Archives for July 2013

Quandary Peak was the final Colorado climb of my week in the US Rockies targeting a few of the 53 14’ers, the 53 peaks that are higher than 14,000ft in height.  This climb followed ascents of Mount Massive, La Plata Peak and Huron Peak.

So by the time I was looking to do Quandary Peak I was well acclimitized and feeling fit.  Because I was going on to tackle a more difficult objective within the week, I wanted an “easy” 14’er.  Quandary Peak fitted the bill.  Although it is quite high at 14,265ft it benefits from one of the higher trailheads (at 10,850ft) so just leaving 3,450ft of ascent.  The route I was planning to take is also the easiest (indeed very easy) – the East Ridge route.

The night before this climb I had also managed to sleep at over 11,200ft, but I also woke up with a niggle in my right calf.  Rain had battered down most of the night but I woke up to blue skies and fluffy white clouds.  I had intended to start the climb at around 7am (to avoid any afternoon thunderstorms), but I did not arrive at the trailhead until about 7.15am.  I had assumed that I would be one of the first to start out but there were probably 40 cars there already!!

There was no room to park at the trailhead proper.

It is obviously a popular mountain as an overflow car park is provided about ¼ mile down the road.  So I parked there.  Quandary Peak is one of the nearer 14’ers to Denver and is not too far off the interstate running west from Denver.  It is also close to the cities of Frisco and Breckenridge.  So half the population of Colorado (and their dogs) seemed to be on this mountain today!  Whereas my earlier TRs had been of climbs in the Sawatch Range, Quandary Peak is in the Ten Mile Range which is further east and a little to the north.

Helpfully the start of the trail is marked.

The trail is broad and not too steep to start with.  Because of the higher start point the tree line was reached much sooner than on the previous mountains I had climbed.  This next photo was taken after just 30 minutes and shows Quandary Peak against a rather nice blue sky.  Like many of the Colorado giants, you can see that Quandary is not a fearsome looking peak.  However, the East Ridge route is the only easy one on the mountain.  Routes on the south, west and northern aspects are either scrambles on loose, shattered rock or graded rock climbs.

Quandary does also provide good ski mountaineering terrain and is often a first winter ascent for many.

The route up the east ridge used to go up the centre of it.  Now, to minimise erosion, a new trail has been constructed that takes you up the rocky flank.

The crest of the ridge is met where the ridge narrows about 1,500ft below the summit.

Paths of sorts zig zag up through the rocks and scree – straightforward, if occasionally loose.  Suddenly you pop up on to a 200 yard long summit ridge.

I reached the summit after 2¾hrs including 30 minutes of stops.  By now my leg was giving me a bit of gyp. 

But the views compensated.  Here is one to the south looking at North Star Mountain (the ridge in the foreground) and Mounts Bross, Cameron, Lincoln and Democrat (all 14’ers).

And then the busy summit area.

Now south west towards the Mosquito Range.

And then someone in the way of the view to the north west!

I was in no particular hurry today.  It was only 10.20am when I arrived at the summit.  I had to be at Denver airport for the evening, but that would only be a 2hr drive.  I felt able to take everything in.  Whilst the air temperature was a bit chilly, the edge was taken off by the solar radiation.  With a fleece on it was really rather pleasant.  So I spent 1¼hrs on the top!

Eventually though I had to drag myself away from the fantastic panoramas.  There was some cloud build up to the west which indicated possible thunderstorm activity.  Here is a view down the upper part of the mountain.

And then a look back up.

You can see how there was no longer a clear blue sky.  There were still quite a few folk making the ascent and risking a deluge, if not lightning.  The descent was less than comfortable for me.  Whereas I had charged up on the ascent overtaking many in front of me.  Each step down was painful.  So it took me as long to get back to the car as it had taken to reach the summit.  I did not know what I had done! – probably too much exercise over the past 5 days!  I was back at my rental car around 2pm.

