Mount Princeton
Date Climbed: 5/12/16
Climbing Partners: None
Elevation: 14,197
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Daniel Weiss
The rumble of the truck was comforting as I slowly wound my way up highway 287 to Buena Vista. It was around 2 AM and I had woken up just an hour ago. I still had two hours until I made it to the trailhead, but that at least gave me time to wake up. This is one of my favorite parts of the climb: the easy drive up, radio playing in the background and the steady hum of the engine that promised safety and warmth. In my rearview mirror, there was not the usual black void of a midnight drive, but a yellow blur. As Mount Princeton was my goal, I had brought along my four-wheeler in order to make quick and easy work of the road up to the radio towers.
Two hours later, I was at the winter trailhead, with a clear four wheel drive road ahead of me. I quickly hopped out of the truck, untied the four-wheeler and put down the ramp. I turned on the engine and the gas, pulled the clutch, pressed the start button and... nothing. Just a slow dead rattle as the engine sluggishly attempted to turn. It could have been the cold air, but having just charged it, it should have been able to start. I tried once more, praying it would start. Again, a dead battery. There were two options: start walking from here, which would double my mileage and make it nearly impossible to get down before the snow softened and avalanches became a real danger. The only other option would be to drive my huge truck up the extremely narrow road and risk getting stuck, or worse sliding off a cliff. I had turned back enough on Princeton and was not willing to concede defeat yet. So as the sun rose, I began the slow, rocky drive up the narrow Mount Princeton Road.
I was much more worried about this road than the hike ahead. Should I make it to the radio towers, I would have a relatively quick and straightforward climb. The problem was there was no way of knowing how far down the snowline was. Should I run into impassable snow too far down, there would be no place wide enough for me to turn around. And a road this narrow and steep would be near impossible to back down (especially with an ATV blocking my rearview mirror). Slowly the miles passed by. An hour (and some very sketchy turns) later, I ran into some deep snow. Unwilling to risk getting stuck, I found the nearest switchback and managed just to find enough room to turn around and park. It couldn't be much of a walk to the radio towers, and that was good enough for me.
I was already more than an hour behind and I would fall even further behind because of the snow, but with a good forecast, I knew I had time to give. I began the long hike and within half an hour had reached the radio towers. another 40 minutes and I was at the end of the road and beginning the treacherous hike across the Princeton Trail. Normally, this hike would be quick and (14er-wise) easy. With snow, as I have said before, there was no such thing as easy. With a winter like snowpack and rapidly warming temperatures already, I decided to play it safe and leave the trail, hiking up and down multiple hundreds of feet around avalanche chutes. The work was exhausting and the progress slow, but I refused to quit with such good weather.
Thankfully, I had been training and working out in order to prepare for the upcoming spring climbing season, and the extra energy helped. Unfortunately, even though I was able to make progress across the first few chutes, I had two giant (and filled) avalanche chutes between myself and the ridge connecting Tiger Peak and Mount Princeton. I could either cut straight across them, risking a huge avalanche, or go up and over (as I had the others) which would add a lot of time and increase the danger on the way down. I decided to play it safe and go up and over again, but this truly slowed me down. By the time I was on my way over the last major avalanche chute, it had been over an hour and I had only made a few hundred feet of progress.
By now I was on the ridge and had a straight shot at the summit. Unfortunately the snow was just soft enough for me to sink in a few inches, creating slow progress on what should have gone by quickly. Already exhausted, I was at the decision point. Should I turn back, knowing that the snow would grow softer and more dangerous every minute I delayed? Or should I continue and conquer the summit I had already suffered for? I decided to just put my head down and push through. Step by step, breath by breath, I made my way across the rugged ridge, occasionally passing by cornices the size of buses, forcing me to stay back many feet from the edge which looked so invitingly smooth and easy to travel across.
Soon I was looking up the long steep slope which led directly to the summit. I could see evidence of avalanches directly across the faint trail I could pick out. Thankfully, the snow at this elevation was still frozen solid, and the danger of any avalanche was relatively low. I took a deep breath, put my head down, and decided to go straight up the slope, ignoring the trail altogether. Step, breath, step, breath, step, breath. It was hard work, but the time spent on Insanity (a DVD workout system) seemed to be paying off. Once I had a rhythm, I simply ignored the desire to stop and take a break and pushed. After 20 minutes of solid front pointing straight up the slope, I noticed the angle give way and a cold blast of wind forced me to look up. A little off to my right was the summit, and below me were thousands of feet of snow and rock. A new energy seemed to flow through me and I quickly skipped (more like stumbled) up to the summit, heart pumping. The exhilarating feeling of accomplishment washed over me and I fell onto my back, breathing heavily and sucking in all the water I could get. It was so peaceful. Not a soul for miles around. It was blue bird days like this that I lived for. Where I could sit on a summit and reflect on the beauty that God has made for us. Even the harshness of winter had its own beauty, which I throughly enjoyed and even preferred on most summits. But it was nice to still have the feeling in my toes when standing on a summit for once.
