Tentative Peak-Bagging Trip next Summer

“Well there is a difference, I am a rock climber, not a mountaineer. I can be both, just not into mountaineering. Both take endurance and skills that can lead to the other. I mostly sport climb. When I climb. Sometimes top rope, when feeling scared, lol.”

“I guess I thought you were coming on this little jaunt in CO. Aren't you?”

“I would like to, hint, hint, lol”

“It's Crash!Bang!'s trip I'm just along for the ride.”

“Any way I might get in on the action?”

precision
5:21:25 AM
9/01/07

youre already signed up as a maybe. if youre logged in, you shouldnt even need the password. ill email the password to the group again, anyways”

“man, now there is a statement i have made more than one time in my life”

“this trip is partially closed. its still open to those who are a yes or a maybe, and those i have sent invitations to but have not responded. btw, birch has shown interest, but has not signed up”

“wonder if I ought to bring my Akto (not forgetting the poles this time) or if someone wants to share the weight maybe bring the Trango3 (no farting though).

I put up a confirmation. hope that gets us on the wonderland though (those of you going).
last edited: 9/01/07 6:17:29 PM”

“i know you said you planned on renting a car and splitting the costs, which is cool. that said, i have been here before and i'll tell you that 7 is a tight fit for a minivan seating (3,3,2) with all the gear. if we go over 7 we will need more than one vehicle.”

“we'll put Crash on top of the van”

“hopefully, roam will be willing to be the other vehicle”

“i like precision's idea better”

“heres a link to what weather was like in leadville during the month of august:

http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/USCO0235?month=-1

as you can see, highs usually in the 70's or upper 60's, lows usually in the 40's

leadville is about the same elevation as the the elbert/massive trailhead. the other two basecamps, however, will be a little higher”

“also, hardly any rain

ive spent a week in the rockies during the summertime twice, and both times it rained very very little”

“There will certainly be no need or ice axes & crampons! Lots of people climb those mountains in trail runners. Last year I climbed Humboldt, Crestone & the Needle in lightweight $20 boots from WalMart. But you'll spend several hours stepping on rocks of all sizes, so I'd recommend something with more foot protection and ankle support than trail runners. If you buy new boots, look for a pair that aren't too pretty and have a big rubber rand - those mountains shred smooth-out leather.

I've been in violent afternoon thunderstorms more often than not in those mountains in August, so be prepared. The clear mornings make it worthwhile, and if you get a clear evening, it's magical!”

“yeah toejam, that's the first thing I though of . . . lightening . . . kerrzap!
Also. . . It's good to know that I can leave the ice axe in the van to save weight.

I don't know anything about it, but sailplaning / parasailing down this mountain looks like the fun way down. Imagine the launch off. . . wow.”

“if bad is weather is predicted, how does anyone feel about getting up super early (4 or 5?)”

“if neccessary, ok”

“if it works it works”

“Depends - I think it's a dumb idea most of the time. You gotta weigh the risk of stumbling around in the woods when it's dark with being struck by lightning. If you are on a faint, unfamiliar route where you could fall off a cliff in the dark, that's a lot more dangerous than the possibility of lightning occurring after some hypothetical time. We'll be camping close to treeline anyway, so it's not necessary.

The "alpine starts" are popular with people who drive to the trail from Denver and are usually familiar with the route.

It's prolly inevitable that you will be exposed to my pet tirades about lightning and altitude sickness. But read up on the actual lightning statistics before dragging everybody out of the sack at 4:00.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/?n=ltg.php”

“i wouldnt drag everyone out before they wanted to get up. if some people felt strongly about getting an early start, and some felt strongly about sleeping in, we could go up in two groups

we'll play it by ear. i just know im a very slow hiker at altitude. besides, when it comes me getting up early, well, "best laid plans of mice and menn]..."
last edited: 9/03/07 5:57:41 PM”

“Crash - when have you ever been a slow hiker? lol”

“There's slow and then at 4am there's slow -- as in "it's retarded."”

“i am starting to think this trip may not be for me. i am going to have to put some thought into this.”

“alright! jumping jesus. forget i said anything about getting up very early

i dont intend to waste any daylight, however, especially on the day of the capitol climb”

“John Wayne: "We're Burnin' Daylight !

though I'm in for what ever time”

“I couldn't care if we rolled out at 0200. What ever it takes. I'm in.

Thanks for the boot tip TJ. I'll be sure to look for something with lots of reinforcement on the toe & sides.”

“yeah, a lot of the 'trail' up above 13,000 is talus heaps, very conducive to twisted ankles.

The big mountains are really just giant rock piles on top - they're crumbling as we speak.
last edited: 9/05/07 5:05:44 PM”

“So goes the world. I saw on Discovery that the Appalatians used to be higher than Everest. Now they average, what, like 5 or 6000 feet? That is some serious errosion.”

“gravity sucks”

“ya, just ask my ex-wife after her 4th. kid.

LMAO!!!”

“that's a different force of nature altogether my friend... one far more powerful and equally shrouded in mystery as gravity.”

“LMAO!!!

I bet she's cursing the power of the force now! LOL!”

