Lone Eagle Peak (11,946') - North Face (5.7)

Climbed: August 1, 2018
Climbing Partner:  Martin Barnett
Route: North Face

This is certainly after the fact, but such a great few days that needed to be memorialized.  This one has been on my bucket list ever since I laid eyes on it for the first time in 2007.

The iconic Lone Eagle Peak, named for Charles Lindbergh (the Lone Eagle), sits tucked away deep in the Indian Peaks wilderness just outside of Grand Lake on the west side of the divide. 

Lone Eagle Peak

For whatever reason this one has been a tough one to nail down.  Weather, family and various obligations seemed to always say...No Soup for You!

There was finally a weekend that looked like it could possibly work.  I quickly blocked it off and so did my friend, Martin.  The date was set.

I won't draw this post out, but all in all it was 32 hour adventure.  We stopped for our permit in Granby and quickly made our way to the farthest point along the trail which allowed us to camp overnight.  It was the junction of the Crater Lake/Pawnee Pass.  When I say junction, I mean it.  The trail sign is pretty much the only cover we had from anyone making coming up the trail for some late night goods! 

Our initial plan was to get up to Mirror Lake that afternoon and locate our direction for the following day so we wouldn't spend an hour trying to do it in the morning.  This plan did not work out, so we spent the first daylight hour looking for our route and ended up going around the lake in the wrong direction.  It was good bushwhacking and mild rock hopping, and if you're into that, I won't discourage you.  A lot of time and effort could've been saved if we had stayed to the east of the lake.

Our route

The first few pitches were a loose scramble.  We simulclimbed them.  After a while of going up the ramp a ways there is a bail option.  It's at the end of the ramp or shortly thereafter, you are only about 30-40 feet above the base of the climb as it begins to wind around the mountain.  It looked like it would be a pretty easy rap.  Most of the pitches were simulclimbed from here on out.  The last two pitches of 5.7 were beautiful.  We were in the sun, the rock was great and the summit was in sight!

The summit of this peak is what it looks like from Crater Lake (tiny).  It has room for maybe one or two.  Pretty small and pretty exposed!  At turnaround time, we were snapped out of our summit stupor and realized there was going to be a little more to our day.  The descent is notable because it actually involves more ascending. 

Topping out

The first thing we had to do was down climb off of the Lone Eagle along its southern ridge and down a bit onto the east side of the ridge.  From there, we made our way down and traversed just below the ridge to its southern terminus, to the first obvious gully.  There are some steep down climb sections along this traverse, but for the most part the catwalk is very mellow and moves quickly.  From here, we climbed an extremely loose gully back up onto the ridge.  Expect to dislodge a lot of rock here and keep those helmets on.  On top of the gully and back on the ridge, the views here are spectacular - a great place for snacks.  The trail for Solo Flight came into view as well.  It's all class 2 from here on out.  Expect some thick scrub along the valley floor and bushwhacking until you regain the Crater Lake Trail.

Martin on the ridge after climbing out of the loose gully

Once back on the valley floor, the 8ish miles back to the car still lie ahead.  We got back to the car at about 12:30 Sunday morning and made our way back to Lakewood.  I wish I had more photos of this day, but life happened.  I got a new job and had to give my phone back to the company and in it were most of my pictures.  Ah well, I always have the memories!

Summit Selfer.  Definitely not as fresh as my partner!

Mount Whitney

Date Climbed:  May 23, 2018

Climbing Party:  Mike Everist, Robert Gowder, Aaron Dover

R/T Mileage:  22 miles

Elevation Gain:  6,131'

I just recently completed a hike of Mt. Whitney and I wanted to share my experience.

With my 40^th birthday on the horizon, something adventurous was in order.  Should it be an adventure race or a trip?  Races aren’t really my thing and trips usually just equate to sightseeing and eating in a different city.  I really enjoy hiking and adventure and thought what about Rainier??  I could get into that.  I began doing research on the routes and quickly realized I would want a guide. Many people do that trip unguided, but since my experience with glacial travel is non-existent Rainier would ultimately be out of the question.  I was disappointed to learn that the three guiding companies that guide up that mountain were all sold out by January. Bummer. 

Enter Mt. Whitney.  Standing at 14,505’, it is the highest peak in the contiguous United States.  It sits nestled in the Sierra Nevada in southern California.  It’s a 22-mile round trip adventure, and certainly would provide what I was looking for. 

