PWS Fourteener Log

(1) Pikes Peak - 14Sep80 - With Grant Salmonson, Larry Anderson, David Blythe, Keith Young, Dave Perry
Leave bottom of Barr trail at 7AM. Arrive at top at 2. Leave top at 2:45 - arrive at bottom ~ 8 PM in the dark. Cold at the top - first 14er - only been in the Springs a month. Came home and took a hot bath. (Note: Will eventually learn to call it "summit", not "top".)

(2) Mt. of the Holy Cross - 10Aug85 - With HP folks - drive up with Joel Birch and Wally
Rough road from the highway. Backpacked over Half Moon Pass. Hike to summit was long and steady - not too tough. Sang "Wandering Shepherd" on sunny return to camp, then backpack out with Joel.

(3) Mt. Lindsey - 09Aug86 - With HP folks & Anne Driesbach
Rough 4-wheel ride into Huerfano river valley. Camped out night before in new Northface VE24 tent. Fairly tricky colouir plus steep rock face. Do not remember any real danger, though most folks talk about it as being tough. Beautiful day. Not everyone made it to the summit. 4 hrs up / 4 hrs down.

(4) Mt. Yale - 28Aug86 - With Anne Driesbach
Camped out at Collegiate Peaks campground in borrowed sleeping bag. No technical, no exposure, just a lot of steep walking. Good view of other 14ers. Kite flying attempt at the top. Fairly good weather. Up in 3:40, down in 2:30.

(5) Mt. Windom
(6) Sunlight Peak - 30Aug86 - With Chicago Basin gang: Anne, JP & Rox, Sharon, Brian, Dave, Gloria, Kirk and Sylvana
Hike up to Twin Lakes was steep. Saw herd of mountain goats at Twin Lakes including "Big Daddy". Steady climb to Windom - where views were good but kinda scary. Lots of sliding rock on the glissade to the low saddle between Windom and Sunlight. Some folks went back.

Anne, Dave, Gloria, Kirk, Brian and I scrambled up to Sunlight with the help of cairns. Had to hoist in some places including "keyhole". Only Dave and Kirk did the friction climb to the highest point. Weather was impending but soon broke. Happy hike back to camp - good feeling of victory. Good pictures.

(7) Huron Peak - 04Jul87 - With Anne, Chuck & Amy Barton
Backpacked into Hamilton from Winfield after a wrong turn! Road to Winfield is a good road. Took the steepest route up Huron, from the west and almost turned around due to intimidation. Much falling rock. Finally to the summit in very good weather. Descent was to the southwest scree fields.

Sparklers on the summit. Backpack back out to Winfield - quite a long day - was zonked. Advice to future climbers: don't take the western approach. Biked the next day up to Maroon Bells.

(!) Mt. Columbia Attempt - 02Aug87 - With Anne
Four Elk road is now a private game reserve. Took road to the north of Four Elk. Crossed Frenchman Creek and bushwhacked 1.5 hrs before happening upon Harvard trail. Took trail into Frenchmen Creek basin. Began ascent of Columbia, ran out of energy, water and good weather at about 13,400.

Turned around, had to bushwhack again, luckily found same creek crossing and easily found car. A tough day - really tired, next time try Horn Fork basin.

(8) Grays Peak
(9) Torreys Peak - 08Aug87 - With HP folks. Rode up with Bill and Karen Furch
2.5 hrs to summit of Grays on very good trail. Cold weather & clouds. 45 min easy traversal of saddle to Torreys. Good view.

Descend past snow field and pick up trail to summit of Grays. Easy access from I-70, road passable in passenger car. Total round trip time = 5 hrs. Easiest 14ers so far.

(10) Mt. Harvard - 06Aug87 - With Jim & Roxane
Semi-rough ride 5 miles to trail head in car. Backpack into Horn Fork Basin up to Bear Lake (not worth it). Easy climb from Bear Lake to summit in 1:45. Trail almost all the way to the top. No technical, very visible, mild-fun scramble last 50 feet.

Good view of Belford, Oxford and of course Columbia. Hazy due to CA forest fires. Seemingly long backpack out. Good view of Yale which dominates the south end of Horn Fork. Lost trail for a little while on the way in due to avalanche. Could have climbed Columbia also by descending Harvard's east side.Note: Sleeping at 11000 ft is difficult due to thin air.

(11) Mt. Democrat
(12) Mt. Lincoln
(13) Mt. Bross - 19Sep87 - With Judi Ulrey
Take a left in Alma on a nice road up to Kite Lake Campground. Trail very easy, a nice autumn day but STRONG winds made temps very cold and unpleasant. Backtrack from Democrat, over Cameron Peak to Lincoln.

Then backtrack to broad saddle up to Bross. Back down directly from Bross to Kite Lake via gentle chute. Three in one day. Only walking required. "The Wind Blows" - someday a song.

(!) Wilson Peak Attempt - 17Jun88 - With Luke Cammack
Take road to Silver Pick mine, cross creek, drive rough road up to mine. Stopped 1/4 mile short of mine because road was getting rough. Not good for a car.