After a few pictures and a quick lunch, it was time to continue down. I refilled my water bottle with a spare liter I had and began the slippery walk down. In order to save time, I decided to glissade down. Just as I sat, I felt my water bottle slide out of its pocket and quickly roll down the slope. I lunged for it, but the snow was too solid and the bottle gained speed and was out of reach long before I could reach it. I watched it slide thousands of feet, traveling faster and faster as it made its way down to the basin far below. I was speechless. All of my water had just tumbled down the mountain and I still had the most dangerous, hardest, and hottest part of the climb ahead. I stood up and decided to hike down instead considering my last blunder. Thankfully, the ridge went much faster as I was able to follow my footsteps back down. Once across the ridge, I was faced once more with a major decision. I could go over Tiger Peak, which would allow me to get a 13er in, and which would be much safer, but much more difficult, especially without water. The other option was to risk the avalanche chutes once again, now with much warmer temperatures.
I decided that the best course of action was to run the risk of avalanches rather than dehydration (and extremely hard work). Because I had used so much energy getting up, I had almost none left to work up and down the chutes again and decided to cut straight across the steep slopes following the summer trail. At first, the snow was in great shape and the risk of avalanche was small. But as I made my way down, the snow grew softer and softer under the intense sun. Half way across, I was committed and I was sinking past my boots (a sign of wet slab avalanches). Knowing my life was at risk I moved as fast as my weary legs would carry me across the last two dangerously steep slopes, sinking up to my knees at times, praying for protection. Thankfully, nothing eventful happened and I was standing on the road, looking back at Princeton.
The climb was in the bag, and all that was left was a difficult drive back down the narrow road (but at least that didn't involve walking). Unfortunately, the sun had done its job and the "easy" hike back down the snow filled road was an exhausting slog which took much longer than it had on the way up. Every step was either so slick I fell or so soft that I sunk up to my waste. A section that had taken only ten minutes earlier in the morning now took half an hour. After another hour of painful potholing, the road dried out and I was able to walk on dirt and mud. The rest of the hike was downhill and the truck soon came into view, and not a moment too soon! I threw my backpack into the back and gratefully gulped down the gallon of water I had saved for my return. I felt dizzy and weak from so much exertion and so little water. Dehydration had set in, and I had made the right decision avoiding the climb over Tiger. The narrow road was slow going but uneventful. I eventually made it back to the highway and set the truck on cruise control. Another 14er down, and a season of snow climbs ahead.
Although my desire to summit the 14ers had diminished, my desire to find technically challenging peaks was very much alive. As so many mountaineers before me had experienced, with every 14er I conquered, I wanted a bigger and more technical challenge. As Aconcagua loomed closer, climbs like "Super Star" and "Dragon Tail" appealed more and more. 14ers are amazing and beautiful climbs, and character building. Great for a big mountain experience right in your backyard. But they are not very remote compared with the peaks of South America, Alaska, and the Himalaya. I can only hope that God will continue to open doors that will allow me to lead an expedition to South America and the famous Aconcagua.
Mt. Elbert
Date Climbed: 11/12/15
Climbing Partners: None
Elevation: 14,433
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Daniel Weiss
Second winter climb of the season. Although the snows stayed late last year, and summer did not seem to last long enough, I was ready and rearing for some snow climbing and skiing. It seemed as though nature wanted to reconcile the late snow last season, and thus the warmer temperatures than usual lately have led to more rain than snow so far. Although precipitation has been above average, the warmer temperatures have prevented significant snowfall until this moment. Just two days prior to my climb, a massive snowstorm blew through, adding over a foot of snow and changing the avalanche danger to moderate.
Having failed to climb Yale two weeks before this climb, I was determined to make up for it and summit Yale. With the new snowfall, however, I was forced to take a more stable route, and thus decided upon Mount Elbert. This way I could shorten up the hike and elevation gain, as well as knock off the Colorado high point off my bucket list all at once. So with a 4 AM alarm and a new jacket to test out, I set off into the heart of Colorado.
