Saturday morning, we woke up at 5am. It was completely dark. We made some coffee and ate some food. Two hikers with headlamps passed our tents around 6am, I guessed on the way to do Snowmass (they were going the wrong direction for Hagerman).
Linda and I were totally amped up for summit day. How exciting!
Our times were as follows:
Left camp: 6:30am
Nice Campsite (11,500 ft before the scramble up the creek drainage): 8am
Enter Creek Drainage: 8:20am
Looking up Drainage (above)
Looking Back down Drainage (below)
Exit Creek Drainage (~12,000ft): 8:45am
View looking back, just before 3rd Class Crux:
Cleared the 3rd class crux (12,500 ft): 9:30am
We ran into a dude at around 12,800 ft. He came running down the scree and told us to be careful on top. He cautioned us against going to the left until we reached the summit ridge. He had come down that way and nearly biffed it on some loose boulders. He told us the face was much more stable. So, we thanked him and kept moving upwards. I think his name on summitpost had to do with back country skiing and the san juans…but I don’t remember. In any event, I’d like to say, thanks for the beta Mr.BackCountrySkier!
Radio communication (~13,500ft up South Face) with Dennis (back at Geneva Lake): 11:15am
Linda Near Summit of Hagerman 11:25am
Our View of Snowmass with storms:
Summit (14,841 ft): 11:35am
Clare happy to have escaped thunderstorm on way down:
Back to Camp: 2:40pm
Struck Camp: 4:00pm
Met with injured Snomass hiker and his buddy: 5:30pm
Back to Car: 7:00pm
On our way down, we met up with the two headlamp dudes from the morning. They had summitted Snowmass, but one of them fell about 60ft on their way down. The poor guy had a banged up head, a gash in his cafe muscle, and a broken foot! His buddy was carrying his pack (a very minimalist type) and he was hobbling down the trail using trekking poles as crutches.
We asked if he needed any medication, splint, tape, etc. but he refused any help. He did request a horse, but unfortunately, I don’t carry those in my pack. Since there was no cell coverage, there was nothing we could do to help!
It was sad cause these guys were raising money for a non-profit and they were only 4 peaks away from summitting all the 14’ers in one summer…too bad!
When we got back to Marble, we told the guy at Beaver Lake Lodge that they may be seeing the two fellows-but we didn’t know when they’d be swinging by there. I told the owner their license plates and make/model of their car, just in case he happened to see them.
We then stopped in Marble for barbeque dinner and it was super yummy. I’d go there again, if I were in the area!