Mt. Whitney is regulated by a permitting system.  To climb it, we’d need to win the permit lottery. In February, I entered 14 dates in August that were preferable and a random Tuesday in May.  Guess which one came through?  Yeah, the May date!  Just to give you an idea, in 2017 there were 15,397 permit applications and only 5,395 permits were awarded.  I was feeling very grateful to have received one.  I was going and couldn’t be happier to have this to look forward to and plan for over the next three months.  The May date provided a bit of intrigue as conditions could go either way – we could have hot temps, snowstorms or both!  For our group a few late May storms (including while we were there) ensured we’d have a snowy adventure.

The climbing party was originally slated to be (4) people, but we had a tough time filling the fourth slot.  One friend busted his knee hiking and he was out and many others couldn’t commit the mid-week time due to work constraints.  So, it ended up being three of us - my teammates Robert and Mike and I.

Planning the logistics was kind of fun.  Not really a role I’ve relished in the past, but one that gave me a good perspective of all the instruments in the orchestra.  Whitney is well situated…and to access it you can fly into Vegas, Fresno or Los Angeles.  Robert and I flew into Las Vegas and made the drive out through Death Valley.  Mike was having work done to his Sportsmobile in Fresno, so his plan was to drive out to meet us the Monday before the hike.

Since February, I had immersed myself in online reading about the town, the mountain and the route.  I kept a watchful eye on the webcam trained on the mountain.  What would conditions in May be like?  Then, one day (May 20) I woke up in that world.  Things I read about and pictures I had studied had taken form.  I felt like being in a still photograph that suddenly come to life – or like being the yellow guy from Google Maps and someone just picked me up and plopped me onto that road map.

Alabama Hills - Whitney getting nuked in the background

Weather in the preceding weeks had been great.  I knew this because Mt. Whitney has a camera trained on it which is accessible online.  Every day, twice or three times per day I would check it out and see what the weather was doing on the mountain.  I was starting to wonder if the webcam ever updated or if it really was blue skies all the time?  When we arrived, we brought the crappy weather with us.  At Whitney Portal where base camp was situated, it was rain and snow.  Robert kept saying “I’ll be damned if this weather sticks around more than two days.”  We wanted to get in some acclimation hiking, but risking getting our gear soaked wasn’t worth it.  We opted for some lower elevation hiking in the Alabama Hills, or “Little Hollywood” as it is known locally for the number of movies that use this locale to film.

The Route

We were waffling on which route to take up this mountain.  Essentially, there are two choices: 1) the Mt. Whitney Trail or 2) the Mountaineers Route.  Both can be seen in the map below.  The standard route would remain class 1 or 2 the entire way to the summit whereas the Mountaineers Route is a spicier alternative.  In the end, given the conditions we opted for the Mt. Whitney Trail.

Our route in yellow (except for the yellow beyond the ridge)

We had initially planned on hiking to Trail Camp to set up shop for the night and after talking with the folks at Big Willi Mountaineering (and Café) we were convinced to change plans and camp at Outpost Camp.  This decision was YUGE!  Camping lower meant lighter packs for a large part of the hike and it also meant we’d sleep better.  On the flip side, it also meant a longer push to the summit.

So, we got to Outpost Camp got ourselves situated and went to bed at 6PM, mostly to get out of the rain and to get rest for our early 4 AM start the next day.  By the time we rolled out of our tents, it was pitch dark and we could see stars!  The clouds had cleared, and our spirits had lifted.  There was no wind, and no way to describe the immense beauty of the sun beginning to light up the alpine zone and the cliffs above us on the Whitney Ridge.

Sunrise - here we go!

We trudged joyously to Trail Camp, singing the whole way “glad we didn’t haul our houses all the way up here!”.  It was true.  The lighter packs, clearer weather made us look like geniuses, but we owe a big thanks to Big Willi Mountaineering for the beta here.

When we got to Trail Camp we were sweating our asses off.  The sun not only came out, it came out with force.  We were shedding layers and sizing up the next challenge.  Since the 99 Switchback section of the trail was still under a lot of snow.  It was being bypassed that we boot pack a section called The Chute.  It was a grind climbing the 1200’ chute, but extremely rewarding once we got to the top of it.  Our views to the west were unobstructed and most of the elevation gain was now behind us.  The sign at the top said: “Mt. Whitney: 1.9 Miles”.  It felt like the longest 1.9 miles I had ever done - by far the most visually stunning.