Snow fields a little tricky. Weather moving in as terrain was getting very scary. Decided to turn around, took snow chute as a quick exit. Very fun, very quick, very wet. Try again someday.

(14) Missouri Mountain - 03Jul88 - With Amy, Luke, Kim, Steve, Michael Davidson
Start from Vicksburg, well marked trail. First couple miles into basin is a lot of hard work. Walk almost to end of basin then turn right. Four handed climbing up rock was a hassle. Almost turned around. Continued up to ridge.

Quick ridge running easily up to summit. Perhaps ridge could be gained easier by making a harder right turn (more north). Easy descent. Only a mild threat of weather

(15) Mt. Elbert - 21Jul88 - With Amy
Stayed at Lakeview campground the night before. Very nice. Trailhead marked well. Walked a mile into forest then took a wrong turn. The turnoff on the map is much further than the "105" sign, which is where we took the wrong turn. We were on a nice road that led to the ___________ mine.

We could see Mt. Elbert from the mine across a couple of sizable valleys. Down into the first valley and up to ridge. Then down again. Amy & our two hiking buddies (who encouraged the wrong turn) climed up high on the left-hand ridge to a false-summit.

I descended and then climbed straight up a chute to the ridge leading north to the summit. Met Amy there and trudged to the summit. Descended the correct route where the proper turn became very visible. Trail to Elbert summit connects with trail to Lakeview CG and trail to Halfmoon campground. A cloudless sky caused sunburn and parched throat. But the tallest Colorado 14er was "in the bag".

(16) Castle Peak - 22Jul88 - With Amy
Drive to Ashcroft, turn right(?) then drive as far as possible. Start walking up road to Pearl Pass & Montezuma Mine. Continue on road to Montezuma. Basic road walking. Another hot day. Passed by 2 4x4s at 12K, caught up with them and followed them to the summit.

Summit not visible from the end of the road, must climb up (snow filled) area. Once in basin, can climb left or right. We climbed up to the left (kindof airy) and down to the right. A little easier and then down huge snow field. Might have been tough to climb up the snow. Enormous view from the summit. Hitched a ride back to car from 12K with 4x4 friends.

(17) Mt. Belford
(18) Mt. Oxford - 30Jul88 - With Amy & Steve
Heavy rains the night before. Stayed at Placer Inn. Hike into basin seemed easer this time, good pace, better shape. Up to Belford was a grind, ten minutes at a time. Then over to Oxford as weather was moving in.

Climb back over Belford was tiring for Steve and Paul. Almost 7000 ft vertical gain! Weather didn't materialize, easy climb down. No scary climbing all day. One third of the fourteeners done!

(19) La Plata Peak - 16Jul89 - With Karen Cornwell
Drove up Sat eve, camped at Twin Lakes Campground about 8mi east of trailhead. Trailhead is at turnoff to South fork of Lake Creek, across bridge. Walked unnecessary mile until we realized our error, then found "unmarked" path that led to creek crossing. Creek crossing no big deal. Hiked with Bill, Brooks and Scott most of the way.

Dropped camera down east slope... it tumbled all the way down but survived. Some bouldering on the way up, came down a little more south in nice scree. Recommend going up on the boulders and down on the scree. A nice view of other fourteeners (Elbert, Sherman) Karen was a real trooper, her first 14er! Nice weather. Ascent: 7:15->12:00 Descent: 1:00->3:30

(20) San Luis Peak - 23Jul89 - With 1st Pres recreational ministries, Dick Robinson et al
Drove 4 hrs on pavement and 1 hr on dirt to Stewart Creek trailhead. LONG drive! Road passable in cars, thought we didn't take the book route. Used "Gunnision National Forest" map. Backpacked 4 mi (3 hrs) to just below tree line. Camp spot to summit about 2 hrs. Very easy hike, very straightforward. Return to camp - 1 hr. Backpack out - 1.5 hr. Some rain on backpack in. Only threatening rain on climb, hike out. Stewart Peak sure looks like a 14er!

(21) Blanca Peak
(22) Ellingwood Peak - 04Aug89 - With HP gang + Laurie
Drive 3:15 to Hwy 150, turn toward the Sand Dunes. Car made it about 2 miles. 4WD made it about another 2 miles. Backpack into Como Lake. Arrived in the dark. Hike up around several small lakes into a bowl between Blanca/Ellingwood. A small spot of difficulty cause we climbed off to the right. Then good rocks to the top, summit not easily visible. Face of Ellingwood looks vertical. Descend to about 13,500 then up the face of Ellingwood, good rock, not too steep, well marked with cairns, about 45 minutes. From Ellingwood, face of Blanca looks vertical!

Nice temps on both summits. Good view of rough and rocky Little Bear peak. Descend back into basin. Round trip about 6 hrs. Backpack back to car, since other campers stayed Sat nite. A nice challenge for Laurie who had only done two easy 14ers. Lots of mosquitos at Como Lake. (Rest of party successfully climbed Little Bear next day without me :^(

(23) Humboldt Peak - 12Aug89 - With Kirk Nelson & Jim Perruso
Drove via Westcliffe to Wet Mountains, road to South Colony Lakes passable in 4WD, NOT in a car. Drove ~5 miles to camp spot, then another mile in AM. Picked our own steep trail up the south face. 3:15 up, 2:15 down. The whole climb was boringly steep. Cold day, threatening rain. Good view of Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, and Kit Carson.

