Surrounded by private property, but in Jefferson County
Open Space, the way up this somewhat insignifcant summit is not that
obvious. I found a small parking lot to start from the previous day on
Soda Lakes Road just off C470 on the Morrison exit. I figured this trip
would just be a grunt of 700' vertical - up and down. It turned out to be
a bit more challenging than I had anticipated due to the weekend's storm
and below-freezing temperature. The problems began near the ridge crest,
which I had been slightly too eager to attain. Trekking poles were
essential for the majority of the route. Acquiring the ridge a third of a
mile from the summit meant a lot of bushwhacking to avoid iced-over slabs
which were one-way tickets to busted ass. The intermittent 4" of snow on
rock was helpful at times to avoid slippage, but other times merely
disguised the ice underneath. On the right, easier terrain is shown along
the bushwhacking path southward. Finally at the summit, I saw that there
was an easier way up (which I already guessed by now) than I took. Mt.
Morrison and Red Rocks were uncharacteristically pristine in appearance
with the dusting of snow from the previous day.
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