After the departure of my good friends MB and CC from Frisco I was on my own 3.5 days to play on some of Colorado's 14ers. I had alot to choose from but kind of defined my area to be 14ers in the Leadville / Breckendridge area and see where I would get a better weather forecast.
I decided on Monday I would head toward Kite Lake, home of Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln and Bross.
Prior to heading to Kite Lake I hit up the Gold Hill section of the Colorado Trail for 6 miles which was perfect single track and most of the run was about 10k feet. After the run I drove down to Alma and then took the CR to Kite Lake. It was a rocky drive down to Kite Lake but made it there and set up home base. I started to cook some dinner as winds and temperatures took a dive. It was a beautiful night, stars were out and the summits were illuminated by the setting sun. Tuesday I had an early start hitting all 4 and then bombing down a talus field off of Bross, which was super fast.
After hanging out for a couple of hours and doing some Lake / Stream soaking I headed back to Breckenridge for another run on Gold Hill and then got more supplies and set up camp at the TH for Quandary Peak. Quandary Peak was straight forward round trip was 2:30, weather was starting to roll in so I didn't stick around long on the summits. After Quandary I headed up to Mohawk Lakes to check out the scene of some high alpine lakes.
Around 2pm on Wednesday rain moved in and that was about it for fun in the high mountains. I headed back to Frisco to check into a hotel and organize my supplies and get ready for the trip to Denver to hook up with Tom, Wildman, Maddog and G$ for the Chicago Basin Trip.
The drive from Denver to Durango is a long one, but some nice sightseeing along Colorado Springs and through some great southwestern towns in Colorado. Hotel scam was nice, but a scam, that story is to be continued. As of right now my AMEX payments are suspended and AMEX is investigating their practive of NOT accepting the Marriot Rewards points. If you are reading this, NEVER stay in the Residence Inn Marriot in Durango, CO.
The trip into the TH for Chicago Basin is approached by the Durango Silverton Single Gauge Steam Train. It was a great trip with some beautiful views of the mountains and Animas River.
We arrived at the TH around noon time and took down left over pizza from the night before. Wildman and I broke from the group and scouted out a high base camp and decided a spot around 11,200 feet. Excellent spot for the guys to acclimate. We planned on a one day acclimitization day but with the high mountain weather we ended up pushing for Sunlight and Windom the next day. The group was highligh impressive as everyone pushed through some altitude fatigue and we were able to summit both Sunlight and Windom without any issues.
We had traditional afternoon and evening showers at night, but had zero impact on our planned summit attempts.
After a restful night we rose early to attack Eolus and North Eolus. The catwalk presented zero obstacles and some of the class 2 and 3 scrambles were not a problem. For a bunch of guys from the East coast guys we get things done in the higher mountains in Colorado.
The last day which was built in for bad weather we ventured up to Columbine Pass and MadDog and I took a flyer out to Trimble Pass and back to Columbine. I took 20 minute descent off of Columbine back to base camp and used it as a quasi training day for the legs.
G$ - The founding father of the trip out West. You have guided me over the years not only in outdoor knowledge but in personality, basecamp and expedition planning. I am still rough on the edges but you continue to polish the stone.
Wildman - I don't think I have been on a trip out West without you. 2 Gannett and 1 Chicago Basin. I continue to watch and learn with your comfort of being in the outdoors and the little tricks of the trade that I see you do. You keep things low key and achievable throughout the trips.
MadDog - It was good to have you back in the mix of the Western endeavours. You always have a pulse of what is going on, except with your thermo regulation. You bring laughter to all situations and I will always remember, "the path will reveal itself". Thanks for the trail spotting on Eolus and being my "governor" on when to go green light, yellow light or red light.
Tom - You have taught me patience over the years from the K1, K2 and K3 expeditions. You have endless knowledge of the outdoors and are never frazzled despite the situation blowing snow or "leaps of faith". You keep the base camp environment positive and upbeat and always have a good story to tell around the dinner table.
The Basin will live on, we thought of everyone that did not attend, Mutha the mountain goats, PM the high alpine lakes and fishing and DogMan the industrial revolution and the destorying of canyons for the train from Durango to Silverton.
Here is a link to the pictures from the Colorado and Chicago Basin trip
No comments:
Post a Comment