Fall Colors near Kebler Pass
Fall Colors near Kebler Pass |
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| A family weekend in Crested Butte seemed like the best plan to get some good aspen viewing and a peak in. We drove from Carbondale along the McClure Pass Road and incredible aspen vistas on the way to Crested Butte, en route snapping shots of many of Colorado's 100 most prominent peaks. I woke at 5:30 the following morning and departed from the Grand Lodge to the end of a road on the topo that appears to be the best eastern access to Whetstone Mountain. Not seeing any signs indicating trespassing, I decided parking at an empty vacant lot at the end of the road would not pose a problem. I had trouble initally finding the trail, but kept going in the general direction indicated on my GPS and came to a very wide trail. I followed it to the first branch left on a smaller trail heading south. After a quarter mile or so, the route starts to go west as expected sooner than that. A few mining shacks remain here. I continued to follow the trail to a small lake (Whetstone's North slopes are shown in the photo on the right from the lake), where the trail disappears on the west side. | |
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After some bushwhacking and sidehilling to get above the trees on the north side of the peak, a gully appeared that was hard to pass up, even though the appoach I intended was further west. On the left, the route I took to the North Ridge is shown. Treeline was surprisingly low here, at 10,700', likely as it would be an avalanche path. I stayed to the left of the gully's center and endured a very steep 1,400 vertical feet, much like a prolonged stair-master workout. It was necessary to take a few breaks as the assault was monotonous and seemingly unrelenting. It was a little chilly upon exiting the gully, with a fair amount of wind. The ridge is interestingly bifurcated at its apex, and permanent snow could be found in its crack. The false summit above afforded an incredible panorama of the expansive West Elk Range complimented by each of the Elk Range 14ers visible to the northeast. |
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The remainder of the ridge is featured on the right, which I quickly maneuvered to reach the summit at 8:10. I made the descent in quick time, and found a few shortcuts using the zig-zags of GPS tracks. Everything went really well with this hike up to the point when I saw my vehicle was no longer parked in the spot I left it. At 10:05 the Mount Crested Butte Police showed up and gave me a petty offense ticket for trespassing. Thankfully the officer gave me a ride to my towed vehicle and suggested I fight it out in court due to the signage problem. Despite the post-hike problems, the weekend was still worthwhile.
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