Robert and Mike on top of the Chute - a fun glissade down!

Travelling along the summit ridge of Mt. Whitney

It was here that we could look off to the west and toward the Pacific Ocean.  The route was comprised of a narrow path with some precipitous drops.  We donned our spikes and axes and moved forward, slowly.  Along the way we met several people coming back saying the route had way too much snow on it and they decided to turn back.  I’ll admit that hearing this made my heart sink, but we didn’t come all this way to be turned around by some post holing issues.  Amazingly, in the end there were no post holing issues, the route was manageable the entire way to the summit.  We moved slowly, but we moved, and we made it to the summit of the lower 48.

About 1 mile to the summit of Mt. Whitney

In this era, with so much beta at our fingertips planning a trip can seem like a black hole of information.  You can spend hours or days reading trip reports from other hikers or watching their experiences first hand on YouTube and literally be provided with up to the minute conditions for any adventure imaginable.  Why would we not want to plan to the very last detail and make sure that everything is just right?  We have that ability now.  Furthermore, we hear stories of people getting into danger because of this or that.  It’s easy to find reasons to balk at making a go at it, whatever “it” is - unless everything is perfect.  Sometimes though, you just need to get out there and see the world with your own eyes.  Make a decision based on your observations and how you feel and how the team feels.  From there you can decide if you want to press on. 

Castle Peak (14,265') & Conundrum Peak (14,060')

Date Climbed:  August 9, 2014
Climbing Party: Amanda Harnden, Aaron Dover
R/T Mileage:  8 miles
Elevation Gain: Approximately 3,900'

Leading up to this weekend, this summer had been really busy for the two of us.  When we finally caught a break from everything and decided to take a weekend and go hike/camp in the Elk Range.

Our sights were set on Castle and Conundrum Peaks.  The two peaks are connected by a very thin ridge line, and can be done in one hike.  So, after work on Friday (literally…at 4:10) we booked it up 285 to Buena Vista and over Independence Pass, through Aspen and into the woods to get ourselves ready for the early morning.

The road in is actually the trail…it's conceivable to drive all of the way to 12,800' where the road ends. From there, your round trip hike distance would be 2 miles.  We camped at about 11,200' on a ledge overlooking a valley below.  It was a precarious spot, as it felt if we leaned too far over in the tent, we might roll off!

At 4:15 AM we were on trail.  We hiked the initial 2 miles to the basin in the dark, and by the time we reached the basin at 12,800' it was light out and we ditched our headlamps.  From the basin, the trail traverses a snowfield and a few boulder fields. Once you get to 13,000' a trail up to the summit ridge comes into view.  Follow the trail a short way and the scramble begins!

The ridge to Castle's summit, to Conundrum and back consists of extremely loose rock and scrambling.  There are some sketch areas with big drops, so keep an eye on your footing.  There is plenty of solid rock to be found to make the scramble, but you do have to double/triple check all handholds and footholds before committing.

After summiting Conundrum, there is the option to descend down gully, backtracked over the top of Castle.  As we were going back up Castle, a rock came hurtling down towards us, and luckily I was able to catch it in my chest.  Be extremely cautious of rockfall on this trail.

We summited Castle at about 8AM, Conundrum at 9AM, Castle again at 9:45, and back to the car by 12:05, asleep for a nap at 3:00PM:)

The Citadel (13,294')

Climbing Party:  Kit Dover, Amanda Harnden
Elevation Gain:  3,062'
Mileage:             6 miles round trip

We had this hike in mind as a good training hike for Longs Peak the next weekend.  Dad was visiting from NH, and we wanted something that would give a good pump and some elevation.

From Denver, take I-70 west and get off at exit 216.  At the end of the exit ramp, make a sharp right hand turn and drive down a dirt frontage road to the access gate to park.

