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Colorado Highest, Mt Elbert

This weekends climbing schedule was a little tricked up. I had originally planned on the Castle and Conundrum idea, but could not find anybody to go with. That climb is best done with another person, and not solo. So, I had to look at other peaks that I could climb solo that fit the criteria; close to home, decent weather (no t-storms, or white out snow conditions), and class 2 climb. There is plenty of peaks within a 3 hour drive to Colorado Springs, but none as close as our own, Pikes Peak. It would have worked well, but the weather forecast for the Springs was pretty grim, and the summit forecast was much worse. 70% chance of snow, up to 3 inches during the day, and another 3 to 5 overnight, and high temps around 30F. Definetely winter, but I wanted one more summer climb before winter takes hold of the high country, plus I also wanted to see how the Fall colors were coming along around the central mountains. The East Trail of Mt Elbert fit the bill. With a 30% chance of rain/snow showers and "some thunder possible", and highs around 50F, it was the best forecast for 14ers in Colorado.

By the time I got things ready to go on Friday, it was too late to leave for the mountains. And we BBQ'd friday night with our neighbors until 11pm. So, there was no way I was going to get up at 1am and drive 3 hours to the trail head in the dark, then climb for 2 and half hours by headlamp (note. also in the dark). 3 hours of sleep is not enough to climb any mountain, let alone a 14er. Instead I set the alarm for 230am, and boy did it come around quick. I felt like I just went to bed, so I turned it off, giving up on the idea of climbing, and fell back asleep. Around 530am my body woke up and said "if your going to climb something today, then now is the time!". So, I listened, and left in 15 minutes.

Leaving the Springs, I still had Pikes on my mind. After fueling up in Divide, I sat there in the cold 36F weather, pondering and looking over at Pikes. It was 645 am, and I would have another 2 hours drive to the Elbert trail head, putting me on the trail at 9am. Really late start! Where as I could be on the trail for Pikes at 7am, 2 hours earlier than Elbert. But what about the weather on Pikes? Naw... Elbert or bust! Here I come! Watching the weather move in towards the front range on the drive out, assured me that I had made the right decision.

I arrived at the trail head at 9am and began hiking at 915am in brilliant sunshine. The trail begins in a very large forest of aspens, and most of them were changing to their fall colors. As I climbed through the forest, the sun was overtaken by dark clouds, and the wind began to pick up some. Upon reaching tree line, the objective became clear, just as the snow/sleet began to come down. It was too warm for it to stick to the ground. Continuing up, the squalls would come and go, as with the visibility. It was never bad enough to turn around, as I could still clearly see the trail ahead, but the surrounding mountains would disappear. This trail to the top of Colorado is pretty straight forward, just follow it until it ends. I summited at 1pm amidst half a dozen other people. There were stronger storms to the north and also to the south, whereas only scattered snow was to our west, the general direction that the weather was coming from. After a quick snack, it was time to descend, before the weather changed it's mind. About half way to tree line, loud, crackeling thunder began to roar behind Elbert, and I knew it was coming my way. I scurried as fast as possible down the steep trail, to the point of almost jogging, racing the impeding storm! If I could only get to the trees before it hits, then I'd be safe! Reaching treeline, I turned behind to what I thought would be the storm of all time, only to see light snow/sleet falling on the ridge behind me. The storm had just missed me by one ridge! Whew, that was close! Descending further into the forest, I had to shed my winter layers and return to fall like weather. I reached my truck at 330pm, roughly 2 hours after I left the summit. It was a fairly uneventful drive back home, until I reached Wilkerson Pass, where the rain began to come down hard. Reaching Woodland Park, the clouds dropped, as thick, soupy fog settled in, and flashes of lightning were all around. I met my family at Black Bear Diner for a nice big breakfast supper. Here is the pics from the trip.


