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Ken Nolan joined us at the Spruce Creek trailhead at 6:00 a.m. It was considerably colder than the previous weekend, consistent with forecasts. We packed on the snowshoes before setting out, which would never touch the ground this day. We walked up the trail on hard-packed snow up to the Wheeler Trail, where we turned to head toward Francie's Cabin. I wasn't aware of this spot's popularity with skiers - odd to see so many people inside a cabin gawking so far away from a paved road. The snow had already started once we were above the cabin, and the wind had started earlier. We discussed the possible ascent options with Ken, and traversed up the drainage to a spot where an ascent straight up Peak 10's East Ridge was possible (photo on right).
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As we encountered rocks on the slope, Ken shared his wealth of knowledge on lichen species, identifying and explaining the often overlooked evidences of their presence. The slope was steep, and time consuming - for the most part because of clothing adjustments. The temperature was very sporadic owing to changes in wind speed and cloud cover. We arrived at a decision point near the ridge crest at a large snowfield. Ken took the opportunity to teach us some invaluable points about route selection before we ascended the snow. We arrived on the broad ridge proper at just over 13,000', at the base of a steep broad section of this ridge. Erin is shown on the left ascending the slope.
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The slope took some careful placement of kick-steps because the snow was so hard - probably better suited for crampons and an ice axe vs. ski poles. Once atop the snow slope on the ridge, the rest of the route was visible (somewhat - photo on right). We took our time following the gentle ridge in the high wind and cold to the base of the next steeper portion of ridge. The ridge here was highly covered and corniced with hard snow at a steep angle to our left as we ascended. A few sections gave us some trouble because steps could not be kicked at all; a slip would certainly have been unpleasant. The temperature seemed to be on the rise just as we were reaching the summit, and then the wind began again. We arrived at 10:30 a.m. with ample time for Crystal Peak or Peak 9.
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I perused the register and signed us in, noticing one familiar name - Mark Milburn.
We discussed our options for Crystal Peak or Peak 9, and given the weather, opted to descend to the saddle between Crystal and Peak 10 to start heading down and avoid the difficulties we encountered on the way up. With one arm in use do to a recent injury on Grays Peak, this was the right choice for Ken. We easily could have made Crystal Peak from the saddle, but we were not enjoying the weather enough for the hike up and back to have been enjoyable. Hopefully our lack of motivation didn't come as too much of a disappointment for Ken. Our descent was a little tricky once we were down on the summer trail that traverses the scree slope, requiring steep snowfield traverses and a glissade or steep scree descent to arrive in the drainage again. Once down our hike out was quite pleasant with exception to a few unpredictable postholes. This was the coldest day I had experienced hiking since February 2003, and the most snow I have voluntarily continued on in. It was great to meet and hike with Ken.
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