The sun rose just as I hit the trailhead. Unfortunately, my lack of 4-wheel drive and a low snowline forced me to walk up the 4WD rode, and so added a few miles to my journey. The road went by quickly and soon I had to put on my microspikes. Connecting with the Colorado Trail, I made a quick half mile hike over to the South Elbert intersection and began the steep trudge up the slope, which the Swatch range is so famous for.
The trail was easy to follow at first, as someone in snowshoes had obviously broken trail shortly after the storm. Not having snowshoes myself, I was worried that I had come underprepared (a mistake I often remedy by over-preparing). Although the snow coverage was no more than 4", I was sure that the snow above timberline would be a tough challenge. As the miles and elevation went by, the views became more and more spectacular. The dense forest was slowly replaced by open sky and a vast valley. Ahead lay rugged snow-capped peaks and (to my trepidation) enormous snow plumes, indicating a high winds and low temperatures. Just hours before my truck's thermometer had read -3 degrees. Although it was bright and sunny, the forecast called for temperatures reaching -22 degrees at the summit. Knowing this would be common come midwinter, I had made some purchases during the summer to deal with these extremes.
Among them were gloves designed for Alaskan peaks and a belay jacket designed for comfort somewhere in the -10 range. I even wore three layers of pants, which I only did when the forecast called for blizzard conditions. Thus, i was prepared for the worst it could throw at me.
As treelike came closer and closer, the wind began to pick up, and I knew that the cold would not be my only enemy. Just over a year before, I had battled 60+ mph winds on Democrat and the surrounding 14ers. The winds not only chilled me to the bone, but had forced me to slow down and even lay down when the gusts became too strong. If I had to do the same on Elbert in knee deep snow, I would be lucky to summit before dark, and there would be no backup on this trip. My only consolation was that I would have cell phone service almost every step of the way, so that I could call for help in an emergency.
By 9 AM I had reached timberline and decided to layer up and eat in preparation for the battle with the wind ahead. If it was as bad as it looked, I would not be able to sit down and enjoy lunch as I had planned, but would have to make a mad dash to the summit and back in a hope of reaching treeline before nightfall. What's more, the snow had steadily grown deeper and deeper. So much so, that the previous hiker had obviously given up a mile back, forcing me to blaze my own trail to the top. Although it may sound as though I had plenty of time until dark, it will become very clear just how slow one moves above timberline when winter comes. Just to give you an idea of just how tough it is, on a typical winter hike, expect it to take three times longer to reach a destination than in the summer in non-technical terrain. Although progress had been great (averaging 2 mph up to this point), things were about to screech to a halt.
As I set out from my shelter of trees full of a delicious Twix and water breakfast, a snow tornado came roaring down the slope. I turned away just in time protect most of my face from the stinging cold of the snow. Imagine, for a second, videos of Mount Everest where the snow is blown for miles from it's enormous summit. The sound of the steady roar of the jetstream and the majestic waves blown from it's pyramid. I had a very similar sight as I left the trees and the southeast bowl was laid bare before me, with just the smallest view of the summit miles away. Granted, Elbert is not nearly as intimidating, and the winds are much more tame, and the temperatures much warmer, but the beauty and challenge is still there.
Up I went, making good progress at first until I came to the first wind-loaded slope that led to the first false summit. Soon I was huffing and puffing my way up a small slope, making on step every breath or two, sinking in to my knees. If the rest of the ridge was like this, I wouldn't make the summit until nightfall if I was lucky. But since the weather was supposed to be good and there were very few objective dangers on Elbert, I was determined to make the summit, no matter how long it took. After half an hour, I had only made a few hundred feet of progress. I pulled out my ice axe for balance and began to push harder, hoping that the high winds had exposed the rock on the windward side of the ridge.
As I approached the top of this "small bump" on the ridge, I finally reached an island of rocks, allowing me to make quick progress over the hill. Although the summit seemed no nearer, I saw my saving grace: exposed rock on the north (right) side of the ridge. I counted 4 more false summits, put my head down and moved on. Every time I would reach the top of a false summit, I would set my sites on the next and remind myself that I only had a handful more. The second one went by quickly, and the wind began to diminish. The sun appeared to be chasing away the winds, and I could no longer see the long spindrift I had seen on my approach.