Thick aspen forest on the trail


Mt Elbert is finally in sight


Closer to the East Ridge of Elbert


On the East Ridge looking across the basin to the North Ridge


Mt Massive, 2nd highest, and my 2nd 14er


Looking down into the East Bowl


Twin Lakes and Independence Pass road from high up


First view of La Plata, 4th highest and my 1st 14er


Looking down the North Face


Highest point in Colorado, Mt Elbert summit


La Plata with storms boiling to her south


Northeast from the summit


View North from the summit, Mt Massive and North Halfmoon Creek drainage


View Southeast towards Buena Vista and Twin Lakes


Official summit USGS benchmark, 14,433


Looking roughly West from the summit


Across the Arkansas River valley, with Mt Sherman about to be stormed on

Castle and Conundrum Peaks, August 29th, 2009

Dave and I headed over to Aspen again to try for Castle and Conundrum Peaks. We had the same plan as the week prior, but with the more unsettled weather due in saturday afternoon, we decided to start out a little earlier on saturday morning. The weather on the drive over was fantastic, few clouds, but now precip, and fairly warm. The 4wd road was fairly devoid of people and the campsite choices were plentiful. When we got to treeline, approximately where our camp was a week earlier, we decided to continue driving to the end of the road at 12,800 feet, to scope out the conditions and get a glimpse of our route and the peaks. From camp, you cannot see either mountain, nor the actual climbing portion of the climb. It was awfully tempting to stay there and camp for the night, but abiding by mountaineering standards, we elected to drive back down to the trees and camp there; allowing for at least 3,000 vertical feet of climbing, versus the 1400 feet from the end of the jeep road. We camped at the last campsite at treeline. The evening was really nice with clear skies and plentiful stars. A half moon lite the basin with a warm white glow. We ate a quick rommen meal and hit the sack. Around 430am, Dave wakes me up. He seemed pretty tired and expressed that he had had a really rough night sleeping and didn't quite feel into the climb. We decided to push on and see if things would improve with his health. From our camp to the end of the road is roughly 2.25 miles and 1800 feet of elevation gain. The route follows the jeep trail in it's entirety. From there, a couple of routes can be taken. As the darkness began to give way to the morning glow, we continued to hike up the steep and rocky road, slowly gaining elevation. Dave continued to have difficulties with his health, which as we went on, became worse and worse. It was not the same sickness the ailed him from the week prior. This one gave the appearance of a bad cold or flu. The sun finally rose as we put away our headlamps, and awaited the rays to hit our cold bodies. We continued to push on, hoping that things would improve. But, it was inevitable. Dave was sick, and going on would do nothing for us, other than give us the experience of a mountain rescue. Which we did not need to experience. We made it to the end of the road, contemplated our situation and Dave's health. The mountain God's warned us to not continue. So, we headed back down. We briefly chatted with several small groups of hikers coming up the road as we descended. The last group we encountered was a group of 5 hikers that we met at our camp. The funny thing about their group was that it was roughly 9am and they still had a lot mountain to climb before the weather would turn on them. I can only hope that they made it back to the safety of the trees before it hit. The packing up and driving home was uneventful, with the necessary food stop in Buena Vista. The weather did change quickly. As we drove home, the clouds thickened, and rolled in from the west and northwest. Lightning and heavy rain would accompany us from Wilkerson Pass into Woodland Park, and it was not even an hour after I got home that it dumped. Below is a few pictures from the trip. We hope to go back again soon and try to summit these two mountains that have alluded us for so long.


Independence Pass westbound at Twin Lakes


Independence Pass westbound towards Star Mountain, 12,942'


Independence Pass westbound towards La Plata Peak, 14,361'


Castle Creek Road southbound towards Taylor Peak (13,435') and Star Peak (13,521')


Along Castle Creek 4wd Road, Tagert Hut, part of the 10th Mountain Division and Summit Huts Association network of huts


Waterfall cascading down from Montezuma Basin, where we'll be camping and climbing


End of the jeep road and the beginning of the climb, friday evening


Same place as previous photo, but looking back down Montezuma Basin and Malemute Peak


Dave and his Jeep at 12,800 feet


The remainder are of the hike up on saturday.


Ah, darkness turns to light, mornings are my favorite


The lower flanks of Castle's Southeast Ridge


Upper Montezuma Basin ablaze with alpenglow. Conundrum Peak is center.


Conundrum Peak on the left


The end of the jeep trail.


Upper Montezuma Basin


Looking back down from high up in Montezuma Basin


Conundrum Peak from below Montezuma Glacier


Castle, left distant, northwest ridge, and Conundrum on the right


Conundrum Peak and lower part of Montezuma Glacier


A little wildflower action above treeline amidst the rocks


Our cozy campsite


self portrait


Another view of our camp

The last two of Castle Creek waterfall along the jeep trail back down to Ashcroft.

