La Plata (14,336')

La Plata is Spanish for "the plata" 

Date:  July 28, 2012

Climbing Party:  Aaron Dover & Amanda Harnden
Elevation Gain: 4,500'
Distance: 9.75 mi RT

RT Time: 7:00 (4hrs up, 3hrs down)
Difficulty:  Difficult, shared summit with a handful off others

Summit Marker

On the way up to Leadville this morning, we talked about the weather up at La Plata. The NOAA weather site had predicted a 60% chance of thunderstorm activity beginning at around 11:00 am. We had hoped to be done by then, but there are no guarantees. We had talked about the possibility of having to abort if things weren't looking good, and that we had to be on the same page about this before we got going. Our 3am departure from Denver got us on the trail by 5:40. Should have been plenty of time to bag the Plata! It's Spanish for "Silver" as this mountain was in an area known for silver mining.

Out of the gates, we had three stream crossings. Not too shabby for the first mile! It meant we were moving straight up the belly of the valley to the source. There were no easy portions of the hike. I will break them down:

The Forest (Mile 1): 3 stream crossings and moving through aspen stands, gaining elevation moderately, and ends in an absolutely gorgeous valley travelling along a stream with flat terrain

Fores portion was awesome!

Switchback Central (mileage unk): After the pleasant walk along the creek, start the switchbacks. Switchbacks up a gully, elevation gained rather quickly. This is a 9/10 on the misery index, but the great views help. Just put your head down and walk, try to maintain pace. These short switchbacks never seem to end, and the entire time a gallery of marmots watch and critique your every move. Follow this to the ridge.

Marmots eat well apparently...

Working our way up the switchbacks!

Views were the best I've seen...;) look at the clouds rolling in too..

Summit Ridge (roughly 1.5 mi):  Follow the summit ridge to the summit.  The trail comes and goes, and in some areas smells as though a commercial airliner dropped their waste receptacle somewhere nearby.  The rocks are big, the steps up them are big, and the views are even bigger.  Enjoy, and soak it in!

The Summit Ridge...views for days.

So, the story goes that we were on trail by 5:40 and got up to the summit ridge in 2.5 hrs, and we were the guinea pigs up on the ridge.  Clouds were billowing to the west, but they were standing still.  They were getting darker, but behind them were clear blue skies!  What to do, what to do.  We didn't hear any thunder, so we decided to get out of the wind for a little bit, and see what would happen.. if they got thicker and started in on us, we were gonna roll out.  Below, on the ridge, there were 2-3 groups of 2, STOPPED.  They were all watching us, and wanted to see what we were going to do.  They were not going to climb up any further if we were going to bail.  One pair did come up while we were waiting, and the clouds broke up!  It was our chance.  We made moves and scurried up the last mile to the summit.  

Summit! Awesome views into Aspen/Snowmass behind

Summit!

We didn't waste much time on the summit, had a bite, got some pics and made our way off as others were on their way up (eek).  On the way down, the clouds were getting thicker and thicker.  No sooner did we reach tree line did the summit completely grey over, and within a half hour, we were getting pounded with rain, and we were under tree cover!  I felt bad for those who got a later start, and were exposed above treeline.    A and I were soaked to the bone, and beat up from the feet up.  We made it back safe and sound, and still had a 2.5 hour drive ahead of us before we could tear into some cheeseburgers....

La Plata Lining: We thought we would be aborting this trip, but alas, we summited after a break in the weather!

Mt. Bierstadt (14,060')

The Only Mountain in Colorado!

Date:  July 21, 2012

Climbing Party:  Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden, Sue Harnden, Andrea Bielecki, Brian Bielecki
Elevation Gain: 2,850'
Distance: 7mi Roundtrip

RT Time: 7:00 (3hrs up, 4hrs down)
Difficulty:  Easy, trail was crowded like a mall

We had a super early start from Denver leaving at about 4:30 am and driving to the Guanella Pass trailhead. This road is now paved 100% and serves as a super highway between I70 and 285. Even after arriving at the trailhead at 6:00am, parking was at a premium and the masses were descending onto the trail.

In our party, we had 3 first timers! Amanda's mom,Sue, was visiting from NY, and her aunt and uncle Andrea and Brian, made the drive from Albuquerque! Our goal was to summit, and starting early is a GREAT way to overcome crowds, weather, and when hiking with new climbing partners, it's always good to leave yourself extra time to account for any issues that might come up. So without much ado, we threw on our packs and headed out.

Brian and Andrea all geared up and ready to roll out!

The first part of the trail is considered the Willows. This used to be the crux of the entire hike if you could ever believe it! Trudging through a massive swamp on the approach (and on the return) had sucked energy out of people for years! They have since built the boardwalk to assist in the hike. Believe me, it has made the hike 10 times more approachable. The walk through the willows is my favorite part. Full of energy, the terrain is flat, air is cool...a great warmup! The bushes up to your chin make it fun to walk through. There are so many little game trails under the brush too. I can imagine tons of little critters running through the scrub. So the hike in on the willows is definitely my favorite!