(24) Mt. Massive - 19Aug89 - With Sherrie, Sharon & Jan
Camp at Halfmoon CG, accessed via Hwy 300 THIS side of Leadville. Sleet storm started about 10AM, so I left Sherrie, Sharon and Jan as they decided to turn around. Ginger also made it to 12,000. Hiked through sleet storm (no thunder) to ridge where blue sky began to appear. Summit cold and windy, but sky began to clear for a better view. Trail leads to ridge and most of the way to the summit amidst very mild bouldering. Descent was sunny and warm. 4.5 hours up , 2.5 hours down. (7 mi one way) Trailhead is well marked about a mile past Halfmoon CG.

(25) Long's Peak - 26Aug89 - With Laurie Monteleone (the mountain lioness)
Stayed w/ Laurie's aunt & uncle in Arvada, then drove 1:45 to trailhead. Beautiful weather all day! 4:45 up, 4:30 down. From Keyhole to summit - very exciting - no real exposure though. The Trough was toughest part. Narrows were narrow and the Homestretch was a real "stretch". Lots of folks on the trail (2-300?) Laurie & I paced each other well, took our time on the return trip to enjoy the weather and the victory. Pizza in Estes Park. Highly recommend this hike to an exercised adventurer.

(26) Handies Peak - 02Sep89 - With Amy/Chuck Barton, Larry/Penny/Holly, Dave/Gloria
Drove Friday night about 15 miles south of US 50 on ?? toward Lake City. Camped near ________ Campground. Drove Sat to Silver Creek area, to wonderful campsite just past Handies trailhead. 3:15 up, 3:00 down. A nice, very obvious hike with great view of Redcloud/Sunshine and the San Juans. Good weather, Holly's first 14er. Fun getting to know Larry, Penny and Holly. Also a good view of Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn.

(27) Redcloud
(28) Sunshine - 02Sep89 - With Amy/Larry/Penny/Dave/Gloria
Trailhead is opposite to Handies trailhead. Decided to take the "shortcut" up the west ridge rather than extra 1.5 miles around to the north. Very steep section to the ridge from the stream was a real grind. From the ridge, just keep walking up to the very obvious summit. 3:15 up. Halfway done with fourteeners!! Very obvious ridge to Sunshine took about 1 hour. (Deceiving) Good view of all mountains, and the Aspen were turning in the valley below. Descent from Redcloud/Sunshine ridge to valley was a little tricky due to falling rock. Very careful to stay together and yell "Rock", but no real danger. Weather a little cloudy and a few drops of rain, nothing major. Down from Sunshine in 3 hrs. A crowded climb on Labor Day weekend.

(29) Mt. Princeton - 09Sep89 - With Karen, Amy and CMC folks
Camped at Princeton campground past Princeton hot springs on paved road. Followed road for several miles. Departed from road just before the antenna shelter. Cross some boulders, ascend an east facing boulder field, then up the ridge to the summit. Beautiful day as Co Springs was enveloped in dense fog and rain.

(30) Wilson Peak - 22Jun90 - With Luke Cammack
Beverly drove Luke & I to trailhead at SilverPick Mill parking lot (11,000 ft) 4WD only necessary the last mile. After turning south off of Hwy 145, take the 2ND right to Wilson Mesa. The correct sign points also to Sunshine Mesa. A right turn shortly before this turn also points to Wilson Mesa and I don't know where it leads. Began climbing at 6:30. Walked mostly in snow to the ridge between Silver Pick and Navajo basin. Good view of Mt. Wilson and El Diente. Followed Borneman's instructions, ascent to the Wilson Pk ridge involved some uncomfortable loose rock. The ridge was easier than it appeared. One spot looked scary, but a closer look revealed good rock for the "some hand over hand climbing" as described by Borneman. After just a couple tricky spots (where one can only see rock directly in front) the summit was easily reached. Beautiful day. Little wind. Descent was made in a snow chute very near the summit. (Just below the "tricky" spot) The snow was hard and bumpy, ice ax was necessary. (Luke used a stick and got by) Lower snow was softer and more fun. The snow couloir actually would have been an OK ascent route w/ ice ax if we had known that it was stiff and that there was a climb-able exit from snow to Wilson Pk ridge. Ascent: 3:30, Descent 1:20. Realized that we were *very* close to the summit when we aborted our climb two years ago.

(*) Tabeguache/Shavano Attempt - 14Jul90 - With Beverly, Anne & Ed
Left Hwy 50 at Maysville and drove 6 miles to campground, passable in car. 2 more miles to marked trailhead. At ~12000 Beverly & I turned around due to weather. Anne & Ed made both summits with rainstorms and lightning.

(*) Pike's Peak - 28Aug90 - With Beverly
Drove to Crag's campground. Started hiking about 8:30. Followed author's directions. Summit at 12:40. Donuts & cheeseburger. Descent took only 2 hours due to threatening weather, little bit of rain. Beverly's first fourteener!

