Archive for the ‘Mountaineering’ Category

Mountaineering – Fletcher Mountain (13,951 ft) via Southwest Ridge

Saturday, May 2nd, 2015

Fletcher Mountain Naptime

Beth and Kurt on Top of Fletcher Mountain

Fletcher Mountain Track
On Saturday, I climbed Fletcher Mountain with Kurt and Beth. We had spent the night up in Frisco, which made the start of the day much more enjoyable. The forecast was looking good, if a bit windy, so I was looking forward to the challenge.

I had tried to reach Fletcher twice before in the winter, from the other side, via Drift. Both other times we had to turn back, so I was hoping that this route would pay off. I left my camera at home, so thanks to Beth for posting all her pictures online and sharing them! (more…)

Mountaineering – Mt. Massive (14,428 ft) via East Ridge, Leadville, CO

Saturday, March 14th, 2015

Charlie's Angels Summit Mt Massive
Charlie’s Angels on the Summit of Mt. Massive! It was so amazing to be on the summit with these accomplished ladies. What a fantastic day in the Sawatch Mountain Range!

On Saturday, Jane, Sanja, and I climbed to the summit of Mt. Massive via the East Ridge. It was my 2nd attempt on the mountain, having failed back in January due to high winds. With a stable, relatively calm forecast and a known trench, which was previously established to the East Ridge, the chances for success were excellent.

Mt Massive Summit Group Shot
Group Shot (From L-R: Sanja, Clare, Jane, Kevin, and Sarah). We met Kevin and Sarah on the way up to the summit and they were fun to hang out with once we caught up with them. Kevin and Sarah are both excellent mountaineers, in their own right, so there was a great camaraderie on the summit.

Clare and Sanja on Mt Massive
It’s Massive, Baby!

Mt Massive East Ridge Route
Our Route. Rather than going up a steep grade, on the north side of Pt 11,827, we followed a trench which wound it’s way gently around the south side. The route was much less strenuous, but it was 0.5 miles further distance wise, turning a 13 mile day into a 14 mile day. An additional benefit of going around the south side, was the presence of the sun which lightened our mood and made the hike that much more enjoyable.

Timing:
05:45 am Leave Fish Hatchery
07:15 am Intersection of CO Trail and Highline Trail
09:00 am South of Pt. 11,827 at Treeline
09:30 am On the East Ridge Proper!
10:20 am At 12,500 ft on the ridge
11:00 am Passing through the notch at 13,200 ft
12:00 pm At 14,000 ft and done with scrambling.
12:30 pm Summit!
6:00 pm Back at the Fish Hatchery.

At the end of the day, Jane and Sanja got back to the car 30 minutes before me. A new pair of mountaineering boots were giving me agonizing pain, so the last 3 miles back were excruciating. Probably not a good idea on my part, to try breaking in a new pair of boots on a 14 mile hike, with 4,760 ft of elevation gain!

Mt Massive Winter Panorama
Even the view is Massive!

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Mountaineering – Humboldt Peak (14,064 ft)

Friday, February 13th, 2015

Charlie's Angels on Humboldt Peak
Jane and I do our impression of Charlie’s Angles. The Third Angel took a hike!

Happy on Humboldt
David and Jane on the summit of Humboldt Peak.

Humboldt Peak East Ridge Topographic Map
Topographic Map of Humboldt Peak

The rest of the state was being pummeled by strong winds, snowstorms, and laden with avalanche hazards. David, Jane, and I were looking for some place to go where we could safely summit a peak and it seemed the Crestones might just be the solution.

Jane has already climbed all the 14ers, but when there is opportunity to climb one in winter, she’s game! And, since I had not done Humboldt before, it looked like a great idea. I booked a room for the three of us in the tiny town of Crestone; so on Friday we drove down and arrived at bedtime. We made some tea and gathered our gear for the next day.

Would the mild forecast hold out? Would we make the summit? With a half marathon distance and over 5,400 ft of gain, it was bound to be a long day! What would the snow be like; would it be post hole madness or nice consolidated crunching?

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Mountaineering – Lackawanna Peak (13,823 ft)

Sunday, February 8th, 2015

Lackawanna Peak Summit Picture
Clare, Tom, and Frank on the summit of Lackawanna Peak

Climbing South Slopes of Lackawanna
At ~12,000 ft on the direct south slope of Lackawanna

Tom Climbing Lackawanna
Tom climbing the lower slopes of Lackawanna. You can see hwy 82 below him.

Lackawanna Peak Topographic Map and Waypoints
The Route and GPS Waypoints

Good times were had by Tom, Frank, and Clare on the Lackawanna legburner route, which was climbed on Sunday. The 4 mile round trip journey featured 3,450 feet of gain! It took us 6 hours to get up the peak (mainly due to the deep snow over the first half of the route) and 4 hours to get down. I was very thankful to Frank, who both supplied the pictures and drove us there!

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Mountaineering – Mt. Massive via East Ridge, A Winter Attempt

Sunday, January 25th, 2015

Mt Massive East Ridge
David, Jane, and Sonja Ascending the East Ridge in Gale Force Winds

Sneak Preview of Massive
Mt. Massive (Taken the day before!). The Lower portion of the East Ridge is blown free of snow.

Mt. Massive East Ridge - Topographic Map
Our Route, the East Ridge, (Failed Attempt in Red).

The Crew: Jane, David, Sonja, and myself.
Launch Time: 6am
High Point Turnaround: 11:40am (from ~12,700 ft)
Trench Contribution: (~1 mile)
Return to Fish Hatchery: 3:10pm (~9,620 ft)

We enjoyed a fabulous winter day in the beautiful mountains of the Sawatch. We had high hopes for summitting Mt. Massive, but were thwarted by gale force winds up high on the East Ridge.

Mt Massive East Ridge GPS Waypoints
The Waypoints!

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