Castle and Conundrum tomorrow

Headed out tomorrow to Aspen to try for Castle and Conundrum Peaks. Both are above 14,000 feet. The weather is supposed to be a little more volatile than previously predicted. 30% chance of thuderstorms. We will want to be back down before noon on saturday. We are also considering another 14er on sunday on the way back home. But, we will have to see how that goes. I'll update a trip report when I return later this weekend.

Castle and Conundrum Peaks, August 21st, 2009

Dave and I had been planning most of the week to head for the Crestones and try for both of them. But on thursday afternoon, we decided that maybe we should try for something else. We were looking for climbs that we would be able to summit two different 14ers in the same day or weekend; not just a single mountain, but a series of mountains. Kind of one of those "wanting to pad one's peak list" idea. Paul had recently climbed Castle and Conundrum peaks a few weeks prior, so this set came up in discussion early on. So, it was decided. We would drive up to Aspen and as far as mechanically possible the rugged Montezuma Basin 4wd road; also known as the Pearl Pass road. Just one word on this road, it is the roughest road my little Nissan Frontier 4x4 has ever been on. Way, way rugged! We left Colorado Springs at 3pm and were in Aspen at 630pm. The sun was setting fast and we still had to get up into Montezuma Basin and set up camp before darkness. There were some really bad spots in the road, but my truck made it through them. The road goes all the way to the base of Montezuma glacier, but we had decided to play for the 3,000 foot 14er rule. Which basically says that in order for a 14er climb to be considered an actual climb the climber must gain 3,000 vertical feet of elevation during the climb. Castle Peak is 14,265 feet, and the end of the road is at 12,800 feet. Less than 2,000 feet, making it quite a bit less than the 3,000 foot rule. So, we planned on camping around 11,000 feet to make it fair. We set up camp and began boiling water for tea as we ate supper. Darkness was closing in on us as we noticed the thunderstorm some distance to our east.


It didn't appear to be a threat to us, just a pretty picture and a nice ending to a great day. We stayed up until 10pm ish tracking satelites and looking at the stars, awaiting the rise of Mars. Around 1130pm, Dave wakes me up to tell me he is really sick and needs to get down soon, if not now. For some odd reason, I thought that it was 4am and that the sun should start rising soon. We packed up camp in a fury, and started to drive down. It was very clear from the moment we started driving, that Dave was in pretty bad shape and that a visit to the ER would be imment. Driving anywhere at midnight with an hour and half of sleep is bad, but doing it on the worst 4wd road in the area, was well, just crazy.

But, we had no choice and this was begininng to be a very urgent situation. We arrived at Aspen Valley Hospital a little before 1am. After some much needed meds, Dave was released and we began our drive back home to Colorado Springs. We arrived back in town just as the sun rose over the plains. Whew, what a night! Castle and Conundrum will have to wait for another day. Which is best, I forgot my crampons anyways.

Is it really August 9th?

Tomorrow is my birthday and it looks like I will be working a split shift at work. At least I don't have to be in until 5am instead of the normal midnight sunday night routine! I was hoping to make another summit this weekend, but too many duties here at home. Next weekend is looking the same. 5th anniversary on friday, so no climb that night and a going away party saturday night. I am hoping to maybe do the incline saturday am before it gets too hot outside. Yes, it does get pretty hot here in Colorado. I made it finally to one of those REI garage sales here in the Springs. There was a ton of people and even more stuff than I imagined. I walked away with a saddle bag setup for our Golden, Sierra. Normal price was $60 and it cost me $30! Pretty good steal! It will take her some time to get use to it. Maybe next summer she can go up some 14ers with me. I am hoping to get out for a climb on the 21st and 22nd weekend, maybe Shav/Tab. And the following weekend, another climb, but not too sure where yet. For the time being, I am just training and getting prepared for the upcoming winter. Climbing will get much tougher this winter than the summer. More gear, more exposure, worse weather, and longer approaches make for a long and difficult day in the mountains. I plan on climbing Longs in September via the Keyhole route and then Torreys in October via Kelso Ridge route. Hopefully, time permitting, I'd like to give the North Face/Cables route on Longs a try this early winter or late winter, depending on snowpack. This fall should be spectacular in the Rockies, I just hope that I can get out there and enjoy it!

Moon Phase Calender

I found a really great calender that shows the moon phase for each day of the given month. It is a great planning tool if night time ascents are in the beginnings.
Moon Phase Calender