| The San Juans |
| Mt. Sneffels--Well, it's July 1, 2004. I have been up to Mt. Sneffels 3 times this year, and have yet to make it to the top. I went with a new friend from Alaska who had not climbed mountains before and decided that at least that day they weren't for him. I have been looking for a new, to me, route up the North side of Mt. Sneffels the last couple of weeks, but there is still too much snow. There are a lot of good climbing sites, but this will be my review. I first attempted to climb Mt. Sneffels in 1973 and finally made it to the top in 1974. This was in interesting summit for my father and I. After several attempts, before we knew there was a good trail to the top, we neared the top on an overcast day and little visibility. We knew we were at the top when we found the register. Of course, nothing seemed higher. There were so many clouds that we couldn't see much. I knew (a few years later) that we should have turned around on that trip. We both made it to the top with our hair standing straight up and sparks shooting out the top For the most part my next several trips were fairly uneventful. I have now climbed Mt. Sneffels 13 times. Windom, Eolus, and Sunlight. I group these three together because that is how I climbed them, and since it is easiest to take the Durange & Silverton narrow guage railroad in it is pretty expensinve to climb them at different times. I climbed these peaks in early July 2001. I was fortunate enough to meet a gentleman who had ridden the train, but we didn't meet until about 1 mile up the trail. His name is George. We are quite likely to climb again, and we did North Maroon together on July 27,2001. North maroon was my final peak. Our climb up Eolus was the most interesting of the group. As we neared the top there were thunderclouds to the South and we could see lightening. I then heard the rocks singing. It got quite loud as we neared the top, but the lightening strikes stayed a safe distance away. We did not spend enough time at the top to even sign the register. I had learned a little since my Mt. Sneffels experience. We descended to the little saddle and then climbed North Eolus. This is a pretty easy climb, and only added about 10 minutes to the adventure. We returned to our campsite below Twin Lakes where I found a mountain goat had stepped on my sunglasses. The goats are extremely tame here, and no doubt they would have eaten out of your hand. They will definately eat out of your pack, and anything else you set down. They enjoy the salt from your sweat (and you will be--camp is about a 7 mile hike from the train stop), and will eat your pack, tent, anything you leave behind if it was close to you. After spending the night in Chicago Basin we arose the next morning at 4am. This is a good time to start hiking, and we reached the summit of Sunlight at about 8. It was georgeous. We got to Windom shortly thereafter, and returned to the train stop. We were fortunate enough to catch an earler train then we had planned so enjoyed a marvelous meal at Denny's in Durango before I came back to Montrose, and George returned to Colorado Springs. Mt. Wilson, Wilson Peak, and El Diente--I grouped these together because they are close together. I have climed them a couple times, not always to the top, and didn't do them all in one day The first time I climbed here I went with Dick. We made it to Rock of Ages pass and then I went on ahead. I climbed Mt. Wilson--my first class 4 peak, and then started across the ridge to El Diente. I decided to turn back, and fell near the top. Stopped quite a ways down, but not much the worse for wear. I then went over towards Wilson Peak, but made it to the sub summit only. Arrived back at the car around 6 in the evening. About 3 weeks later I climbed Wilson Peak and then went to El Diente. The weather was bad so no picture from the top of El Diente. I went back earlier this year (2001) and made it to 13,800 feet on Mt. Wilson, but then the snow caused Gil and I to turn around. I have now climbed Wilson Peak and the ridge to El Diente. This was a pretty specatuacular route, but the coulour coming down is still a pain--I prefer actual rock climbing to slipping. Sunshine and Redcloud. I have to comment on these two mountains before I stop for this evening. I climbed these with my good friend Mary. We 'met' on the internet and climbed what was our first peak of the season in 2000 *Lindsey Peak). I had climbed both of these peaks twice before, but again it was our first peaks of the season this year (2001). We met at the turnoff to Lake City and arrived at the trailhead about 8 in the morning. We took some great pictures of our surroundings so you will have to come back to see them. There was still a lot of snow toward the top of the mountain, but we were not troubled by the snow. Silver Creek was very silver, and also very cold--it had ice on it in the moring. The ice frozen on the grass and on the rocks made for a beautiful sight on the way up. Coming down the ice had melted. Handies Peak--I have climbed this peak 3 times, but I really enjoy it. This is a wonderful beginner peak. The trail is easy to follow. It can be reached easily with a regular car. The trail is only about 1 1/2 mile long, and you can see the whole route from your car (almost). The views are wonderful. I have several pictures, and will publish them soon. Wetterhorn Peak--I had a rather easy go at this peak. As with all mountians the weather can change rapidly. I arrived at the top in beautiful sunshine, but coming down hit a storm. It wasn't so bad excpet my daughter's dog ran away. This caused some hurt feelings, but I think the dog is probably all right. The peak itself is pretty easy except for the last about 200 yeards where there is a lot of exposure on some pretty slick rock. The dog didn't like it, and got totally discombobulated. I made it to the top and down in about 2 1/2 hours. Have been up a couple more times now. Always a thrill and as all San Juans--beautiful views. Uncopaghre Peak--This is the monarch of the region. This is a nice climb and if you are lucky you will see a large herd of elk. I did anyway. I climbed this with my father. I also climbed this with my son. If your son, like mine, wants more of a challenge there is plenty of challenge available--the easiest route is farily long, and goes up a long way. The top is farily flat with a huge drop on the North side. Hold onto something when you look over the edge. San Luis Peak--Angela went with me on thes peak. She stopped about tree line and watched as I went the rest of the way. This has a long hike into it, but it is easy. The road to the trailhead will take longer than the climb does. I was following a group of people to the top. We arrived about the same time, and they said they were glad I was behind them. When I asked why, they said they weren't sure they were on the right mountain. I was glad they were ahead of me for the same reason. We all agreed it looked like there were higher peaks around us, but there aren't, and there was a register there. It was very strange, but that happens in the mountains. |
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