One of many
trip reports under the
SilGro home page for Alan Silverstein and Cathie
Grow.
Email me at
ajs@frii.com.
Last update: July 26, 2024
(Previous trip report: 1986_0305-0428_HalleysComet.htm)
(A
Fourteener
trip report.)
(Originally posted to internal newsgroup:
/* hpfcla:hpnc.general / ajs / 12:12 pm Jun 9, 1986)
One Sunday I climbed Mount Democrat, 14148', in the Mosquito Range of Colorado.
(I wrote back then:) Here begins (probably [yes!]) series of hiking/climbing trip reports for this summer. I write them for my memoirs and I post them because others have shown interest, with no complaints received. So armchair adventurers, vicarious thrill-seekers, and potential co-climbers, here's my first report of 1986.
Saturday, June 7: Late in the day four of us HPites (me, Dave Landers, Walt Nestor, and Ed Ogle) rode in my '73 Wagoneer (nicknamed "Triceratops", aka "the school bus") to John Landers's house in Denver. We camped the night on his floor.
Sunday, June 8: We left early -- but not early enough, at 0630 -- all aboard Triceratops, up US 285 to Fairplay, then six miles north to Alma.
We took the dirt road out of town west to Kite Lake, at 12000', under threatening black clouds which induced in us a similarly gloomy mood. The road was in fine shape past the Sweet Home Mine all the way to mile 4.8, where an ugly snowdrift blocked the way. (By late in the day it was soft enough that someone had blown through it. In a week I bet the road was open all the way to the lake, about another mile.)
We started up at 0830, by which time the clouds had all blown over, leaving a clear blue sky and cool breezes. At Kite Lake at 0900, I convinced the other four to let me take off solo up the southeast ridge of Mount Democrat. Having climbed the mountain before, and seeing a pretty good route, I wasn't too worried about it.
The first couple hundred feet up to the ridge was mixed heel-edging and postholing in soft snow. It was a lot of work, especially when every fifth step I fell through without warning. It didn't take me long to reach the ridge though, and from there it was a wonderful series of stair-steps and moderate scrambling up craggy, solid (or creaky) rock.
Uncertainty about whether you're ahead or behind the group is a wonderful incentive! I really pushed hard to reach the summit of Mount Democrat at 1055 (2150' in 1:55). Surprise! The rest of the group, going around on the regular trail (the looong way), encountered much more snow, and didn't make it until 45 minutes later.
So I had a lot of nice, quiet time to enjoy the Sawatch Range north from about Mount Yale to Mount of the Holy Cross, Grays & Torreys, Quandary right nearby, etc. The last time on top, nine years ago, it was so cloudy I never did see much. Then as now, I could hear the low rumblings from the Climax mine far below.
After a while a lady arrived with her two large dogs. She was a veteran of 47 Fourteeners, doing Democrat for the third time just as a workout. Her third dog, a little one, and her husband, only an occasional climber, were left far below and never did make the top.
By the time the other four arrived at 1140 a lot of low scud clouds were forming, what I call a winter weather pattern, with a cold wind. I took off northeast down the 700' drop to the Democrat/Cameron saddle at 13400', a half-hour descent. Deep snow on a ridge isn't nice unless it's firm. Otherwise you fall through and hit rocks, slip and slid, and generally have to be careful...
After a break at the saddle I plodded slowly and tiredly up the 800'+ to Mount Cameron, 14238'. It was actually a high point at the joining of three ridges, an acknowledged sub-peak not counted as a separate Fourteener.
Just before losing sight of the saddle, I noticed the other four take a long break and then head down. Later they said tiredness was not a factor (yeah, sure), just the ugly weather building. I kept a close eye on it, but saw no tall clouds, just increasing overcast and 50% precipitation within 30 miles or so.
After more than an hour of patient aerobic climbing, at 1320, within mere yards of Cameron's summit, I heard a crack of thunder. Ten miles to the southeast, it came from a dark mass of clouds -- right behind the winds -- headed my way. I'm pleased that I only hesitated a moment -- the summit was so close -- but didn't delay.
Without pausing to put on gloves or nylon pants, I whipped out my ice axe and bailed out over -- actually, through -- a ridge of snow just east of the route. It started corn-snowing hard as I glissaded down a steep chute as fast as I dared, unable to see the whole route beyond a drop-over.
A second thunderclap only added to my concern. I must have dropped 500' in five minutes -- very carefully, mind you. When glissading on steep, crusty snow, you don't just fly over drop-offs! Fortunately, these were such rounded, mellow mountains that even the craggy parts didn't have many cliffs. I was able to do a long series of short slides to jutting boulders, down and through a twisty gully.
After a while the snow eased up and I stopped to warm up. From then on it was a long, tedious descent with a few thrills and one "practice" (yeah sure) arrest using the axe. I rode over a few rocks, too numb to feel them, but apparently didn't suffer any harm to either my jeans [yes, back then I hiked in jeans!] or my gluteus. Towards the bottom there was one delicious high-speed glissade with a safe runout.
After slogging a long way through level, soft snow and mud, to my amazement, I met up with the group at Kite Lake at 1420. I cruised (one hour to drop 2200') while they were taking it slower. We unwound from there back to the jeep, back to Denver with a break at the Fairplay Hotel, and finally back to Fort Collins, dropping people one by one until I and Walt reached my house at 2100, sore and tired.
We were disappointed of course at not completing Cameron, Mount Lincoln (which was nearby), and Mount Bross (a ways further, but not much of an additional climb). Still it was a good work-up, tough exercise, a lovely time to posthole through the early-summer melting snows. It got us physically and (especially me) psychologically prepared for more of the same. And it opened up the possibility of climbing Lincoln, Cameron, and Bross from Quartzville(?) on the northeast side, leaving out Democrat. Which we did the following weekend!
(Next trip report: 1986_0615_Lincoln,Bross.htm)