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After finishing up the move to Colorado to New Mexico, I thought I'd start out with an easy one to ensure success. The route description I was relying on was using the Monte Cristo trailhead. Little did I know, this trailhead was eliminated due to private property ownership (this also occured when I climbed Mt. Sherman later the same month); something that really bothers me. For instance, Culebra Peak - 14,069' is entirely privately owned and cannot be climbed unless you have permission, belong to the Colorado Mountain Club, and is close to your 54th (last) fourteener (you also have to be able to do it the one day of the year they let climbers on the property). I took some time to figure out where the route had relocated to, but it is near McCullough Gulch Trailhead.
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The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative had taken over the project to construct the new trail. I can say they did a pretty good job. It is called simply 'Quandary Peak Trail'. So after the confusion, I was really anxious to get going. This was somewhat different from other Fourteeners I have climbed because the route is almost a straight shot towards the summit. The Monte Cristo trail is supposed to be 5.4 miles round trip, gaining 3,370' of elevation. I'm sure that the elevation gain was nearly the same. I think the distance may be shorter, however. On the upper left is a shot of Mounts Lincoln, Bross, and Democrat from near the summit of Quandary Peak.
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I was amazed at how quickly the hike was going, having taken only 2 hours to reach the summit. I was seriously considering climbing the Lincoln Ampitheater later this day to climb two Fourteeners with at least 3,000' elevation gain each in one day (a feat I later accomplished climbing Tabeguache and Antero the same day). I tried the first half of the Ampitheater and decided to save it for another day as clouds were rolling in. I later realized that Lincoln Ampitheater, although short, was more time-consuming than I thought (see Mt. Lincoln's trip report). This is the easiest Fourteener I have summited to date.
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