In the middle of the Willows is the stream crossing, which got its' hands on one of the members in our party (and her cellphone). Thankfully, she was a-ok and made it without another hitch! The cell phone however, is no longer functional, but that's ok, it was getting replaced anyways.

After the stream crossing, the trail begins to gently switch back and forth until you reach the shoulder where the Sawtooth Ridge and Bierstadt stare you right in the face. That ridge is awe inspiring, and when you get an early start, you get to see the sun come up over it! Pure beauty.

Sawtooth Ridge, Bierstadt on right


Once on top of the shoulder it's the section I like to refer to as the "Sound of Music" section of the climb. It's just a beautiful rolling hill where wildflowers, mountains and blue sky assault all of your senses at once...truly amazing. If you start running and singing on this mountainside, it may be the early onset of altitude sickness, or just happiness :)

Amanda took this awesome shot of the wildflowers in "Sound of Music" section

The crew headed up the 'Sound of Music' section, Sawtooth looking on in background...

I used to think getting onto the shoulder was the tough part, but I will ammend this thought, and say that the section from the shoulder to the summit is far more difficult.  The trail kind of disappears and the boulders are bigger.  Every step is a little more work.  We don't have too many photos through this section because we were working (and breathing) HARD.  Once on the shoulder though, the views are amazing, and the summit is steps away...we had one problem at the top with one in our party getting a foot caught in the boulders and wrenching it.  Painful to see, but must have been worse in person... Sue, Andrea, Brian and Random McGee at the summit! AAA summit shot! Ellie summititng! Scarlito summit shot/guarding water Sue summit shot, Saratoga represent Brian & Andrea Summit Ellie Summit shot It was a great summit, gorgeous day, and a wonderful experience to share with people who have not been on a 14er! Brian, Andrea, and Sue thanks for visiting, it was great to see you and get a hike in together! On the way down we stopped for a nap in the sun in the field with the 49ers Made it down as a team!  What a day.  Bierstadt directly behind.

Mt. Sherman (14,046')

Date:  June 30, 2012

Climbing Party:  Aaron Dover, Amanda Harnden, Kelsey Breen, Kathryn Young, Jen Hock, Jason Murray, Sally Webster
Elevation Gain: 2,036'
Distance: 5 miles

RT Time: 3:50
Difficulty:  Easy

Most folks will tell you for your first attempt at a 14er, to go try Mt. Bierstadt.  I think I'll start recommending Mt. Sherman.  Sure, Bierstadt is closer to Denver, and the newly paved Guanella Pass Road makes getting there a cinch.  Sherman  is a little farther away from Denver (maybe 2 hours) depending on how much you and your crew need to stop. 

No one has heard of Mt. Sherman it seems!  You guys are hiking where? Where's that?  Mt. Sherman? Yes Mt. Sherman.  Just outside of Fairplay off of Rt. 285, you may or may not see Mt. Sherman from the road.  It kind of fits in with the rest of the surroundings...a very nondescript peak on the horizon.   

We made camp at about 9pm off of the side of the road.  Just before getting to the start of the trailhead, it becomes private property, so we camped off the side of the road.  Great camping along this road by the way.

Fire ban campfire.

We woke up in the morning at the crack of 3:45am, and hit the trail a little after 5.  This is a shorter hike, but it was Kat's last chance to see the sunrise at this elevation before moving to NYC, so we decided the early start was the way to go.  The way up to the trail head was pitch black obviously, and the road was a little sketchy.  There is no sign denoting the start of the trail head, so after some hemming and hawing we realized the iron gates was where the trail head was.  Very simple approach.  Up a dirt road, past some abandoned silver mines.  Follow the dirt road all of the way to huge mine that looks like a drive in theater.  These mines, we researched, harvested over 100,000 ounces of silver back in the days they were operational!  I can hear the miners now...'there's silver in these mountains...'  Made me think of Arrested Development  ...'there's money in that banana stand.'  Anyway, sidetracked.  Bear left towards the pile of gray rock, get up on the ridge line and follow it to the summit!  Simple. Straightforward. Beautiful.  Great views of Leadville, Turquoise Lake, Massive and Elbert. 

Fav shot of the day

On the way down, Scarlet got into it with a pica.  I have seen her rummage in the rocks before for things making noise, but on this day, June 30, she actually caught one!  I looked over just in time to see her with it in her mouth, and then she flung it up in the air and caught it again before I could get over to her.  She was moving large rocks with her paws and even teeth.  I am not so sure that the caloric gain from the pica would have equaled or surpassed that which was expended in the hunt.  In fact, I think that to break even she would have required to catch and eat 7.2 picas.

Standard Pica

Group Vitamin D therapy on way down.

Thanks to our 5am start, we encountered scores of people making the trip up to the summit of Sherman.  Seemed all of them were pouring sweat, and they all asked us the same question:  "What time did you guys start???"  It pays to get an early start. Every. Damn. Time!  Not only did we escape the heat and crowds, we got back to the car at like 9:15 in time to get into Fairplay for breakfast.  Side note: Java Moose is no joke...a great place to grab great bfast.  We were back in Denver around 11:30 wondering what to do with the rest of our day:)