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Originally planning to take on several peaks in the La Garita Range, Leah and I found that Eastern access to Stewart Creek was closed 25+ miles from the trailhead until May 30. A drive past Lake City late into the night after turning around landed us at Mill Creek Campground. We decided to try what we thought would be a mellow hike to Handies summit Saturday morning from Grizzly Gulch. The snow above treeline proved fatal to our attempt, as we were posting chest-deep up to 12,300'. Sunday morning looked to be more promising for Sunshine Peak after bumping into Ryan and Erin Saturday afternoon, who reported that snow conditions were good. Starting at 7:00 a.m., we departed Mill Creek (photo on right). The route traverses several cliffbands and has a good trail all the way to the grass slope on the East Ridge. The steepness was immediately apparent, as was my experience in December.
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Following the trail ever upwards, we began to notice dark clouds to the South. We pushed on to minimize our time, as the Handies group had given us grief before in July '00. At treeline (photo on left), I was pleased to see that the slabby snow slope had all but disappeared since my last San Juan outing. We took a moment to apply gaiters and drink. A few 20' to 30' lengths of snow were easily traveled thanks to the tracks left by our friends the previous day. The ridge was very gentle, and seemed quite short to reach the Northeast slope leading to the East Ridge proper. The route up, however, was tough, and Leah was beginning to feel fatigued. With the impending storm, I was uncertain about either of us making it to the summit. I took a rest before the talus slope and evaluated the speed of the clouds coming from seemingly all directions.
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I made a decision to kick it into high gear up the talus (photo on right). The steepness was slightly annoying, as the composition of the slope was in rather small pieces prone to sliding. About 1/2 way up, a trail became available, though it was not much help. It began to get a little windy at around 13,300', and most of the thoughts occupying my mind were revolving around getting up and back down. Leah ascended at the best pace she could, and we both wouldn't have had any problems if not for the weather. Finally, I was within reach of the tiny saddle of the North to East section of the Ridge. There was virtually no snow to this point, and I thought about how dangerous this route would have been in December with 3' deep loose snow. I was glad I didn't try to push on back then.
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 | The clouds were still fairly far off in the distance. It was 11:00 at this point, and I was optimistic. The remainder of the route started out with a bit of post-holing, but then more small talus dominated the route (photo on right). I was slightly concerned with the view of the last 30 vertical feet, as it appeared that the ascent traversed over a South-facing cornice. After much heavy breathing to move as quickly as possible, I attained the section I was concerned about. Two pushes put me on the summit, which was surprisingly small and covered with rotten snow. Clouds were rolling in from the Northeast over Redcloud (photo below), and I didn't waste any time getting down off the ridge. I met Leah just above treeline, as she had already began her descent. Once off the ridge, I was relieved to be back below the trees.
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Then it started to hail. It never became too serious, but there was enough thunder from above to convince me that I got down just in time. The route down was uneventful, except for a slightly off-route class 3 talus traverse due to losing the trail. This did not make my wife very happy with me. Leah had enough of failed attempts and my poor route selection for the weekend, So I was to be solo for my attempt of 13,832' Monday.
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