Continue past the gate along a dirt road that gently leads you away from the highway, and eventually turns into a trail.  Continue along the obvious trail in and out of small stands of trees until the trail disappears at the bottom of Dry Gulch.  Although there is no trail, once you leave the trees there are quite a few cairns that will help guide you up the first steep section (around mile 2).  Tis second mile will lead you out of the bottom of Dry Gulch.  You will want to keep to the left around the large bulge in front of you.  Contour around this feature and you will see the saddle to gain the ridge.  Once on the ridge, spectacular views of Herman Gulch on one side, and Dry Gulch on the other await!  From here, gain the false summit to your left and you will see the Citadel in all its glory!  Make your way around the back of the prominent feature and there are multiple gully options.  Choose your adventure, although the easiest gully becomes quite apparent as you rule out other options.  The gully we chose was loose, and brought us to the saddle between the east summit and the west summit.  We enjoyed a nice lunch on the west summit for about 30 minutes before we saw anyone else approaching.

The summit is nice and airy!  Big drops await, and it may leave you asking what the hell holds all of these rocks in place?

It was Dad's first western hike, and he had a blast.  At only his second day in Colorado, thought he did well with the elevation and cardio.

Torreys Peak via Kelso Ridge > Grays Peak

Date:  August 17, 2013
Climbing Party:  Amanda Harnden

For those of you who are curious about a Sawtooth Ridge / Kelso Ridge tale of the tape, you are in luck!  I will try to compare both routes in this post, and let you go from there.

Torreys > Grays via Kelso
R/T Mileage: ~7.5 miles
Total Elevation Gain:  3,740

Bierstadt > Spaulding via Sawtooth

R/T Mileage: ~8 miles

Estimated Total Elevation Gain: 3,262'

Trailheads/Access
Both trailheads are easily accessed off I-70.  The Grays Peak trailhead is found at the top of a dirt road. If you are late to the show, you will end up parking quite a ways down this dirt road which will add significant distance and elevation to your hike.  It pays to wake up early and get a coveted spot at the top.  Also, turning around on this dirt road looks like it could be challenging at the end of the day!
Advantage:  Sawtooth

The Approach
The 1.75 mile approach to the Kelso Ridge trail through Stevens Gulch is far more spectacular than the approach to the Sawtooth.  It is hard not to be humbled by the towering McClellan Ridge.  Gaining only 1,000 feet in the initial 1.75 miles, it is a great warmup, and gets your wind and legs on the same page before getting to some more serious terrain.
Advantage:  Kelso 

The Ridge 

The Sawtooth Ridge begins with a 700 foot elevation drop to reach the saddle of its ridge.  That is a lot of down climbing even if you are staying on the ridge itself.  It is a lot of lowering positioning and good potential for rockfall (wear a helmet).  The ability to look to the west on this ridge and see approaching weather is certainly a plus.  Even better, the majority of the traverse is on the eastern side of the ridge providing good shelter from wind.  From the saddle, there is some route finding to be done in regaining your lost elevation, and to get to the entrance of the crux section.  For most, a skirt around the buttress to the right is the best option, although a more advanced direct route can be taken.

Kelso Ridge is a a constant climb.  There is no loss in elevation on this one.  Once you get on it at 12,500,  start climbing!  I found the rock on this route to be solid where it mattered the most.  There is a lot of loose rock here, but on the trickier sections, it was solid when it needed to be.  Definitely wear a helmet on this one - be weary of climbers ahead of you, and be mindful of those below you.  This ridge is on the eastern aspect of the mountain, and Torreys summit will obstruct your view of incoming weather.  The ridge is very engaging, and route finding on it is not always straight forward.  The 14ers dot com description gives good benchmarks, but leaves a lot to be explored by those on it.  There are several sections where you could make it as hard as you like!
Advantage:  Draw

Traversing early on up on Kelso

The Crux
The comparison of the crux sections...isn't that what why we're here??

The crux on the Sawtooth is the Sawtooth itself.  It makes itself known while you are getting your gear together in the parking lot.  It is intimidating.  It points defiantly at Mt. Bierstadt on the ridge, and is one of my favorite Colorado mountain features.  You get up close and personal after an already long day of summitting Bierstadt and traversing the ridge.  Before getting to the Sawtooth, the route is well sheltered with little exposure.  When getting to the base of the Sawtooth, the ground drops off and gets very airy.  You are looking down at birds flying, and the exposure smacks you in the mouth!  There is no avoiding the exposure on this one.  The route leads you up a ramp, which is filled with loose rock and scree.  The ramp is wide, and provides an escape from the exposure.  About halfway up, it gets to be easier going with better rock and holds.  Before you know it, you will have rounded the corner at the top into a beautiful, vast, alpine garden!