(31) Mt. Eolus - 04Aug90 - With Beverly, Anne & Ed
Begin at 6:40 AM from campsite near the opening of Chicago Basin - around the corner from 1986 campsite. A very nice campsite near Needle Creek. Departed from Twin Lakes trail to head toward Eolus. Followed author's directions. Scramble above the granite slab was a little steep. Traversing around to the right to gain the Eolus/North Eolus saddle would have been easier. Sidewalk in the sky easier than expected. Grassy ledges on east face of Eolus were very negotiable, though perhaps dangerous when wet. Arrived on Eolus summit about 11:00. From Eolus, the sidewalk is re-traversed and the ridge is followed up to N. Eolus. From the ridge/descent intersection N. Eolus was a simple 5-minute scramble without pack. Sleet began to fall, but blue skies reappeared by the time we arrived at Twin Lakes to relax. No mountain goats this time, though Ed saw them sleeping just above the lakes as he ascended Windom by himself. Wildflowers were in full splendor. Beverly's second fourteener, she was extremely thrilled to have climbed such a challenging peak.

(32) Mt. Bierstadt - 06Oct90 - With Beverly & Anne
Bierstadt very visible from Guanella pass summit. We walked around to the right to try and avoid the willows. Headed for the ridge and ran into those frustrating willows, #$%&! Last half mile in snow, but not too deep. Wind chill on summit below zero (?). Too cold to try Evans ridge which had some snow on it. Descent route was a straight shot to the parking lot. Fairly nice trail through willows. Came upon an Eagle scout project attempting to make a trail through the willows by cutting them down and placing them on the wet marshes. The "Eagle" trail was marked with orange tags tied to the willows. Plan to do Evans & the ridge someday. Easy climb (excluding willows). Beautiful fall day. Drive north to Georgetown very beautiful.

(33) Culebra Peak - 15Jun91 - By myself
3 hour drive to San Luis, ranch manager very friendly, $25 access fee per person. Slept in ranch headquarters bunkhouse. Road to treeline (past the "Fourway" intersection) is easy for 4WD, debatable in 2WD due to mud, occasional steepness/rocks. From end of 4WD drive road, fellow climber Phil Book and I climbed the left side of the broad basin. Climbing to the right would have saved 15 minute traversal of ridge. From ridge, false summit appears southeast, then real summit. Dusting of snow on rocks made for tricky footing. Actually a straightforward climb. A fun snow glissade down the broad basin. Taylor ranch is very pretty, lots of Aspen. Interestingly, the first problem with climbers occurred a few weeks earlier when 2 climbers did not return as promised. Two days later, the ranch manager hired a $1000 search team which found the hikers alive and well on a peak to the south of Culebra. The ranch manager was frustrated that the ranch would probably have to endure this cost.

(34) Wetterhorn Peak
(35) Uncompahgre Peak - 05Jul91 - With Luke Cammack
5 hour drive to Lake City, then take the road toward Engineer Pass for 9 miles (nice dirt) to Capitol City (ghost). Turn right toward Matterhorn Creek for 2 miles. 4WDs can take another right for 2.5 miles to the Matterhorn Creek trailhead, small parking area. A few campsites can be found on this last section of road. Climb of Wetterhorn straightforward, 3 hours from trailhead. Southeast ridge looks ominous from below but is easy hand-over-hand. I didn't feel exposed as others have said. (Rain or ice would completely change my opinion of the rock ledges) An Outward Bound team was climbing a top-rope, we enjoyed their remarks as folks from FL, NJ and MN experienced their first fourteener summit. Descend along ridge, then straight across basin toward Uncompahgre.

Beautiful warm day, cotton ball clouds. We chose the direct route up the southwest couloir/rock-rib toward the distinctive square notch in the south ridge of the "Unc". This couloir was *no fun* up nor down. If time and weather permit, I would suggest walking around to the south and linking with the easier trail from Nellie creek. May save an ankle. (BTW, Nellie Creek may be a better approach for Uncompahgre only) If daring, climb directly up the Unc on the steeper west slope (north of the notch) as a sixty-year old couple that we met had done ! From the notch a trail leads to the very broad summit. Wetterhorn summit to Uncompahgre summit 3.5 hours. Uncompahgre summit to Matterhorn Creek trailhead 3 hours. Beware of the first peak optimism that allows you to commit to a second peak. Though exhausting, it was a good day in the San Juans. True athletes can also climb the Matterhorn (13,490) in between Wetterhorn and the "Unc".

(36) Snowmass Mtn. - 31Jul91 - By myself
Backpack from Snowmass trailhead to Snowmass Lake is long, but gradual. Snowmass trail angles left from the Snowmass _________ road shortly after leaving the camp. Perhaps the most greenery I've seen in CO, occasionally pushing aside plants. Crossing some lower lakes is made convenient via a log jam, who's idea? Campfire sites are located 1/4 mile below Snowmass Lake. 8 mile backpack ~ 4 hours. The trail to the basin above Snowmass Lake is probably along the creek, but is steep, loose dirt - I descended this way and it was not fun. I ascended via a rock ridge to the right of the creek. From the basin I climbed the wrong ridge leading to the wrong summit, an unnamed thirteener. D'oh!