Nonetheless Quandary Peak is a good introduction to anyone wanting to have a crack at the Colorado 14’ers.  Just watch the altitude.  There were some people popping pills on the summit complaining of headaches.  On my drive back to Denver airport I thought how my week in Colorado had been most enjoyable.  I was now off to Washington State in the far north west of the US, slightly concerned about my leg.  But that is for my next blog.

The previous day I had climbed La Plata Peak that lies 6 miles to the north of Huron Peak.  Like La Plata Peak, Huron Peak is one of the 53 Colorado 14’ers, peaks in that state in excess of 14,000ft.  In Huron’s case though it barely scrapes above that height.  At 14,003ft it is number 52 on the list.

Although only 6 miles from La Plata, I had driven 25 miles to reach the trailhead for Huron.  The final 12 miles were along a washboard dirt road, a road that I probably should not have taken the rental car along.  But, apart from being covered in dust, the car seemed none the worse for wear for its bone shaking 24 mile ordeal at the end of the day!

The hike begins just past a “ghost” mining town called Winfield – some photos of that later on.  If you have a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle then you can save 4 miles of walking and 360ft of ascent by driving to the point where the trail leaves the “road”.

Here is a Jeep just starting off up the 4WD section.

I did not dare take the rental car up the 4WD section!  So I had the extra mileage to undertake.  So today’s trailhead was at 10,200ft and there would be about 3,800ft of elevation gain.  It was pleasant enough along the road if a bit up and down.  There were some great camping spots along the way. I waved to one group who had picked a nice spot in the trees off to my left.

I was a bit late setting off – 8am.  But the forecast said that the risk of thunderstorms had receded.  But it was possible that there could be some rain about.  Views soon opened up along the valley.

45 minutes later I was at the 4WD trailhead with the usual helpful sign.

The first couple of hundred yards of trail were surprisingly wet, a contrast to the almost bone dry terrain I had experienced in Colorado to date.  The vegetation crowded in on the trail, but soon the trail opened up into the more usual well engineered one with switchbacks.  A lady and her Belgian Shepherd passed me on this section.  It did not seem long before I was entering the meadows above the tree line and having my first view of Huron Peak.  This was after about 1hr 45mins and 1,500ft of ascent.

Further up the valley cloud still partly covered the fearsome looking Three Apostles (the centre one being called Ice Mountain).

Behind me was La Plata Peak which I had climbed the day before.

Within another 10 minutes or so I was crossing a delightful high meadow in a basin below Huron’s north flank at around 12,300ft with a ¼ mile of level terrain.  Here is a view down to it.  Along this section I passed a few early risers who were on their way down.  I could also see a few people ahead of me on their way up.  I reckoned I was still at least an hour from the top.

There then was a steep grassy pitch of 100ft or out of the basin (the photo above is taken from the top of this).  For most of the next 1,000ft up to the ridge between Huron Peak and a subsidiary summit (Brown’s Peak) there were a series of sweeping switchbacks over steep open grassy ground.  During this section a strong and cool breeze sprung up. I had to put another layer on.  But the final section to the ridge line was rocky which gave an indication of what was to come – a fine rocky and narrow ridge.  I was now at 13,450ft.

Here is the route towards Brown’s Peak.

The final section rears up ahead.

Though any difficulties can be avoided just off the ridge line to the right.  Then in 5 to 10 minutes I was at the top.  Even better the cloud had burnt away!  View south.

View north with ridge down route of ascent.

La Plata Peak (left of centre with snow patches), Mount Massive (distant with snow patches) and Mount Elbert (distant just to the right of Massive)

There was quite a convivial gathering at the top, including two dogs.  And it was pleasant sitting there in the warm sun even with the breeze (which was not as strong on the top).  It had taken just 3¼hrs to reach the top including a few stops to top up on food and fluids.  I spent about 45 minutes up there and had the last 5 minutes to myself just admiring the panoramas.

Having to leave, I was soon romping down the slopes.  I did not stop until back at that high meadow.  The light was now better for some shots of the beautiful flowers there.

