a nice little jaunt up mt elbert with mike this afternoon to embrace the vernal equinox and get in a little vertical time in. started out feeling pretty good, and very underprepared as far as gear goes. i had no intention of reaching the summit today. when i picked mike up he had a pack and light puffy, gloves hat, jacket.
once again, i'm under prepared, long sleeves, shorts, and gloves, no water, no hat, no jacket, no camera. though i am getting better, there is a nice little pile next to my front door. in that pile you will find a hat, warm gloves, a jacket, a camera, and handheld. perhaps next time these items will make it into the car with me.
regardless, we started out the trails were pretty well packed in. though once you stepped off, and i managed to do that once, i was buried to mid thigh in some icy slush. very much not what i wanted, alas, i pull out and we carried on our way. we ran into a guy and girl on their way down, they informed us it's pretty well packed, with a couple steep slick spots, and windy and cold up top.
noted, we pressed on. in about 25 minutes we covered the 2 miles up the jeep road (completely covered in snow and impassable in an auto), stopped checked the signs and confirmed our route, and off we went. we ran into the other 2 from the party of hikers and they concurred it was cold and windy up top. sweet, at least i'm prepared. we continued on our way clambering up some of the slick steep sections without too much issue. before too long, we popped out above tree line (just a little shy of 12,000', only 2,400' left of vertical).
the wind definitely picked up and made things a little chilly. though i was still moving ok, and feeling pretty good. I came over a knoll and were looking up at a pretty good stretch of hard pack at a decent incline, mike was already a good 100' of vertical up and moving along. i knew this would be interesting on the way down. mike shouted back asking how i'm doing. i'm ok at this point, though my hands are starting to get a bit chilled.
after another 20 minutes of climbing, mike looks back and points, shouting back, a jacket. it appears as the gods smile upon me, or perhaps they are just laughing, and feel pity. when i get to the jacket, i pick it up and proceed to attempt to put it on. only to discover my fingers are non functional. sweet, another 1,000' to 1,500' of vert and my hands are almost as useless as clubs. i managed to wriggle my hands through the sleeves and am in the jacket. gloves back on, and i'm able to keep my right hand in the sleeve to help try to warm it up.
mike has already disappeared over the next false summit, i'm making my way up the snow pack thinking this will be interesting coming back down, it's pretty frozen, and steep, the good news is as long as you stay right on the descent, it's a pretty smooth transition (after a lot of vertical descent).
After about 2 hours, i come up and achieve the summit. mike is enjoying the views. my hands are clubs at this point. mike offers his hat, which i am unable to put on, so he helps and gets it on my dome, sort of. he then offers me his gloves (fortunately he has a pair of liners that he will continue to wear). again, i'm unable to get my hands in the gloves, so with a little help, i manage to get the gloves 1/2 way on, and we start heading down.
the initial descent isn't too bad, the snow is soft enough that we sink in a enough to arrest our descent, and are able to sort of run down for a bit. it's incredible how much warmer it is on the way down, and even more so once the wind stops.
we continue down, staying pretty well together. arriving at the hard pack, things get painfully slow, and a little precarious. the snow is too hard to punch through, and steep enough that sliding is happening. the key is not to slide too much, and definitely not to get out of control. to the left is a good bit of exposure that would likely result in a really bad ending to the day. we make it down to the exposed rock without incident.
once on the rocks, we begin trotting again, making decent time (roughly twice as fast on the descent as on the ascent). we wander off path slightly, and correct back to the right, make our way through some punchy snowfields and are back on the packed trails.
we continue jogging down, and before long we are back in the trees, it feels 20 degrees warmer in the trees, and is a welcome change. i give mike his gloves back, and rotate between wearing the had and carrying the hat. there are a couple of steep click sections, 1 of which i slide down alternating between squatting and sliding on my feet, and sliding on my arse.
we quickly arrive at the trailhead, and stop to enjoy the peaks all around us and incredible views. looking back towards elbert, commenting how we were just there, and it's nice to be here, warm and relatively wind free. the sun is getting very low (technically, it's already set behind elbert, but will not officially set for another 40 minutes or so).
we carry on, running a bit faster down the jeep road, about 20 minutes until we are back at the car. there are a couple clearings with good views of the surrounding peaks. we are fortunate enough to catch an incredible display of alpen glow (or at least what i'm calling alpen glow:) the sky all around the peaks to the south, east, and north is a pale blend of pink and purple. an incredible way to close out the run.
shortly after this, we are back at the car, both nice and warm, and happy about the afternoon's successful summit. 1st 14'er of the year, good company, good times, and a good lesson.
on the drive back, i thank mike for the hat and gloves, he was happy to have had them, and been able to share them. we both note i was pretty haggard looking at the summit, and without the fortune of the jacket found en route and mike's thought to bring the extra hat, and willingness to share the gloves, i would have been turning around much earlier (at least that's what i tell myself, the good news is we didn't need to find out).
another valuable lesson, i've grown a bit brash and overconfident, after my first winter here. i must be more cognizant and remember mother nature is not concerned with my well being. she will do as she does regardless of what i choose. at no point should i expect her to change anything on account of my ill preparation. i will try to be more respectful and remember to carry a bit of gear with me on any ascents.
after all, a puffy jacket, gloves and a hat (maybe i should bring tights too given my penchant for running in shorts) won't take up much space, and could make things much more palatable, or perhaps endurable is more accurate:)
regardless, a great day in the mountains, and my second ascent of elbert. this year is off to a good start.
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