After downclimbing the wrong mountain, I climbed up the snowfields to the Snowmass ridge. An ice ax wasn't necessary but would have eliminated the frustration of climbing on snow. Three attempts were necessary to get up on the ridge, simply because the last ten feet were too steep to climb. The 2nd and 3rd attempt were further away from the summit. Once behind the ridge, a trail of sorts leads to the summit. No exposure. Camp to wrong mountain - 3 hrs. Wrong summit to Snowmass - 2:45 When you're up on Snowmass, look to the N/NE, to see "PWS Peak" rising up from Snowmass Lake.

(37) Kit Carson - 24Aug91 - With Larry Koperski, Dean Bjorge, Mike Davis, Ken Morey, Steve Shepard
We climbed out of South Colony Lakes basin at the far end of the basin, NOT up onto the ridge that leads to Humboldt. Trail to Bear's Playground is steep, but not dangerous. Skirted the ridge that leads to the saddle just below KC subpeak. Once on top of sub-peak, the trail that descends must be carefully chosen. Some cairns exist. One dangerous spot contained many good hand/foot holds, but was very intimidating. A rope may increase one's confidence. Once past this 25ft tricky spot, the rock leads around to the crossing of the crevice that the author mentions. The trail from the crevace to the summit, up the face, is not difficult though it may appear so from the sub-peak. Climbing the west side of the sub-peak is Not Advisable in wet or icy weather. South Colony camp to KC - 4:40. Return trip 4:40 because we kept getting lost in the S. Colony lakes basin (and we were tired!) Two of our climbers didn't descend the tricky spot and turned back. Many said this climb was tougher than they were led to believe. Advice to fellow climbers: Take the time to talk co-climbers through the tricky parts, every one will enjoy the rest of the day a lot more !!

(38) Crestone Needle - 25Aug91 - With Dean Bjorge, Steve Shepard
From South Colony lakes, the climb to the notch in the Needle's southeast ridge is straightforward. From here a trail lead up toward the summit couloir. The turnoff from trail to coulior was immediately before a small grassy ledge. We debated whether we were in the first or second couloir. We decided we were in the "correct" one due to the amount of cairns, and added a cairn near the turnoff from the trail to aid future climbers. Halfway up the couloir one must cross over a small stream and UP a small section which leads to another couloir, again fairly well cairn-marked. Continuing in this second couloir leads you to the summit of the Needle. All the rock is very firm, much "hand over hand" climbing required, though only a few scary spots exist. eg. Crossing the small stream requires a couple "swing around" moves. The couloir is mostly a mental challenge, and once you know that it doesn't "get any worse" you're home free. Descending required "all fours", but went very fast. Camp to Needle summit: 3:00, descent a little less.

(39) Tabeguache Peak
(40) Shavano Peak - 07Sep91 - With Bruce Kosbab
Road from Maysville to Jennings Creek trailhead somewhat passable in a car. I would recommend 4WD. After 20 minutes on well travelled path, near a small pond, the trail turns around toward the east and proceeds up a field of barren timber. We didn't take this trail, because we felt the author recommended heading due north to the top of Jennings Creek. At the top of the creek drainage we turned right (east, per author) and encounterd a VERY frustrating slope of loose rock/dirt. Sometimes zero traction. The top of this slope is the beginning of Tabeguache's SW slope. T-guache not visible from this grassy saddle between the drainages. The northern ridge of McCoy Gulch is traversed leading to T-guache summit. Fairly well marked trail begins at grassy saddle. Path to Shavano is obvious, beware of more than one sub-peak.

We chose the "safe" return by reclimbing Tabeguache. However, a cloud rolled in, and amidst the white-out we errantly climbed due south from T-guache rather than west. A few moments of clear air and some map reading showed our error so we had to traverse the McCoy gulch basin (maintaining altitude) to reach the previously mentioned grassy saddle. Trail would have been easier. We chose the cairn-route down per a climbing partner from Boulder. This consisted of walking a long way down the ridge that heads south from the grassy saddle. (The ridge between Jennings Creek and McCoy gulch) Then a very steep, very long, very well cairn-marked trail led back to the small pond where we decided to follow the author. We wished we had descended our ascent route (scree). Neither of these routes seem an ideal way to gain T-guache south-west ridge. Cool, windy and cloudy all day, no thunder/lightning, occasional sleet storm. Bruce's first two (maybe last two) fourteeners. Yay! Jenning's Creek trailhead to Tabeguache summit: 3:15. Tabeguache to Shavano: 0:30 Shavano back to Tabeguache: 0:45 "White-out" descent via south ridge: 2:45

(41) Mt. Sneffels - 24Jun92 - With Beverly
From Ouray, drove past town site of Sneffels up into Yankee Boy Basin. (Requires 4WD clearance) We camped in one of several good campsites, then drove to Blue Lakes Pass trailhead, marked by a wooden sign. Took Blue Lakes trail past old hut now used for rescue purposes. Trail obscured by much snow so we just headed across alternating snow and boulder fields toward the couloir leading to Sneffels. Climbed large couloir leading to saddle, snow provided good footholds though an ice axe was very helpful in areas of stiffer snow. Made an error in heading for a rock rib since the snow surrounding the rocks was much softer and we postholed to the waist several times.