The remainder of the way down to the 4WD trailhead was a delight.  This climb (in my admittedly limited) experience has to be both one of the easier and prettier routes.  And it has a bit of history to go with it.

I was back at the car by 1.15pm – a round trip of 5¼hrs including stops.  As mentioned earlier in this TR my start point was near the old silver mining town of Winfield.  At the turn of the 19^th with the 20^th century Winfield had a population of around 1,500 with three saloons, three stores, a post office, two banks, a boarding house, a mill, a smelter, a church and a school.  When the silver ran out in 1918 the people left.  The place has been partially restored. Indeed some of the old houses are now occupied for parts of the year.  The Clear Creek Historical Society looks after the town. The Society is named after the North and South Forks of that creek at which the town stands.

Nearby there are old workings that can be explored.  But I was off on the bone shaking 12 mile journey back to civilisation and a further ascent the following day up Quandary Peak.

La Plata means “silver” in Spanish.  This reflects the mining history in this part of Colorado.  In a future posting I will provide some photos of the “ghost” mining town of Winfield.

La Plata Peak is one of Colorado’s 14’ers (standing at 14,336ft), in other words one of the 53 listed 14,000ft mountains.  Two days previously I had climbed Mount Massive.  I had given myself the following day off to recuperate and to see if my body would suffer any adverse reaction to going to over 14,400ft so soon after arriving in Colorado.

Fortunately there was no adverse reaction and I was good to tackle Colorado’s 5^th highest peak.  The evening before I recced the start as the route finding is a little complicated.  However, this particular trailhead is one of the few in Colorado that starts at a paved road.  The trailhead is at 10,000ft and I was taking the North West Ridge route which involves ascent of around 4,500ft to the summit and a round trip of about 9½ miles.

The trail (which starts as a 4 wheel drive road) first descends to cross a river over a wooden bridge.  Signs nearby warn not to take water from the river because of pollution from 19^th century mines.  After 500 further yards it then leaves the road to pass through a bit of woodland and reaches a rocky linn through which a further river rages.  Passage there is over a new wooden footbridge.

This is where I stopped that evening.

This is a view of what I would be tackling the following day – the peak on the left with the large patch of snow.

The following morning I left the trailhead at 7am.  There was only one car plus a minivan with trailer there before me.  I retraced my steps to the footbridge over the linn.  The trail then weaved its way for almost a mile through more forest to a narrower stream where crossing was via some dodgy branches.

I was now in La Plata Gulch, the approach valley.  The trail then starts some serious climbing.  In places, the trail has been improved.

There is an organisation called the Colorado Fourteeners’ Initiative that raises funds for improvement for access.  This includes trail improvements and negotiations with private landowners for access.  There is no equivalent position to that in Scotland (or Access Land in England) where there is a right to roam.  Access is generally available on public land, often subject to conditions, but access over private land has to be negotiated unless there is a subsisting right of way.

The weather was not as good as it had been two days earlier.  High thin cloud covered the sky, but that would take away some of the heat later on.  After a 1,000ft or so of ascent through the forest near to a tumbling river, the terrain levelled out at meadows in the upper valley.

The trail then leaves the valley to the left (east) and makes a rising traverse for around 400ft.  It then made a sharp left turn up a shallow gulley on the flank of La Plata’s north west ridge and went steeply up in innumerable switchbacks for another 300ft.

The final trees were left behind and a more gentle traverse along the side of the ridge started, including a ¼ mile stretch across talus (where the path was still clear).  Views started to open up.  Here is one back to Casco Peak which misses the 14,000ft contour by just 92ft.  Mount Elbert (Colorado’s highest) is the pointy one to the right.

The traverse took me to a small level area at around 12,300ft where I passed a couple of guys descending.  They were not interested in passing the time of day, but I stopped to drink and eat.  I managed my fluid and food consumption much better than I had done on Mount Massive.