On the third false summit, I could see the faint outline of the summer trail switchbacking its way up the steep slope. This would be the real test. If I could make it to the top of this, all I had left was the summit slope. But this would also be the longest and steepest part of the hike. Although the trail was very easy to follow and I flew up the first half, the trail soon disappeared and as the slope began to level out, the snow became deeper and deeper. Whereas the snow was no more than a few inches deep on the lower half, I was now forced to find the path of least resistance and pray that the snow was supportive... which was not often the case. As I ran out of steam, I looked back over the ridge and the valley below me. Off in the distance was the small town of Leadville, Colorado's highest city. To my right was the gigantic southwest bowl and a frozen lake, and to the left were the treacherous Box Couloirs of Elbert. Directly below me was one particularly steep shoot, which I hoped would slide so that I could see a live avalanche. Sure I had read about and watched videos of avalanches, but I had never seen one in person, and hoped that the warm temperatures and heavy snowfall would release one just to add some excitement to the journey.
Surprisingly, the temperatures were much warmer than predicted (although they were still well below freezing), and I was forced to shed my jacket. After a few more minutes of wading through the snow, I leaned into the slope and sat down. I needed water and some food for energy. Taking in the beautiful scenery before me, I pulled on my jacket again and felt thankful that I did not have to race to the top as I would during the summer. No thunder in winter! Suddenly I saw movement in my peripheral view, and turned to stare directly at it. A tiny black dot was making quick progress up my trail. I was not alone. I had enjoyed the solitude earlier that morning, but was relieved to know that someone else would be nearby to help if I were to twist an ankle or something. Being so close to the summit, I took a longer break than needed, waiting for my companion to join me and hoping that he or she would be just as glad to share the days first summit together.
After a while of waiting, I decided that this person was moving so quickly that I would be better off just breaking trail most of the way as they were obviously moving faster than I. just as I made the push to the 4th and last false summit, my heart sank. Away in the distance ahead and a little higher, there seemed to be even more false summits. I had already been at it for 5 hours and still had to get down. But it would be a waste to stop this close, and so on I went. The route-finding was awful and progress was slow, but the summit came steadily closer and closer. Just a few hundred feet of the top, my companion caught up with me. Looking back, we made eye contact and nodded to each other. We were both exhausted and agreed that we could talk on the summit if there was any shelter to be found.
I dawned an extra jacket, gloves, and my baclava anticipating a blast of icy wind upon summiting. Lo and behold, my efforts were not in vain. As my partner broke trail the rest of the way, I came up close behind and was greeted 1) with a spectacular view of the Swatch and Aspen ranges and 2) a blast of arctic wind that instantly froze any water that was exposed. My nose instantly began to run and then froze, and my water bottle quickly turned into a chunk of ice frozen shut. We made unbalanced progress the last dozen steps to the top and made our congratulations. My eyes watered from the cold and I quickly regretted not equipping my ski goggles before the summit. I took some quick pictures and a shot of myself on the summit as evidence, and asked my friend where he was from.
I instantly realized why he had caught up so quickly. Not only was he from Leadville (living at twice the altitude of Denver), but he was quite obviously a trail runner. Fast and light is a trail runners motto, and I could tell he was freezing in the icy wind, with nothing but a shell jacket and thermal pants on over breathable shoes. Good thing is he could make it up pretty quickly. Bad thing is if something went wrong and he was forced to spend any amount of time in the dark, there would be no chance of his making it through the night. It is the polar opposite to the style of climbing I do; slow and steady. Safety and preparation for every scenario. After a quick exchange, we began the descent. Not wanting to blow out a knee or ankle, I did not event try to keep up. I was already losing feeling in some of the toes on my right foot, and had no intention of spending a night out because I rushed and hurt myself. Far below we could see another hiker making slow progress up the slope.
Half an hour later, a miserable looking young man carrying an unnecessarily large pack stood before me. It had taken him 6 hours just to reach this point, and he still had another hour to go (if not more). It was already close to 2 PM and the sun would set at 4:30. This meant he would be lucky to make it back to timberline by 4:30. Although it was warm right now, the minute the sun disappeared, the temperatures would drop rapidly and things would get dangerously cold. He told me he had come from San Diego just yesterday. I asked how he felt. Dizzy and exhausted; classic Mountain Sickness, which can have life threatening consequences. Although we were not really that high, the altitude difference and energy required to move at this elevation could cause over-exertion and could cause and edema. That being said, he did not appear to be in that bad of condition, and was probably just tired. He asked how much longer, and did not appear happy with my response. He then asked if I thought he should go on. I explained that the only thing stopping him was his condition. The weather would be good, even after dark and asked him if he had plenty of water, food, and a light. Yes to all three, so I wished him luck and told him just to carefully follow our trail on the way back down. He decided to continue up and we went our separate ways. Going down went much quicker than going up, although my knees were throbbing when I finally made it to the upper trailhead. A quick dash back down the road and I was in my tuck and on my way home.