From the saddle, two fellas proceeded us in the steeper side couloir, we followed their footsteps. At the top of this couloir we climbed over a rocky knob and crossed a very small snowfield to the summit. The top of the second couloir was actually a snow cornice as viewed from the summit. View of surrounding area is unparalleled!! Our feet were soaked and freezing by 13,000 feet. Where are those extra socks? Descent was very quick as we glissaded down both couloirs. From 14,000 back to about 12,300 in ten minutes. Stopping was easy using feet. Ascent time: 4 hours, Descent time: 1 hour.

(42) El Diente - 04Jul92 - With Dean Bjorge & HP gang
Just north of Telluride turn south onto Hwy 145 for about 20 miles, then right onto dirt road leading toward Dunton. (Coal Creek road) This road was washed out 2.5 miles from pavement (2 miles from trailhead), requiring 4WD clearance. Trailhead is just beyond a small house. Backpack up Kilpacker Creek to just below the waterfall. We didn't take the official trail, rather, just after crossing the creek, we headed up a meadow and stayed higher on the ridge above the creek. No good trail exists, although the destination point below El Diente's west ridge near the waterfall shouldn't be too hard to find. Apparently the Kilpacker trail is poor and includes a small rock climb. From base camp below the waterfall, hike up Kilpacker basin, terribly uncomfortable rock. Head past El Diente's summit and make a cut back in a broad couloir. From the top of this couloir head straight up to Diente's ridge, a few cairns mark the way. Mostly snowfields above 12000 ft.

Once on the ridge, we decided to walk the ridgeline about 200 horizontal feet to the summit. Apparently the "standard" route, a steep couloir, was snow filled. The ridge walk was slightly exposed with solid rock. The Kilpacker route was chosen for a direct climb of El Diente. Navajo Basin, the recommended starting point for Mt Wilson, is accesible via a trail leading off to the left once across Kilpacker Creek. Wilson is also climb-able from Kilpacker Basin. From camp at about 11000 ft, 4:45 to El Diente's summit. Descent in 3:00 hours on very uncomfortable Kilpacker Basin rock.

(43) Mt. Evans - 18Jul92 - With Beverly
Decided not to start from Echo Lake, rather a trailhead at about 11000. Could not find that trailhead, it was not obvious, so we kept driving to Summit Lake - 12,900. Climbed a broad couloir beginning from the road 1/4 mile past Summit Lake parking area. Backtracked down into Chicago Lakes basin that the well-coiffed ranger said was "technical". No way. Decided not to count this one, start from Echo Lake next time. Saw some very friendly mountain goats near Summit Lake. Good pix. Bikers were biking to the summit of Evans from about 9000 ft. 25 miles?

(44) Crestone Peak - 22Aug92 - With Dean, Larry and Beverly
Drove to end of ROUGH 4WD road leading to South Colony Lakes. Backpacked 20 minutes to campsite in trees just below the lakes. Headed for notch between Needle and Broken Hand at 6:00. From notch, down to Cottonwood Lake, a trail leads past the lake and around into the basin leading up to Crestone Peak. We followed cairns directly up the red couloir, though grassy field around to the right is what one author recommends. Grassy fields avoid some rock slabs and then leads into the red couloir. The couloir contained a lot of snow. Its color was masked by the thick fog covering the peaks. A strong wind was blowing since the previous evening. The couloir was long with only a few tricky spots. We avoided the snow by staying off to the left. From the top of the couloir, the summit was gained very easily to the left. Camp to the basin took 2 hours. Basin up the couloir to the summit took 2:45. Total time = 4:45. Fog/clouds broke just before reaching the summit, our view was unobstructed.

Downclimb was more uncomfortable than the Needle, had to cross a few snow fields, we took the grassy slopes at the bottom (east) of the couloir. Lunch at Cottonwood Lake, then up steep hill to the Needle trail. Larry and Dean went on to climb the Needle, Beverly and I returned to camp. Unfortunately Larry and Dean discovered a climber who had been killed by falling rock or a fall earlier that day. Beverly and I first learned about this when they returned to camp in the pouring rain at 6:30. Larry and Dean packed up and drove into Westcliff to report the accident. Beverly and I stayed the cold/rainy/windy night and packed out the following morning. On our way out we encountered many Search/Rescue persons coming in to deal with the body.

