Still taking advantage of the lack of snowfall in Colorado, I set out on the road early to bag another Sawatch peak. I was thinking this would be a short day from Denny Creek. Arriving at 7:30 a.m., I planned on returning to the trailhead at noon. The trail started out somewhat steep but soon leveled off going through the trees. There were a few icy spots along the way, but definitely not anything to worry about. The creek was frozen in a few spots with water running around and over them, enhancing the scenery. The ground was frozen too, which later turned to mud. After switchbacking to the top of the southwest slopes and reaching treeline, you finally get an idea of where the trail is taking you. On the right is a view of the Sawatch range to the south from around 12,000'.
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At this point, Mt. Yale reveals itself as the highest of the three peaks to the north. The remainder of the route becomes a battle up talus that is a lot longer than it looks. On the left is a view of the remaining 2,000' of elevation gain left. The trail is somewhat ill-defined up here, and the snowfields do not aid in routefinding. It is obvious what direction to take, however, and there are several trails that intersect any chosen path. There is a trail to the west of the line where the trail sarts up the talus that switchbacks up to the ridge, but I didn't find it until descending. Otherwise, the path is a long and steep one (for class 2 hiking). It was a welcome event to reach the west ridge, but it took over an hour to get there from treeline. Upon reaching the west ridge, a little planning of routefinding was necessary before proceeding.
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From the outset of the ridge hike, there were a few pseudo-Class 3 moves to be made due to the snow/ice consolidation along the logical path up the ridge. There wasn't much exposure to speak of, but the only lines to continue from involved some narrow areas requiring hand holds and some overall-body maneuvering. The season can definitely impact the grade and class of a climb, as I've learned so well with some of my past experiences (i.e. Mount Lindsey and Crestone Needle) as well. The ridge doesn't take too long, and soon I was on the summit. Then again, this was the first time climbing in my new Columbia Snowskiing pants (cheaper and more efficient than commercial grade climbing pants designed for winter). A tradeoff; later on the way down, I was starting to feel quite hot and somewhat constrained.
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The weather this day was outstanding, not experiencing a cold feeling at all until after spending a good amount of time on the summit. The views of the Sawatch range and a good measure of the other Fourteeners are striking. It is said that 30 of Colorado's 54 Fourteeners are visible from the summit. Can you name them all? To my disappointment, I wasn't able to find a summit register after looking for quite some time and doing some digging in the snow. I was able to get some insight for my next planned climb (Mt. Columbia) for the year with the excellent views of Columbia and Harvard to the North. Unfortunately, a lot of snow fell after Thanksgiving and continued for several weeks. I reluctantly gave up on that prospect.
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