Another 14er down and still a lot to go. But I felt confident that I could handle whatever they could dish out and a 4th class 14er with snow wasn't sounding too crazy after all. Elbert was nothing more than a long walk. It was the technical demands of climbs like Wetterhorn and Dead Dog that peaked my interest now. For a real mountain, a high camp, some technical axes and crampons, a rope, and luck would be all I needed for success. So what was next? Sangre De Cristos and their infamous Crestones or a long committing journey to the deadly Elk Range, with no safe climbs but all the adventure a mountaineer could want.
Torrey's Peak
Date Climbed: 7/3/15
Climbing Partner: James
Elevation: 14,267
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Daniel Weiss
For almost a year now, Torrey's Peak has alluded my attempts to summit it. Once due to unpreparedness and inexperience, and twice because of deep snow. Out of all the 14ers, Torrey's Peak has captured my imagination the longest, mostly because my second 14er was Gray's Peak. When I first hiked Gray's, I felt a sense of awe at the sheer size, steepness, and ruggedness of Torrey's. Although the standard trail is nothing overly difficult, the one time I did summit Gray's, the saddle was covered in snow, and my inexperience led me to believe that it was like that year round.
A year later, with multiple 14ers under my belt and a number of winter ascents, I know that a little snow on the saddle is nothing to worry about. But there was one route up Torrey's that was famed for it's danger and technicality. Known as Dead Dog Couloir, this route is a class three (compared with the class one route up Grays) in difficulty, but is infamous for its avalanche and rockfall hazard. Just a few weeks before, a friend of mine had witnessed an avalanche come down the route. In fact, a man had died in 2011 from an avalanche on this route. Although I would not compare this to any of the Himalayan, Andes, or Alaskan peaks, it is a demanding route with quite a bit of danger. And for this reason, I knew it would be a challenge.
One of my favorite things about 14ers are the amazing views you receive as you slowly make progress up to the peak. This would prove to be no exception. However, the main draw of this route was its challenge. It would require speed, endurance, and technical knowledge. It would probably be the most difficult route I'd taken so far, and that thrilled me.
But for such a demanding route, I would need an experienced partner whom I could trust with my life in case of an emergency. My partner also needed to be self-reliant as I would be too busy trying to take care of myself to coach someone up this mountain. That is where James comes in. James is a pastor at a church in Lakewood, with a love for both God and mountaineering, much like myself. He also had some good experience on other technical routes and we had attended church together for a number of years until recently.
We arrived at the trailhead at 9 PM in the midst of the 4th of July traffic. Unfortunately, the trailhead was not spared from the crowd; we arrived to an almost full parking lot, and tents everywhere. Thankfully, we did find a spot and were able to set up our tents without too much searching. By the time I had brewed my hot chocolate and we had set up camp, it was approaching 10 PM. The plan was to depart at 3 AM and be on the couloir by 4 AM. On most days, the latest one wants to be on a steep climb like this is 7 AM, otherwise the sunrise warms the snow and the risk of avalanche and rockfall increases greatly. By my estimates, we would be topping out by 6 AM, an hour before the cutoff. I set the alarm and fell fast asleep.
"Hey Daniel." Came James' voice. "What?" I replied in a groggy voice. "It's 3:30." I was immediately wide awake and jumped out of my sleeping bag. How had I missed my alarm? I took my phone out of my pocket to make sure it had gone off. It had, but the sleeping bag had muffled the noise, and I was so exhausted from the hike up Bierstadt the morning before that I had slept right through it. Thankfully, we had only lost an hour, and still had a chance to make it.
We were on the trail by 4. I was able to move extremely well considering how tired I had felt the day before from my last climb. Moreover, I felt nothing from the altitude, since I had been up in the mountains so much this month. My body was well acclimatized. I only wish I had eaten and drank some water before I left, as I could feel the slight gnawing at my stomach from hunger.
Unfortunately, James had not had the luxury of acclimatization like I had. His job had kept him very busy the past few months, along with his recent marriage. This meant we could not make the couloir in 45 minutes as I had hoped. Instead, we reached the base of the couloir around 5:20. We would not get on the snow until 5:50, more than an hour and a half behind schedule, and right at sunrise. It would be a race to the top before the snow became too soft to support us. This slow pace also meant that we would take even longer to climb the route. No matter, we'd come this far, and the snow had a solid freeze the night before.
We strapped our crampons on, put on our harnesses and helmets for safety, and began our movement up the couloir. At first, progress was slow as the snow was fairly soft and shallow. We had to navigate some boulders in order to reach the steep bit of the couloir. Once we were on the ascent and the slope began to steepen, my progress sped up. In just 30 minutes, we had completed almost one-third of the couloir!