(45) Mt Antero - 01Aug93 - By myself
Started on Hwy 162 at well marked trailhead. 4WD vehicle could easily drive as far up as you'd like to go. (13,500) I walked up jeep road, then the mild boulderfield to the summit. Beautiful weather. Coming down I left the road for a small section, downclimbed a gulch where I could see the road at the bottom. Hardly worth it due to loose trail. This has to be the most obvious route and one of the easiest fourteeners. Especially if one drives as far as one's conscience will allow. 6 miles, 4900 feet, 3:45 up, 2:15 down

(46) North Maroon Bell
(47) Maroon Bell Peak - 07Aug93 - With Bob Foley and John Curry
From the Maroon Lake parking lot (road closed between 8:30 & 5:00), we backpacked to Crater Lake, then part way up the Buckskin Pass trail to a campsite near the departure of the North Peak trail from the Buckskin Pass trail, about 10,800. At 5:30AM, we crossed the creek and followed the NorthEast approach to the North Bell, crossing over and up the east(?) face to a couloir. The couloir we climbed was NOT marked with red dots as Borneman describes, but was fairly well marked with cairns. Twice we got off course and had to search for cairns. The couloir was not as narrow as described, and with no one above us we had no danger from falling rocks. My recollection is that this climb was a straight shot up, a lot of hard work, some hand-over-hand climbing and one small snow crossing.

The ridge appeared very narrow from the North Peak, but my opinion of the ridge is that it was very straightforward and not too exposed. One 15 ft and one 30 ft rappell were required, though Bob body-rappelled the first one and free climbed the second. The rappells were grouped close to the center of the ridge. At the ridge's low point, we saw a west-side (right) route to the summit of South Peak, but chose to follow Borneman's advice about contouring to the east (left). To do this we crossed the top of a snowfield, then traversed around searching for a route. Almost gave up on that route, but John pulled himself up a steep section and then announced an OK looking route ahead. More bouldering and some h-o-h climbing brought us to the summit where we met the other HP fellows who climbed only the South Peak. We descended via the south ridge with the other climbers, a long and loose walk, not exposed.

From the ridge's end point, Bob and John and I followed a faint trail and ended up either cliffing out or wading through six-foot willows. The entire time we could see West Maroon trail and the creek, but had a heckuva time getting to it. Once on the trail we walked back to Crater Lake then up the 800? feet to camp. Weather was tremendous, only five sprinkles about 1:00pm. Dehydration was a problem, two quarts of water did not last me. Carrying a filter would allow a drink once down into the Maroon basin. Retraversing the ridge would be a shorter descent route, however the two rappell points would become quite serious free climbs for the leader. Below 12 or 13,000 either descent route is steep and requires continuous braking. Ice axe, helmet, rope and harness required. Camp to North Bell: 3:45 hours. North Bell to South Bell via ridge: 2:30 hours. South Bell to camp via south ridge: 5:00 hours. Overall day: 13 hours. Highlights: Ridgewalking, rappells, views of Snowmass, Capitol and Pyramid

(48) Pyramid Peak - 22Aug93 - With Beverly
At 5:30 AM, the entire Maroon valley was in a cloud, at 6:30 we started walking just for some exercise. The trail to the amphitheatre was not difficult to find, leaving the Maroon Creek trail in a flat area of fallen timber. Ample cairns lead to the amphitheatre along the right side of the couloir. From the a-theatre boulderfield, the faint couloir to the east (left) ridge was snow covered, but traction was not difficult. By 9:00 blue sky began to appear. We began following bootprints from a previous party that happened to be led by a trail guide! These bootprints led from the a-theatre to the summit. We did not climb directly up to the ridge, but rather followed the bootprints which led slightly to the right of the ridge low point. On the east ridge, we crossed a short snow cornice then followed a cairn marked path below the ridge. Some hand over hand climbing was required and a few short ledges were carefully traversed. Slush and mud covered the rock yet we were not slipping. Just shy of the summit the thunder in the distance made us reconsider. Beverly stopped, and I bolted for the summit to find two 4' vertical cairns.

I was within sight of Beverly and the weather was not overhead, so I retraced the bootprints (that I ignored in my summit dash) and helped Beverly reach the summit. We signed the register in record time. Downclimbing went fast using all fours as we saw some of the exposure that we missed on the way up. About 400' down some lightning struck closeby, we huddled and waited in the falling hail until it very quickly moved past. Orange tape marked cairns led us back to the ridge point where we descended back to the a-theatre in scattered clouds. Each of the three portions of the climb were quite steep, and a sub-peak of Pyramid dominates the a-theatre. It was a very unexpected climb, I was sure we would be brunching in Aspen. The ridge ascent to the summit would be more comfortable in dry weather. From Maroon Lake parking lot, Ascent: 6 hours Descent: 3.5 hours

(*) Mt. Harvard
(49) Mt. Columbia - 04Sep93 - With Beverly
Backpacked from N. Cottonwood trailhead into Horn Fork Basin, 4 miles, 2.5 hrs. Nice campsite near huge rock. No other visible campers! Continued on trail to end of Horn Fork, up a couple ridges and rock fields to Harvard's summit. Continued along very fun northeast ridge of Harvard. Decided to stay high on the ridge which had only a few body moves. Halfway along the ridge we decided to descend one of the many (north) exit couloirs into the basin and then head for the grassy north slope of Columbia. Had more energy than courage. The downclimb was tiresome, and later speculated that we should have stayed on the ridge though the path did not appear obvious. (Even the ridge half we walked did not appear obvious, but was OK) The grassy slopes led to Columbia's summit. Continued the loop by walking down Columbia's south ridge. We exited one couloir too early in heading for our Horn Fork campsite and encountered extremely steep, uncomfortable scree and loose rock. No fun. Should have stayed high and descended a southwest rib instead of the couloir. Good weather all day. Ascent: 2:45 hrs Traverse: 3:00 hrs Descent: 2:00 hrs

