One of many
trip reports under the
SilGro home page for Alan Silverstein and Cathie
Grow.
Email me at
ajs@frii.com.
Last update: March 21, 2024
(Previous trip report: 1986_0716-18_WetterhornPeak.htm)
(A
Fourteener
trip report.)
After leaving Wetterhorn Peak, the drive (crawl) up Nellie Creek brought us to 11400', which was a nice high start for Fourteener climbing. So we made a late start up Uncompahgre Peak the next morning, out of bed at 0530 and on the trail at 0635 under light clouds. ("Late" is a relative term... grin.)
The first 1/2 mile or so past the Wilderness Area boundary was still a road. Then it turned into a trail which quickly switchbacked up from the creekbed onto a huge, gently sloping, flower-covered plateau, passing a lot of holey poryphry(?) volcanic rock. Uncompahgre rose pyramidal about 1500' above the far end of the flats to the west. The trail was a highway that wound through lovely tundra. Early light set the peak aglow as clouds swirled slowly over the top.
As a hiker I was a rabbit (sprint and pause) while Dave Landers was a turtle (slow and steady, never stopping). Any time I was ahead of him I got nice long breaks to admire the scenery. But on this morning, as most, I let him get ahead of me while stopping to nibble and photograph. And as on most of our climbs together, as a result he beat me to the summit, this time by a wide margin. He was one tough turtle to which to catch up! But this day there were a number of other groups and singles on the trail to chat with.
Closer to the peak the trail cut hard left, then around to the right and up the pyramid. I took a "direct" shortcut up a snowfield but still didn't catch Dave. The trail switched up a broad southeast face before reaching the mountain's south ridge at about 13400'. Here I got my first dazzling look west at Wetterhorn Peak, Matterhorn Peak, and even Mount Sneffels.
The route then switched up steeper rock on the west side, eventually reaching a scramble of about 200'. It wasn't at all exposed or difficult, but it was enough to stop some of the people behind me. Above here I crossed a flatter section going north, then switched up a little more to the last summit slope.
The summit of Uncompahgre Peak was a broad, gently angled field of rocks and flowers with a number of rock piles and braided trails. I strolled up this to the north side, where the world suddenly ended abruptly in a ragged, sheer cliff of soft, sedimentary rock. There was no prominent summit point or cairn, just a rolling edge, east-west, maybe a hundred yards wide; a sloping plateau on the south side, and nothing to the north.
It was a foggy whiteout when I arrived at 0915 (2:40 to climb 2900'), with the temperature 51 deg F. We could tell there was a bottomless cliff, but not see anything over it. It was a fine time to snack and change socks!
After a while we got some breaks in the clouds blowing up and over from the northeast. No matter how long I looked over the abyss, and explored west and east to the edges of the summit, it remained a spectacular, awe- (and fear-) inspiring sight. Far, far below were rolling green valleys and ridges. Marmots basked right along the edge, and apparently lived in the cracks where boulders were slowly crumbling off.
Dave started down but I putzed around watching the weather change and the marmots play. I waited for a chance to photograph Redcloud Peak, Sunshine Peak, and Handies Peak to the south, their tops piercing the low clouds. Finally I followed Dave at 1035. I joined a couple who'd backpacked in, offered them a ride down in my Jeep, and spent an hour hiking down to it with them in a heavy rain. Oh yes -- I took them down the same shortcut, on gentle snow, which was a real blast -- the lady had never glissaded before.
I returned to camp at 1220 (delta 1:45, and it could have been even less). I found Dave dry and well-rested under a tree.
We carried the couple, and another solo backpacker, down to their vehicles on the "main" road. They were glad to not spend another wet night in the rain!
Back in Lake City, 5.3 miles and 20 minutes down the road, the couple got a motel room -- and offered us showers, which we gratefully accepted! After that, doing laundry, shopping, and getting some "real" food, I felt almost civilized again.
Dave and I drove out at 1700, this time going south and west toward Cinnamon Pass. We played "Keystone Cops" a little, getting separated and passing each other (unbeknownst) before joining up at Silver Creek, 19.3 miles from town on a rough 2WD road. Here we spent the night in a grassy field before the next day hiking Redcloud Peak and Sunshine Peak.
(Next trip report: 1986_0720_Redcloud,Sunshine.htm)