Suddenly, a loud scream and shouting came from across the valley. We both stopped and looked to see what was going on. Along the standard route up Gray's, almost directly opposite us, we could see a large group had stopped and there was quite a commotion going on. We looked at each other and tried to listen to what was going on. It appeared that some woman was screaming another person's name, but it wasn't obvious what was happening. At first I thought someone had fallen off the cliff on the opposite side that was around that location, just as Salix had almost done after chasing a mountain goat. However, as some other groups began to pass them and continue on, and as the group began to descend, we decided that it must have just been an argument. The shouting continued as the group moved down, and now others from within the group were yelling too, but this time it was obvious that hey were yelling at each other. From what I could gather, the group was arguing about whether or not to continue up, and had ultimately decided to turn around. It did ruin the tranquility of the valley a bit, but at least we were sure no one was seriously hurt.
We continued on our way, and I began to see why there was so much talk about the rockfall on this route. Boulders the size of my chest and bigger littered the snow, and many had fallen recently, their paths clearly marked in the snow. If one even the size of my fist were to hit us, we could be in danger of falling down the couloir (a fatal slide) or even in danger of internal trauma damage. Rescue from this kind of spot would not be easy either, and without cell reception, it would be a long time until help arrived. Just a few days later, another climber was air lifted from Snowmass with internal bleeding from a rock that had hit him in the chest.
Airing on the side of caution, I decided to cross over to the left side of the couloir, even though it meant a steeper climb, softer snow, and crossing a five foot deep rut (an awkward movement on such a steep slope). The rut took me about 5 minutes to cross, which is quite a bit of time for such a short distance. I also had to climb up some rock once I had crossed the rut, which was very difficult in crampons. In all I had gained only a few feet and had wasted a lot of time and energy. The momentum I had built up had been lost and now I began to feel as though I was running on empty.
Just as frustration began to take its grip, I looked over my shoulder and saw Stephen's Gulch laid before me, bathed in the early morning sun, with just the shadows of the mountains protecting the bottom of the valley. It was a beautiful sight, and my frustration vanished as I soaked it in. I took a large gulp of water and continued my climb. I was just below the halfway point now, and we were about an hour in. On schedule in terms of our speed, but far behind with how soft the snow would be on top.
James was a ways below me, struggling with the altitude. I decided I would be able to help him better if I worked on kicking in some good steps and creating a clear path. I also knew that if I could get to where I could see the couloir exit, it would give him a boost of energy. So I began the hard work of front pointing straight up the slope. For those who are unfamiliar with snow climbing, front-pointing is also called the German technique. It is where a climber kicks the front two points of their crampons into the snow in order to get the points to bite. It allows a climber to ascend very steep routes more quickly, and also climb routes that are too steep for other techniques. The drawback is that it is hard work as it forces the climber to go straight up the slope as opposed to switchbacks., and it is a lot of work on the calf muscle.
With this technique I made great time and was almost two-thirds of the way up the couloir in a matter of 15 minutes. I Stopped and looked back over the view. I could just make out the ant line of people starting their hike up Gray's Peak. It would be a busy day, but maybe a few of them would catch some pictures of us! I turned and could see that I would have to make a choice: aim right or left at the fork. Since I had not studied that route as much as I should have, I did not know the proper way. I only knew that one would lead to extremely steep and unsafe terrain and the other would lead to the exit. I yelled back down to James asking his opinion. He said that we needed to turn left, otherwise we would end up on the knife edge along the Kelso Ridge, another classic route. I disagreed though. That morning on our approach, we had seen three other climbers heading up Dead Dog. As we watched the other climbers' headlamps make progress up the couloir, it appeared that two of them went left and began to slow down. This, we assumed, was the dangerous terrain. Yet now James and I were at the same spot and could not decide which way would be the safest. I followed my gut and went right, kicking in steps and navigating a narrow part of the couloir. James was still at least 30 minutes behind me, and I knew that we might be facing a dangerous exit with the soft snow.