(50) Mt. Wilson - 10Jul94 - With Larry Koperski and Dean Bjorge
Drove to Navajo Lake Trailhead (past Telluride), about 8 hours. Backpacked 5 miles to above Navajo Lake - camped in the trees near the stream. The "No Bridges On Navajo Trail" sign is correct, we had to wade through the shallow W. Dolores Creek about 3/4 mile from the trailhead. From upper Navajo Basin, we climbed the shoulder west of the glacier almost to the ridge. We had to backtrack a little to the west, around one of several snow couloirs, to reach the notch. The Wilson summit is not visible from the basin, the Navajo glacier is not visible from the lower basin. Boulders on the north face made for a difficult ascent/descent. From the Silverpick basin ridge there appeared to be some available grassy slopes. From the notch, the summit can be gained directly on top of the ridge, slightly to the east (still class 4) or via a slight downclimb onto some dirt packed ledges. These ledges still lead to a final "heave-ho" to the very small summit.

The snow couloirs appeared too steep for a quick descent. We downclimbed by reversing the ascent route. Also, from the Silverpick ridge on the following day, the location of the notch could be easily pinpointed. The ridge was dry, but appeared very intimidating to this hiker. On a clear day we may have attempted it, but none were available this trip. All kinds of wildflowers lined the trail to Navajo Lake and Navajo Basin. We determined early July to be a better time to climb these mountains. The area gets a lot of rain, assumably more in August than July. Ascent time: 5 hours Descent: 4.5 hours

(*) Wilson Peak - 11Jul94 - With Larry Koperski and Dean Bjorge
Mostly followed the trail through Navajo Basin to the Silverpick basin ridge. Then around the butte to the southeast slopes of Wilson Peak. Followed cairns to the false summit, then a small downclimb and some hand-over-hand climbing to the actual summit. Views from Wilson Peak help to explain the Mt. Wilson route. Many other fourteeners visible from these summits. Ate lunch at the (Rock of Ages) Hilton on the downclimb. This is mostly a "trail to the top" fourteener, with some excitement added by the summit spires and steep summit block. (Mild, though, compared to Mt. Wilson) Ascent: 3.5 hours Descent: 3 hours

(51) Little Bear Peak - 13Aug94 - With Beverly and Dean
We drove about 3 miles past the parking lot on the Lake Como road. Parked in a small turnout, probably could have driven another mile, but the road was treacherous most of the way. Backpacked past Lake Como, longer than I remembered, to campsites in the trees directly opposite the departure point for Little Bear. We left C Springs about 8:30, stopped for a 45 minute lunch, and got to camp about 5:30.

On Saturday, we left at 6, climbed the steep couloir leading to the ridge. Followed cairns below the ridge crest to the bottom of the couloir. The first 150' feet of the couloir is the tough part, we climbed hand over hand off to the left, avoiding the water running down the couloir's center. This was tricky climbing and we all wondered how we would descend. Above this tough section we followed cairns to a trough that led directly (north?) to the summit. Four hours to the top. The couloir descent required time to wait for other climbers to clear. We tied a sling directly above the steep section and rappelled most of the steep section. Fun and safe. About 3.5 hours to descend, w/ short lunch stop. Great view of Blanca, Ellingwood and Lindsey.

(*) Blanca Peak
(*) Ellingwood Peak - 14Aug94 - With Beverly and Dean
Again we started at 6 and simply followed cairns to the end of the basin, then up to Blanca's summit. Fog/clouds rolled in so there was virtually no view from Blanca. We debated how low to downclimb before ascending Ellingwood, looking for cairns. We did not find many cairns until a couple hundred feet below the summit. There may be a high and a low route, which we may have been between. Anycase, it seems "up" would lead to the summit.

View from Ellingwood was completely obscured by clouds, though no rain or thunder was present. Followed cairns down to head of the basin, then down loose rocks to the cairn marked trail leading to Blanca. Clouds would briefly dissipate, but eventually storm clouds accumulated and we encountered about 1/2 hour of rain on the backpack out. (4pm) About 7 hours to climb both peaks.

(52) Mt. Sherman - 05Sep94 - With Jackie Ruiz
A very straightforward and enjoyable climb. Drive to FourMile road just south of Fairplay, then 11 miles on a pretty good road. Hike up past the mines, angle right to the ridge that leads to the summit. Lots of folks on this broad summit, perhaps celebrating Labor Day. Good views of other fourteeners, Fairplay and Leadville. Nice weather on the summit allowed an hourlong stay. Descent was more directly toward the Hilltop mine via a loose-dirt slope, no problem. Definitely the easiest fourteener that I have climbed, as expected. 2.5 hours up, 1.5 hours down.

Summer 1994 - 6 peaks, 3 new.

Summer 1995 - no new mountains, due to intense snowpack from spring snowfall.

Summer 1996 - 3 peaks, 2 new

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