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I had a vendetta with this peak after turning back 200' from the summit back
in February. This time around, I was betting that the road would be passable up
to the radio towers. Eliminating 2000+ feet from the climb would certainly
improve my chances for success. This proved to be correct, but it was a cold
day with very little visibility (photo on right). Also, I had previously
attempted the winter ridge route that involved a lot of postholing down in
between talus, and returned the east slopes trail, which I would be attempting
this time around. At a pullout a few hundred
yards from the towers, I parked and sorted my pack and equipment, getting
started at 7:30 am. The road was clear of snow except for a few patches,
and I was making steady progress. All of the vegetation was coated with a thick
layer of frost, giving an ethereal appearance to the surroundings. |
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I reached the trail that branches of the road in about half an hour.
While I could only see 30 yards ahead, the trail was very distinct. I was a little
apprehensive about spotting the correct point to abandon the trail and head to
the ridge, as I couldn't tell where I was in relation to it. On the talus slope
portion of the trail, I found myself quite grateful for the cold temperatures and
lack of sunlight. The snow was in perfect condition for climbing, and I didn't
experience a single postholing incident all day. I didn't remember this portion
of the route being so long (i.e. before ascending to the ridge), but soon found
bare dirt from braided trails to my left. Approaching the ridge was much easier
than the last time I attempted this climb, as the snowpack was much more shallow.
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Upon reaching the ridge, there was an interesting howling that led me to
avoid the ridge for the rest of the ascent. At around 13,400', I broke above
the clouds and anything higher than that altitude was sticking up through the
clouds as well, appearing almost like a photo from Himalayan expeditions. The ridge
climb went by fairly quickly, but it was somewhat unpleasant (like most Class 2
Sawatch climbs) picking your way up through the loose talus with no definable
trail. I was able to avoid the wind for the majority of the ascent, but my hair
was frozen and stiff (this was a new one for me). I reached the highest point
I attained my on last attempt in about 2 hours from my starting time (it took
six hours to get there the last time). In another ten minutes I could see the summit
cairns and was feeling good.
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It was very cold on top, and I found myself fumbling around to open the
summit register. I was actually surprised to find one, since I hadn't been
able to find one on any of my climbs since October. In fact, the register was
just replaced recently by the CMC. I was hoping to get a good shot of Mt. Yale
from the summit to add to my collection, but the cloudy weather compromised the
vantage point to some degree. Heading back down was a little less pleasant than the
ascent due to the nature of the talus, but I eventually found my way back to the trail.
The total time for the climb was faster than I had anticipated, at under four hours.
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