By this point, the sun had already been burning at the snow at the top for an hour and a half. I had to top out quickly in order to beat the snow, and hopefully be in position to set up a safe belay for James should he need it. I raced to the top, front-pointing every step in order to make progress. Just as I began to take the right fork, the snow became softer and softer. Soon, my crampons required to kicks in order to bite into solid snow, otherwise they simply slid down the soft snow and I was forced to use my ice axe to stop myself from sliding down. I looked up and could see other climbers as the passed over the knife edge. Every once in a while they would offer words of encouragement and told me I was on the right track. I bowed my head down and pushed through the last few hundred feet to the finish. The top was soft and steep, but it made a great finish to a climb. The ridge I ended up on was no more than 4 feet wide, so I sat on the edge of the couloir to allow the Kelso Ridge climbers to pass, beaming with pride. I had just completed a very dangerous and classic route up Torrey's Peak, a summit which had eluded me for almost a year. I still had just about 200 feet to go, but that would be a simple walk to the finish, and I wanted to complete it with James next to me.
I pulled off my backpack and got my rope ready and checked my harness, ready to provide James with a belay if it started to get too dangerous. After about 20 minutes with no sign of James, I began to worry that something had happened. Just as I began to think I might have to down climb the couloir, I saw his head pop around the corner of the rock. I yelled down to him, encouraging him on and telling him that I was at on the exit so he didn't have far to go. He fist pumped the air and started toward me in earnest.
With just the last 20 feet to go, he told me to take a picture for his wife and then searched for a safe way up. The snow was now very soft and I asked if he wanted a belay. He told me he was ok, and he slogged through the last bit to the finish. It was an impressive feat to do such a climb without any real exercise or preparation, and I couldn't believe he was able to finish it. It was a very long climb, with about 1500 feet of elevation gain. We had done it, and now all we had was a walk to the finish.
Clumsily, we stumbled through snow, ice, and dirt to the finish, telling others that we would not take off our crampons until we summited because they "looked cool," and I wanted a picture on the summit in them. After a few pictures, some food, and laughs, we took in the scene on top and then hiked back down the standard route. Every once in a while people would ask if we were the ones who had climbed Dead Dog, and they asked about the snow and climb and what it had been like. It was pretty cool to achieve something like that and have witnesses. The hike back was long and uneventful, and by the end we were ready to get home.
With Dead Dog under my belt, I was ready for more challenges. I knew I had the technical ability to summit the famed Long's Peak in the winter, and I knew I had the ability to get through the snow on the Grand Teton. It was just a matter of dealing with the technical rock climbing now. And for that, it was time to start preparing for the Elk mountains and the Crestones, both of which would require class 4 and up rock climbing. The adventures thus far had tested my nerves and some of my technical skills. But now I was entering into the true mountaineering world and there were greater adventures that lied ahead. I could only pray that I was up to the task and that God would guide me through it.
Mt. Lincoln
Date Climbed: 6/22/15
Climbing Partners: Katie and Charlie
Elevation: 14,286
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Daniel Weiss
Just as winter began to set in here in Colorado, I attempted the DeCaLiBro. This is four 14ers in one day; Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross. Unfortunately, I was ill prepared that day, and only got Democrat, Cameron, and Bross. With frozen water, no traction (crampons or micro spikes) for the snow, and winds around 60+ mph and no gloves, I doubt I would have made all four without injury. And for this reason, I returned to Kite Lake to finish off this part of the Mosquito Range.
We had a late snow this year, which delayed my attempt until I could drive all the way to Kite Lake. Finally, after watching the conditions reports daily, the report came in that the road was clear. I arrived just below the trailhead around 7 AM with clear skies and a great forecast. It would be clear and warm weather with only a light wind. This was a nice change from the bitter cold of winter and lightening storms I'd encountered on Bierstadt. All the same, I prepared for freezing temperatures and brought along all the gear I might need. I wasn't going to be turned around this time because of lack of preparation.
I hit the trail and made great time. Kite Lake was still frozen but flooding around its edges with all the rain and snowmelt. What had been a simple hop across the creek just months before was now a river crossing, hopping from one rock to the next to avoid getting my feet soaked. One of the major differences between winter and summer is the speed you can travel. In winter, it could take anywhere up to 7 hours or so to travel a distance of 3 miles. In summer, it would only take 2. Summer was finally here and I was glad to have a lighter load.
Although the trail was mostly dry, there were a few snowfields I had to cross, and even took out my ice axe to be on the safe side. On my way up, I passed two girls whom I noticed did not have an ice axe. Although they had walking poles, it might be hard to stop yourself if you were to slip even with poles. So I decided to slow down a bit and make sure they didn't slip or anything. I was surprised to see that they were keeping up with me even on the slick snow. Once in a while they would stop and look around, probably to evaluate the snow and look for the best way up. At the time I didn't realize it, but they had on micro spikes, which allowed them to get good traction along the snowfields, whereas my boots would slip every so often. Either way, I decided to hang back just to make sure nothing happened. As I made my way out of the lower basin around Kite Lake and into the Upper Basin, I decided to sit down and take a break since there was no need to rush on such a nice day.