It was just another 400 to 500ft up to the crest of the north west ridge and this was achieved in short order.  It is at this point that the crowning glory of La Plata comes into view.  Now most of the giants of the Sawatch Range in the Colorado Rockies are a bit like overgrown Cairngorm Munros – perhaps the rock is a bit looser and the boulder fields are bigger, but generally there is little technical difficulty that cannot be avoided.  But across to the east La Plata supports the Ellingwood Ridge which is a 2 mile long sawtooth ridge.  The start point for this is the same as where I had started but the 1,400ft is added to the total ascent with all of the ups and downs.  Voila!

You will see another view of the ridge from higher up in a moment.  The next shot is one up the ridge.  The summit is the point behind and to the left.  From here it is still 1¼ miles away with 1,600ft of ascent broken by a short level section.

The path you can see in the photo soon disappears and the terrain becomes predominantly a series of boulder fields.  Cairns show the ways through and scrambling is often necessary to surmount or make your way around some of the blocks.  On the first part of the climb I went around to the right of the first rise but it would have been easier to stick to the ridge line (as I found out on the way down).  Now here is a view up the second rise beyond the short level section.  You can get a better feel for what was under foot.  It wasn’t difficult but you had to be slow and methodical in places.

Soon after I passed a group of 8 kids and 3 teachers – from the minivan I had seen at the trailhead.  They had been camping in the valley I had passed through – very inconspicuously as I had not seen their tents!

Before the final rise I sat down for more food and drink.  Just 750ft of ascent and ½ mile to go now.  Elllingwood Ridge was now below me.

Having had my rest, I continued on finding an intermittent trail and continuation of cairns.  Near the top the ground could be a little confusing in mist.  Two tops can be seen rising ahead.  The correct one is the one to the left which is nearer.  The other is just a bump on the south west ridge which is another popular approach of similar character to the one I had used (but a bit shorter).  There was just a final 150ft climb up to the rough summit ridge.

Here is a view down from shortly before that final climb to my route of ascent.  I can assure you that the shot is a little misleading due to the foreshortening of that view.

You can see the road where the trail head is.  This is called the Independence Pass road and leads over to the ski resort of Aspen off to the left (west).  The approach valley is clear and the switchbacks I mentioned are just beyond the nearest block of trees that rise up the side of the ridge on the right.

I had the summit to myself, or at least I thought I did…..

Anyway, first of all some views from the top.  I had reached the top in just over 3½ hours from the start.

Well two things happened.  First a group of four local guys from Leadville turned up.  They were surprised to find someone with a strange accent on this mountain.  I had heard them coming for a while. They had gone off to bag a subsidiary summit and they were walking over some very loose ground. So I could hear the loose rocks being knocked about.

Secondly, most of the time I had been on top I could hear this irritated squeaking.  As the group of four arrived this became more intense.  We found this rather upset marmot.

We were clearly encroaching upon its territory. There appeared to be an entrance to a burrow just below its butt (sorry just using the American term!)  Here is a close up.

Nature had its way of ensuring that us being a cause of its irritation was as short as possible.  The cloud had been building up.  As I had mentioned in my blog for Mount Massive, it is common for thunderstorms to build up in the early afternoon.  Shortly after I has taken this picture:

A big flash followed within no more than 2 seconds by the loudest clap of thunder I had ever heard occurred.  I could feel the pressure waves from the thunder.  We needed no further invitation to flee the summit.  I had been at the top for almost 45 minutes in any case.  I am sure the marmot was pleased at the turn of events!

For the next 40 minutes or so as we descended the regular rumble of thunder accompanied us.  About 800ft lower we met several groups who were wondering about turning back.  It was only 11.45am and a bit early for normal thunderstorm activity.  A few did and a few didn’t.  As it happens the atmospheric activity died down though it did start to rain.  This was great because it was refreshing and cleared the air.

One aspect of the Colorado Rockies was the amount of flora and fauna.  I will post some photos of the former in my next blog (see also the Mount Massive blog).  Not only were there marmots but also ground squirrels, chipmunks and pikas.