“uh, guys, I just found this on Summitpost.org: If attempting to climb Crestone Peak from the Cottonwood Creek trailhead in the San Luis Valley, there is private property which must be crossed. This property belongs to the Manitou Foundation. As of 2007, they are no longer granting permission to cross their property. Contact info: P.O. Box 130, Crestone, CO 81131. Phone: (719) 256-4267 Email: spirit@manitou.org

Is this the route we were planning to take? They say cottonwood creek, and Crash said cottonwood lake. Same, same? same, different? or dif, dif?”

“That sounds like the TH we are planning to use - have to research further.

Challenger/Kit Carson from Willow Lake is always an option.”

“mg: link to the page?

that stinks, because i really had my heart set on climbing the needle. almost a year away, maybe theyll change their minds in the meantime”

“nevermind, i found it

another case of a bunch of bums ruining it for everyone:

In addition, there have been significant parking issues on the private property; people are camping on the private property without permission; and signs continue to be removed at the trailhead. Land management agencies will be posting their own no trespassing signs.”

“that's sad, especially the removal of signs. this is just plain vandalism. you have to wonder what people are thinking when they do stuff like this.”

“ive given the crestone needle problem some thought, and the two best options ive come with are:

1. do crestone needle from the other side. this will add at least a half hour drive time, maybe even an hour, due to rough rugged road to the trailhead

2. climb a peak in the maroon bells wilderness. its close to capitol and elbert, and there are 4 challenging 14'ers in the area to choose from. i'm even thinking we could omit massive from the schedule, just so we could spend more time in this area. do elbert as a warm-up, then head over to the bells

woot!”

“oh holy crap. you know what would be really fun? to bag capitol from the snowmass area. theyre only a couple of miles apart, and it would (hopefully) be a lot simpler than hiking out, driving to the capitol trailhead, and then hiking in. i'll have to research it”

“here is something that might be do-able. i havent done the research, so right now this is just an idea. anyone who knows the area, i would welcome the input

sunday: climb elbert. drive to maroon creek road and hike the couple miles to crater lake, below maroon peak

monday: climb maroon peak

tuesday: hike to the base of snowmass mt and set up camp

wednesday: climb snowmass

thursday: hike to the base of capitol and set up camp. this is the exciting part because it would be off-trail. i have no idea what the terrain is like here. i'll have to find out before we commit to this. if it looks at all do-able by a bunch of weekend warriors like us, i say "do it"

friday: climb capitol

saturday: hike back to the vehicles. this will be a long, hard day, close to 10 miles if we're coming from capitol, so if we do this, dont schedule an early flight out of denver”

“i am thinking about driving. it's 14 hours and prolly around $300 in gas. so it's close to an airline ticket but then i have my own transportation. my truck is a silverado 1500 4wd z71 extended cab (seats 4 comfortably, 5 less so). the back will be covered with a top by the time this trip comes around.

then again it's a pita to drive and much easier to fly. how are others planning on getting into the area?”

“i dont know”

“I'll be driving - I have a Corolla and can fit three easily - four if the packs aren't huge (that includes me of course) :)

There's a spectacular basin inbetween Snowmass and Capitol called Pierre Lakes Basin - its documented on summitpost.

It might (Stress MIGHT) be doable to climb Capitol from there, but I've not looked into it.

The terrain around that area is on the rugged side of things. It's at least 7 miles to Snowmass Lake no matter how you approach it - and then you've got about 4,000 feet of gain to go.

:)

Its tremendous fun.”

“minor adjustment. instead of camping on the east side of capitol, head for captiol lake and climb capitol via the standard route. the next day, hike out the capitol creek trail to a vehicle that was shuttled there on the previous saturday”

“i think we can end up bypassing pierre lakes basin altogether. from little gem, follow the stream to siberia lake. from siberia lake, its about 2 1/2 miles to capitol creek trail, then about another 1/2 mile to capitol lake. from siberia lake, head north by northwest, keeping capitol peak on our right, and we'll eventually hit trail. we'll have all day to do it, so no worries.”

“Let me try to sort this out. First, it's more than an extra 1/2 hour to get to the east side of the Crestones from the north - you can drive real fast on the west side, but the roads are narrow and winding on the east side. And we're not taking passenger cars up South Colony Creek road - you park on the plain and hike about 5 miles up the road to the trailhead if you don't have a 4x4 with a lift. It's worth doing if you wanted to, but this is just for your information.

From Maroon Lake, North Maroon, then over Buckskin Pass to Snowmass is pretty straight forward. We'd have lots of company. Maroon Lake is a circus. I'm not sure how to get from Snowmass to Capitol without a real long hike. Is there supposed to be some well-used route that doesn't drop below treeline? The Elks are the most rugged, crumbly peaks I've seen in CO, so there's not the bushwhacking opportunities like other places.

I'm driving 14 hrs. I think it's a pita to fly and this way I'll have wheels and won't have to go to Denver.”

“ok, so you dont like either. what do YOU want to do?”

“I had planned on flying but if Crash and/or JS are driving I may try to catch a lift with one them. I don't mind flying, but I hate airports. That would be the biggest PITA for me, because then there is the whole gear/security factor also. By driving I could bring anything I want. Including both my packs if we are doing base camping instead of the shuttle thing.”

“im glad i just ate dinner, with all you ppl talking about pitas”