Shortly after I had sat down, the girls caught up to me. I asked which 14er they were aiming for today, assuming they were going to hit Democrat like everyone else. They were, however, going for Cameron and Lincoln, just as I was. With DeCaLiBro, there is a trail junction where everyone going to Democrat must turn left and all of the other 14ers are off to the right. This means that if you are going for all four, you have to go up democrat, come all the way back down and go back up to Cameron in order to reach the other 14ers. For us, however, we only had to go over Cameron and take a short walk over to Lincoln. In other words, we were going the same direction. Since it was a nice day so there was no hurry and since we were going the same way, I asked if I could join up with them.
They agreed, and off we went. I was just glad to have some company. As we marched up the slope, we introduced ourselves. Katie had recently moved to Colorado and had already completed a number of 14ers, while Charlie had only completed a few. It was obvious that Katie knew quite a bit about mountaineering so I asked about some of the mountains she had climbed. To my amazement, she had been to South America and climbed a high peak down there, as well as some mountains in California, Alaksa, and elsewhere. She also turned out to be a descent rock climber. At first I had thought they were only some young ladies enjoying a nice hike. It was obvious now that Katie had much more experience than I did and I began to ask question after question about her adventures and where she'd been and what she'd done. I had watched all kinds of movies about mountaineering overseas, but it was pretty cool getting to talk to someone who had actually done it.
Hearing about her adventures made me slightly jealous as I have always dreamed about climbing in the Andes and doing some snow climbs in Alaska. As much as I have dreamed of it though, she had already done it. Although I have a few expeditions I am currently planning for next winter, none of them are like an expedition to the Andes or Alaska. It was exciting to meet someone else who had the same interests in climbing big mountains.
Time seemed to fly by and we were soon approaching the summit of Cameron. Up until that point, the wind had been calm (unusual given my last experience here). Soon, however, the wind began to pick up and push us slightly off balance as we walked on toward the summit. Although it was nowhere near as bad as last time, it was still annoying and a little chilly. Just as we summited, the wind became constant and strong. We had to yell to hear each other even though we were only feet away. Neither of the girls had gloves, so I knew we couldn't spend a long time in the wind (I had done the same thing and had lost feeling in my hands for a good couple of hours last time). I noticed we were standing on a snow bank and gestured to the other side. I crossed over to the other side and sat down behind the cover of the snow. The others followed and we began to add some layers. Katie said that her hands we ok, but I could tell Charlie was cold, so I handed her the inner linings of my gloves. After we had warmed up, we pulled out some food for energy and discussed moving further.
I already had my mind set; even if the others decided to turn back, I was going to get Lincoln in. I had prepared properly for the wind this time, and I wasn't letting anything stop me this time. It looked a long way off, but we wouldn't have to gain too much elevation now, which was great news. Katie was up for it, but Charlie was very tired. After a moment, she said that she was ready to go for Lincoln. We packed up and set off at a quick pace, hoping to get through the wind as quickly as possible. As we began to descend to the saddle, I was expecting the wind to pick up even further. Surprisingly, it became very calm, and I almost began to sweat with the added layers. I took off my gloves and unzipped my jacket vents. In just over 20 minutes, we summited Lincoln, and I had finished my 14th 14er!
After taking the obligatory summit photos and another quick snack, we began the long walk down. Unfortunately, we would have to gain a little elevation on the return, and after such a long time of rest, it was much harder to start another uphill slog. I felt much slower this time, but still not terrible. On our way down, we saw a man moving up the Democrat slope. He was making extremely slow progress. It was so slow at one point that I almost wanted to go up there and make sure he was doing alright. However, we decided he was still moving and there were others descending past him, and so moved on. We passed a few other groups on the way down, and were quickly back at our cars. Relieved to be done, we said our goodbyes and began the long drive back to Denver.
It was a relief to have DeCaLiBro done, and it was obvious it was time to take my climbs up a notch. So as I drew closer to Denver, I began to set my eyes on Torrey's Peak and it's classic Dead Dog couloir. I also began to plan a few expeditions to Long's Peak and the Grand Teton. It was time to try some more challenging peaks and hope that success there would give me the confidence I would need to one day take on a peak like Aconcagua and Denali. The 14ers are still my goal, but I am beginning to think I may have a shot at some of the Seven Summits. Only time will tell, but if God opens the door, I hope one day to achieve some of these summits, and maybe even Everest! But for now, Dead Dog was my goal, and it was time to start preparing.