They tended to live amongst the rocks and a chorus of warning sounds would arise as I walked amongst them.  The chipmunks were too difficult to capture on camera because they moved too fast!

I met more people going up when I reached the valley bottom, including a group of three girls wearing short sleeve tops, cropped trousers and trainers.  In Colorado the norm is to wear trail shoes rather than the leather boots I was wearing.  So in US terms, trainers were not wholly out of the way.  But the remainder of the attire left something to be desired.

I was back at the car by 1.40pm – a 6 hour 40 minute round trip.  A zoom back to La Plata at the end on which you can see the top end of the Ellingwood Ridge, the false bump on the south west ridge on the right, the two rises in the ridge and the low point in the ridge where the trail joins below which is the short level section.

A better management of, particularly, fluid intake meant that I had no difficulty with the altitude – no hint of the nascent headache or slight nausea I had had on Mount Massive two days earlier.  On to the next climb!

Mount Massive is the second highest peak in Colorado and the third highest in the lower 48 States of the USA (i.e. excluding Alaska).  Just as we tick off our lists of Munros, Corbetts etc etc, there is a list of 53 14’ers that provides a challenge, i.e. 53 peaks of over 14,000ft.  Mount Massive is 14,421ft high and lies 5 miles from Colorado’s highest peak, Mount Elbert which is only 12ft higher.  Just as once happened as with Ben Nevis and Ben MacDui the supporters of Massive tried to build large piles of stones on the summit in an attempt to boost its recognised height.  Elbert’s supporters then demolished them!

Massive’s name comes not so much from its height, but more from its bulk.  It has a three mile long summit ridge and five summits over 14,000ft.  That means this mountain has more land over 14,000ft than any other in the lower 48.

I was here to acclimatise for later adventures.  This is helped by the fact that the terrain beneath Massive is between 8,000ft and 10,000ft.  Nearby (10 miles to the east) lies the town of Leadville.

Here are Massive (on the right) and Elbert (on the left) from about 8 miles to the east.

Leadville has a colourful history.  This is summarised on the following sign.

It still has buildings from its hey day.  Here is the Tabor Opera House.

Horace Tabor made his fortune during the silver rush and became an important businessman and politician.  But he lost most of his money when the US government stopped buying up surplus silver so that the silver price (and the value of the mines he had stakes in) plummeted.  The spirit of the “Wild West” is maintained by the saloon.

This is now an Irish bar – which rather spoils the effect!

There are some “character” properties.

And this is the Delaware hotel, full of character and creaky floorboards (but perhaps a bit behind the times when it comes to modern comforts).

If you explore, remnants of the “olden days” can still be found.

So spending some time exploring the history of this area can help benefit the body in its adaptation to altitude.  Surprisingly, coming straight to 10,000ft from the UK did not give me any problems.  It just shows because altitude has affected me at 9,000ft before.

So within 48 hours of arriving in Colorado I was starting an ascent of Mount Massive.

I was going to tackle a trail known as the East Slopes route.  This is a 13¾ mile round trip with 4,500ft of ascent.  Technically (other than coping with the altitude) the trail is straightforward.  For the first 3 miles a long distance trail (the Colorado Trail) is followed.

This photo shows a typical section of the trail.  I started out at 5.30am.  In Colorado in the summer it is sensible to have early starts in order to avoid thunderstorms that often build up in the early afternoon.  The trails are generally well marked.  Here is the sign at the junction of the Colorado and Mount Massive trails (note the patriotic numbering given to the Colorado trail).

The thing about hiking (to use the American phrase) in the Colorado Rockies is that the first couple of hours is spent walking through the forest.  This is quite pleasant early in the morning when it is fresh and the scent of pine fills your nostrils.  Eventually you emerge above the tree line into open meadows.  This was about a further hour after the junction between the Colorado and Mount Massive trails.

