| Waking up around 6:00 am in Westcliffe, the weather seemed worse in the higher
elevations than the previous afternoon. I was going to settle on Mount Adams as
a consolation prize for having to revise a Crestone Peak attempt. It was looking
like even Mount Adams was out of the question, as the entire Sangre de Cristo Range
had been blasted nearly continually since the previous morning. I didn't want to
rely on luck like I had on Humboldt Peak yesterday with the clouds breaking. I
thought I would drive to the west just to see what it was like in comparison and
hopefully bag a peak. From Salida, the weather looked more pleasant, so I set out
for Mount Ouray. This part of the Sawatch Range is incredible, filled with beauty
(photo on the right shows the road up to Marshall Pass).
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Arriving at the trailhead at 9:30 am, the peak was devoid of clouds, and a
comfortable ascent looked promising. From the parking area, the Colorado Trail
intuitively looks like the correct route, but Roach points out that the true route
is to the east up to the Hutchinson-Barnett cabin. Always refreshing, Roach's 13er Guide was
100% accurate this time. Like many other 13ers, there is no trail. A nice open area through the
trees leads to treeline, but it was somewhat exhausting. Reaching treeline, Mount
Ouray was shrouded, like Humboldt the day before. On the left is a view of the initial
portion of the long West Ridge from just above treeline. I was feeling pretty good
about my chances to summit, as the skies were clearing to the west. |
| Cresting the first section of ridge, Mount Ouray was still a fair distance off.
This ridge is deceptively long. Following the ridge was straightforward, and took about
50 minutes to reach the base of the ridge on Mount Ouray proper. On the right is a photo
of the ridge leading up to the summit. I still had a long way to go after reaching the base
of the ridge, 1,300' to be exact. Miraculously, the clouds had parted and the wind had ceased,
almost an exact replica of my experience on Humboldt Peak. Hiking upward and onward, the ridge
was a bit of a talus scramble in sections, with snow interspersed along the route. Eventually,
a headwall of granite greeted me about two-thirds of the way up. This was easily traversed on the
East (right) side, and the remainder of the ridge became more blocky with large talus.
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Reaching the summit around noon, I didn't stay too long because I saw more snow
coming in from the west. I tried to hurry down the ridge as fast as possible, but
the snow on the talus made for a slippery and lengthy descent. Arriving at the base
of the ridge once again, conditions became near white-out. The snow was intense, and
a few lightning strikes to the South convinced me to traverse slightly below the ridge
back to treeline. After an hour, the sun came back out, but it was still snowing - it
was strikingly beautiful. I think I made the right decision in peak selection,
because I couldn't see the Sangre de Cristos (being hammered with more snow) all day.
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