|
I met Chris Spahr when we were weathered off of Mount Shavano a month
previous to the set climbs we were undertaking this weekend. We planned a semi-hardcore weekend to climb three peaks in three days. Wetterhorn was the first in
this three peak assault. We departed from Denver Friday around 5:15 pm and got
stranded just a few miles outside of Denver for a hour due to rockfall by the
highway 285/highway 8 junction. Our arrival at Matterhorn Creek was somewhat
late at 11:30 pm, and it was rather chilly. I wasn’t able to sleep well because of the temperature dropping overnight. We rose at 5:30 and were on the trail at 6:15. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long to get warmed up on the switchbacks. On the right
is a picture of Wetterhorn from Matterhorn Creek Trailhead before leaving the trail.
|  |
 |
There was a small trail to the left leading up the Southeast slope, but it looked
like it fizzled out under some snowfields. We decided to continue North on the main
trail to a snow-bridge crossing the creek, which from that vantage point the route seemed
to follow the topo more accurately. After a half hour or so of hiking up into the basin, we reached a slope that led up to the Southeast ridge. There were some sizable snowfields to cross on the way up, and the snow was in excellent condition for climbing. We passed a
high camp that a couple had set up just below the saddle, which meant a cold night for them. One more snowfield was crossed before we reached the ridge, which was an expansive area at its base. On the left is a view up the ridge from this point.
|
|
Relatively mellow hiking existed for a good stretch up the ridge. The views of
Matterhorn and Uncompahgre were fantastic. After about 400 yards, the trail splits and
some cairns mark a route to the left. In my typical route-finding error, I chose the route
to the right, believing it to be the main route. It turned out not to be a serious mistake, as
it added only a few class 3 sections which otherwise could have been avoided. On the right is a view of the route we took up to the ridge about 100 yards from the bad route-
finding decision. After scrambling over this section, there was an intricate ledge system
without too much exposure that we traversed to a high notch that intersects with the
correct route on scree slopes. |
 |
 |
After joining up with the correct route, a broad gully led up to the notch near the
shark-fin tower. I took a look around and couldn't figure out for the life of me where
the climbing line was. I couldn't imagine climbing up the cracks to the right, and after climbing into the notch for a second time for a closer inspection, I noticed the slab to downclimb and reach the crux. Abandoning our ice axes, Chris and I began the crux section. This was really fun and solid (see photo on left). In retrospect, I think we encountered our own crux earlier due to my route-finding. After 100 feet or so of scrambling upward, the summit appeared very abruptly.
|
|
The views of the whole San Juan Range were striking. Sneffels, Teakettle, Potosi, and the Wilson group were quite visible to the west. Coxcomb Peak was impressive as well (photo on right from the summit of Wetterhorn). We descended the correct route
down the ridge and I enjoyed a really nice glissade down the snowfield. We were off to
Lake City to see the Avalanche game and arrived with perfect timing at the Quiet Moose. We were feeling well after the game and made a late afternoon attempt on Uncompahgre but turned back to save it for Sunday morning after some clouds rolled in.
|  |