| Originally planned as a Squaretop-Argentine-Wilcox hike, things were awry from the minute I turned off my alarm at 5:00 a.m. to be woken at past six with a telephone call from Kurt and Ryan parked at my house. The Guanella Pass road was better than we were hoping for, that is, until Kurt's Tahoe was making a lot of noise on the rear passenger side from a flat. Changing out the spare was one of the more interesting parts of the day (ice and broken jack). A late start didn't impact our chances for success, as the day was plagued with high wind to begin with. To salvage what we could of the day, we meandered up the East slopes with moderate and short-lived post-holing (photo on right). | |
| The wind was becoming a factor moreso with elevation gain. At the saddle below the Northeast slope featured in the photo on the left, we crouched down and marvelled at how far we could get blown with each attempt to stand up and continue. Snowshoes on our packs would have been detrimental. Ryan had measured 60 mph+ wind. The thought crossed my mind several times to bail, and had I done this peak previously (as Ryan had) I wouldn't hesitate to do so. Argentine and Wilcox were out of the question at this point, though probably not impossible. The conditions gradually improved with each push up the slope away from the saddle. Soon, the elevation portion of the hike was nearing its conclusion, and the breathing was easier. |
| With a good bit of wind still present, and beer not within our grasp, we didn't waste much time getting back down - just long enough to get some photos (Grays and Torreys on right). Even with the conditions, it was nice to be on higher peaks again, and I finally got started on the bicentennials - I don't yet have aspirations to complete that list with 3,000' minimum gain per peak; spoken like a true hypocrit. The few sections of possible mini-glissades were pathetic at best, and Kurt didn't even bother. Surprisingly, this hike took a lot out of me - which likens to poetic justice for County highpointing below treeline for most outings lately, though this was still not as exhausting as 11k in the San Juans two weeks earlier. | |