it would be nice to get in a summit (especially a new one). So I left my pack and snowshoes at Andrews Pass and scrambled up to the top of Otis Peak. I soaked in the views from the top. It looked like the weather was finally starting to move it, so I romped back out to the car. What a fun day.

My round trip time was 5.5 hours. Some time stats:
Glacier Gorge Parking Lot: 7:25 am
Andrews Tarn: 9:39 am
Andrews Pass: 10:20 am
Otis Peak summit: 10:47 am
Glacier Gorge Parking Lot: 12:55 pm

Below is a sampling of photos from my goregous morning of exercise in RMNP.

My 74-year-old parents were visiting from British Columbia, Canada. My dad was dealing with a bad back and unfortunately could not hike, but my mom was rearing to go. I took her on a hike to Andrews Tarn, supplying her with a spare ice axe and pair of crampons. I poined out the climbs I had done on the nearby Sharkstooth and Zowie Tower. I was impressed with her stamina too, especially at 11,000 feet, about 11,000 feet higher than the sea level they live at in British Columbia. What a great day with my mom! The next day my dad and I had a great day building a bike enclosure and a bench on my patio.