Kelso's crux is open for debate, but the one that everyone talks about is the knife edge right around 14,000 feet.  The knife edge is notorious for its huge drops on both sides.  Crossing it was very awkward, and required moves I had never, ever had to make in hiking.  For me, the easiest way across was to straddle the edge and scoot across it...very strange.  I don't believe this to be the crux however.

Coming around the corner after the knife edge

Amanda and I both agreed that the crux was actually this portion of the climb (below).  The white wall ahead of Amanda looks small in this picture, but to get up it you first need to descend a little into a gully (hidden from view).  It's roughly 40' from the base of this wall to the top.  The handholds are good, but there was one move on this rock that required an awkward move to get around.  It's a tight squeeze to pass it, and a little awkward with a pack on.
Advantage:  Sawtooth

Amanda approaching the white wall.

The Descent
The Sawtooth is definitely a longer day no matter how you slice it...basically your 4 options are:

Beatdown option#1:  Go down the initial steep gully and bash your way through the willows;
Beatdown option#2:  Keep going to Evans;
Beatdown option#3   Go to Mt. Spaulding and down it's northwest gully and bash through the willows;
Beatdown option#4   Climb back across the Sawtooth, up Bierstadt, and down the main trail

Kelso descent is way easier, and you'll be eating your victory burger back in Denver in no time.
Advantage: Kelso

Bottom line, both are great routes that give you different things...try em both:)  If you have done one or both, what are your thoughts on the two?

Mt. Yale via the East Ridge (14,196')

Date: July 27, 2013
Climbing Party: Amanda Harnden
R/T Mileage: 10.6
Elevation Gain: 4,826'

Gerry Roach writes in his book that by taking the East Ridge of Mt. Yale to it’s summit is longer than the standard route, but that the additional length and effort is worth the solitude found on the route. He was right. For 5 hours and 12 minutes, we did not see one single soul on the trail – ahead or behind us.

We arrived in Buena Vista the night before with the hope of finding a good spot to hunker down for the evening ahead of the 3:30 AM start time. We ended up settling in for the evening in the back of Amanda’s car at the Avalanche trailhead, which worked out great, as the trailhead was mere steps from where we were.

We were on trail by 3:30, and started making our way up the Colorado Trail with the hope of finding Yale’s East Ridge trail, located 3.3 miles ahead. Our objective was summit at about 8:30, and get down as the weather forecast was calling for early morning precip in BV, and that meant clouds rolling in earlier than normal. So we were on our way!

Our heads were foggy on this morning- we stopped frequently, our steps weren’t deliberate, we were certainly grumpy from lack of sleep. For the first two hours, we put our heads down, and kept putting one foot in front of the other hoping that when the sun finally came up, it would generate more of an alert in our bodies, and wake us up! I can’t remember being so exhausted in the first few miles of a hike, and it began to wear on me mentally, knowing that we had a really long day ahead. The sun finally came up, and renewed our spirits! On a shoulder ridge in the Collegiates was a great place to be to see the sun come up!

We came to the clearing in the woods, where the guidebook says to make a 90 degree left hand turn to begin the East Ridge of Yale. It was blatantly obvious for us, as someone kindly fashioned an enormous arrow made out of dead trees. If you missed the huge arrow, there were also two large rock cairns, and a line of dead branches leading you in the right direction.

The first portion of the hike as standard class 1 hiking. We gained 2,530’ in the first 3.3 miles to get to the Silver Creek Saddle. From here, the remaining route is a class 2/3 scramble to the summit of Yale. Once you leave the Colorado trail, and start off on the East Ridge, it is definitely slower going. If you brought your helmet, this is a good time to put it on, as loose rock is everywhere.  The wind was picking up, and was in our faces. Follow the ridge over and around several large points. The summit of Yale is not too far off, but it will take a little while to get there! The rock is loose in several places, especially around 13,000’ where the ridge gets its steepest.  For some perspective, this portion took 38 minutes to go .25 miles, and we gained 538 vertical feet.

