Matt sent me a general invitation to do something on Saturday. As the week progressed, the weather deteriorated and others bailed.

We decided to keep it local, and Matt noted that he had not done Shaw Mountain, one of the "Grand Slam" peaks. It was on!

As we worked to get Matt's final of the four Grand Slam peaks, we realized that I had been with Matt when he first climbed two others:

• Cervidae (in the snow with Julie and Big Dan)
• Kepros

After a couple hours os snow, postholing, and then snowshoeing, we could finally see the tower on the summit.

Matt pulled one of my tricks- his lunch required hot water and he was prepared. He popped out the stove and made hot soup. Nice job! Folks, this is the way you do in the winter ( I was working on my British side, relying on a large thermos of hot tea).

We were rewarded for our hard work when the clouds blew off and offered up a view of the valley to the west. We even saw some blue sky.

A constant theme of this climb was wildlife: elk, pronghorns, and literally hundreds of deer. Here's a few who were less shy.

Note that later in the winter, these deer will be stressed. If you go, try not to bother them.

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