There were some delightful camping spots here and I had passed a number of tents amongst the trees.  Certainly, in the US, there seems to be a greater tradition of camping.  I saw quite a few people laden with heavy backpacks on my return.  Just before I reached the tree line at around 7am I met a guy on his way down who had been at the summit at 5am.  He had started at 3am from his tent in the forest.

Mount Elbert came into view above the remnant trees.

The trail then eased itself up the open slopes.  The summit (which is at the right of the picture below) is still two miles away.

Isn’t the sky great!?

The next shot is looking north towards a very distant Longs Peak.

The summit was slowly becoming closer.  The summer flowers carpeted the ground.  Shortly after then I was overtaken by someone running up the trail.

The route continued up a shallow bowl followed by a final steep but short climb up to the main ridge at 13,900ft.  I stopped there for a drink and a bit to eat.  A couple of other groups passed me coming down from the summit whilst I was munching some crackers.  Even at that height it was warm in the sun.  As I was enjoying my rest I saw some movement in nearby rocks.  A couple of marmots were scurrying around.

Here was a view to the south from my rest stop of Mount Elbert and La Plata (with a bit of snow).  After 20 minutes I started the final 500ft of ascent.  It is a rocky clamber and you pop up at the end of a narrowish rocky ridge with the summit (of course) at the far end.

A 10 minute walk took me to the top.  And here is the view along the same ridge but now from the summit itself.

There was a keen chill breeze but there were plenty of niches to dip out of it and still be in the sun.  There was a couple from Boulder at the top with whom I chatted.  They were on their 42^nd 14’er.

They left and other came.  It was quite convivial really.  People had arrived via different routes.  I spent over an hour at the top – perhaps too long, as nearer the end I felt a bit nauseous.  Anyway, here am I blocking the view to the north.

And here is a view to the west.

And here is Leadville to the east with Mosquito Range behind.

So I took how I was feeling as a big hint and started the descent.  As I descended I knew I had not eaten or drunk enough.  I was able to drink more but (a common effect of altitude) I did not feel up to eating anything.  It was now hot, very hot.  Although there was some cloud build up, there was no danger of thunderstorms.  Here is a view back towards the summit.

And, taken a little later, one down to the meadows.

I was longing to be out of the sun.  There was no breeze down here.  Although I had covered up my skin and had a hat on, I felt as though I was frying.  At the tree line I was able to find a convenient log to sit down on in the shade and to drink.

This did not immediately have the desired effect.  I cannot remember the last time I have thrown up.  But a wave of nausea overcame me.  As I felt it coming on I was able to stand up and move some way from the trail.  “Throwing up” is perhaps not the right phrase.  Very little came out even though I had had a decent amount to eat at the col before the final climb to the summit.  I lost a little fluid and gunk that happened still to be in the stomach.  I was clearly out of practice in the being sick mode.  My co-ordination between being sick and breathing was out.  I tried to breathe in and could not.  I had expelled both what was in my stomach and what was in my lungs, but the passage to my lungs was blocked.  I tried to breathe in again but failed.  Panic now started – I thought I was going to die.  I stood bolt upright and threw myself backwards a little and managed (whilst making what I thought was a loud noise) to get some air down what appeared to be the sides of the wind pipe.  This enabled both oxygen to reach the lungs and sufficient pressure to enable a weak cough.  I repeated the procedure and more air entered the lungs with the same result.  After a couple of more repeats I was able to cough and splutter in a way that I was used to when “something goes down the wrong way” when eating.  I was able to sit down after this and, actually, felt a lot better in a short time.  I was thankful that no-one had been nearby whilst this was going on!

After 20 minutes I moved on.  Whilst hiking through the trees in the freshness of the early morning is good, when it becomes hot in the afternoon this can become stifling as any breeze is blocked out.

The trees also do not provide as much shade as you might think.  Anyway, the ground was easy and good time was achieved.  I passed several groups labouring in the heat with heavy packs who were planning to camp before continuing to the summit the following day.

I was back to my tent by 6.30pm after a 13 hour day quite tired but pleased at what I had been able to achieve so soon after arriving in Colorado.