Climbing the talus - the last two miles looks like this!  We came from lookers right around the two points in the distance

First getting on to the summit ridge!

On the way down we decided to take the standard route back.  The thought of going back down the ridge seemed like a lot of work for our beaten up bodies.  The standard route didn't seem to be a cakewalk either...it was a direct slog from the parking lot, a steep, direct route.  It seemed longer I think because we had been up and packs were getting heavy and knees were getting sore.  Plenty of marmots along the way to keep us entertained however :)

Marmot on patrol 

Coming down Denny Gulch 

In the end, the (b)east ridge of Mt. Yale kicked our asses!  The route we took gave us solitude, great views and awesome scrambling.  I would have to agree with Mr. Roach, that the route is a classic.  The only issue with this choice of routes is the 2.9 mile downhill grunt back to the Avalanche trailhead.  I would recommend stashing a bike in the woods at the Denny trailhead.  Walking 2.9 miles back to Avalanche is the last thing you will want to do after this route! 

Mt. Bierstadt (14,060’) > Sawtooth Ridge > Mt. Spaulding (13,842’)

Date:   July 20, 2013
Climbing Party:   Sabrina Langer, Martin Barnett, Katie Moser, Nathan Hankins, Zach Taylor, Rich Ostrosky, Chris Pierce, Becca Frager
R/T Mileage: ~8 miles 

Estimated Total Elevation Gain: 3,262’

Mt. Bierstadt is one of the most popular 14ers in the Front Range. It’s close proximity to Denver and paved access to the trailhead makes it a very attractive option for folks looking to get up high. Let me say this again…Bierstadt is a VERY popular 14er.

Our group of 9 left the trailhead at 5:00 AM, and the parking lot was already nearly full. Lines of hikers could be seen going up the mountain ahead of us, and queuing up behind us. We were off, and summited Bierstadt just before 8:00 AM.

On the way up Bierstadt

From the summit of Bierstadt, we began the traverse of the Sawtooth Ridge. Picking our way down to the low point of the saddle was a lot of fun. This ridge traverse is mostly class 3 scrambling, requiring the standard three points of contact most of the way. The ridge affords beautiful views to the east, and beautiful views to the west accompanied by some exposure as you make your way. The ridge was snow free, except in one spot roughly 10 feet wide by 40 feet long. Ironically, we were there to witness the sole patch of snow warm to a magic temperature, and release a boulder about the size of a refrigerator down the slope. It rumbled its way down, and smashed into another rock and broke into pieces. The boulder surely would’ve ruined anyone’s day that was unlucky enough to be below it. Thankfully, no one was. It served as a reminder as to the level of care to be taken. It was not human triggered, as we were all resting above it, just a small chapter in the mountain’s history. We gingerly made it past the snowfield, and gained the saddle of the ridge at 13,300. 

About the low point of the ridge

From the low point of the ridge, there is a large gendarme straight ahead. It can either be taken straight on, or bypassed to the east. To take it straight on would’ve entailed what appeared to be class 4ish moves. We elected to bypass it to the east. There is a nice trail that will take you past the gendarme to another spot on the ridge where you will get your first view of the ramp up the Sawtooth itself. The ramp is exposed, but wide enough to feel relatively safe. There is some loose dirt and scree that leads you to larger, more solid rock ahead. It’s a quick move around the corner and voila, you have finished and are on top of the tooth! There is a Starbucks on top and a large hot tub to soak in…wouldn’t that be nice! 

Preparing to go up the ramp (ahead)

The remaining route to Spaulding consists of picking your way through an alpine tundra littered with grass, wildflowers and small boulders. It is a welcome change of terrain and pace following the traverse. So long as there are no clouds moving in, it’s a great place to relax! The summit of Spaulding is at 13,842, and a gain of 542 vertical from the low point of the Sawtooth saddle. 

From the summit of Mt. Spaulding, we descended west, and into a friendly gully that lead us to the willows. ***There is a trail to be found to the south of the southernmost stream. If you are able to locate it, it will lead you to the Bierstadt trail, through the driest part of the willows***

On top of the tooth

 We got back to our cars around 4:30, tired but feeling great about our hike. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, or a better day. For one of our hikers, it was her first time at 14k’. Knocking out a 14er, 13er, and a class 3 scramble is a hell of an intro to high altitude hiking, and she did a great job!