Vermilion Peak 13,894' 08/12/05

I drove down to Ouray with Leah and the baby Thursday after work with hopes of checking off the three peaks of two counties left in the San Juans, and to attend Ryan and Erin's wedding Saturday. The rainfall on the drive down was horrendous, and I began to question attempting Vermilion in the morning. I got to sleep at about 1:00 am, and drove to the Mineral Creek TH at 5:00 am. I got started at 6:10 in foggy weather, wearing boots for the first time in many months in case of snow. This decision would make the rest of the trip more difficult since I developed a serious blister on my left heel. On the left, a waterfall soon greets hikers on the trail to Ice Lake. Good views of East Twin Sister are had as the trail steeply switchbacks up the basin. The previous evening's precipitation made the going very wet in the thick vegetation along the trail once past the steeper terrain. I converted pants into shorts in short order. The trail crosses water several times, and for this reason only was I happy I had boots on rather than running shoes. The trail levels out for while before heading up adjacent to a diagonally flowing waterfall. At the top of this steep set of switchbacks, the first glimpses of Ice Lake Basin command attention. "V 4" comes into view before the dramatic panorama that is Pilot Knob (photo on right).
	The vantage from Ice Lake is definitely unique and is understandably the primary destination for most who venture this far on the trail. Heading southwest, mining remnants and buildings line the slopes before scree (photo on left shows screefields and Vermilion Peak rising above) and talus dominate the lower flanks of Vermilion and Golden Horn. I was pleased that the weather had been continuing to improve based on forecasts for dreary rain all day. The approach to the base of the ascent to the Fuller - Vermilion saddle is straight-forward, and I am somehow not very pleased to see there is only low-angle snow at the base. Ice axe and boots have thus been superfluous, but I guess as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
The ascent on the snow required no special attention, and I was surprised at how stable the scree slope actually was after that. With experiences in the area on much worse terrain, the dinner plate rock went smoothly (Hesperus would certainly make up for this good fortune later in the trip) and was on a trail of sorts. At the top, a few tiny cornices remained closer to Fuller. I left the ice axe here, and began contouring around Vermilion's South Ridge. The route is obvious and remains more of a hike until just after traversing crumbly ledges, which end at the base of a dirt (mud in this case) gully. About 100' of light scrambling later the class 2+ summit pyramid is the only portion left. There is a lot of scree scattered on the relatively stable talus.
	The small summit affords awesome views of the surrounding peaks, most notably, Rolling Mountain, Grizzly Peak, San Miguel Peak, the Wilsons, and of course Golden Horn and Pilot Knob to the north. Weather was holding up at 10:00 when I arrived back at the Fuller - Vermilion saddle, though too many other factors were working against me to make an attempt on Golden Horn, not the least of which was a bleeding heel. The descent was fast albeit uncomfortable, arriving at the TH at 12:50. The wedding Saturday was fantastic with such unique food and an ideal setting a few miles north of Ridgway. Thus we headed down to Durango Saturday night. Hesperus Mountain and Lavender Peak were the morning agendas Sunday and Monday.