Bull Hill (13,761') by Brian Schultz Sunday July 26, 2009
Roundtrip mileage: 8 miles from the Black Cloud trailhead
Elevation gain: 4,100 feet
Participants: Art Boller, Mark Valen, Brian Schultz
It was good to meet up again with my Minnesota friends, Art & Mark. It's been a few years since the three of us climbed together and I was looking forward to their company. The weather forecast wasn't looking so good for our climb though, with a 50% chance of thunderstorms, and when we woke up at 4:00 AM it was already raining. As we drove from Leadville to the Black Cloud trailhead the rain lightened to intermittent showers but turned back to steadily falling rain at the trailhead. It wasn't much fun starting out at 5:25 by headlamp under those conditions.
We didn't get too far up the excellent but wet trail when a family ahead of us turned around because they were cold and didn't have the proper attire. The rain eventually quit around 7:00 and we found the turn-off trail for the Fidelity Mine with minimal difficulty, a trail not as well defined as the Black Cloud trail, but helpful cairns marked faded areas and we followed it to the well preserved shack at 7:50. Skies were clearing nicely and we peeled off our rain gear as the sun broke through and warmed us. We resumed after a breakfast break but by the time we reached Bull Hill's ridge, clouds were once again filling the skies.
It was a steady but easy grunt up the slopes to Bull Hill's southeast ridge and much of the same from there to the summit. I pushed ahead of Art and Mark and arrived on top at 10:05. Art & Mark arrived ten minutes later and we were treated to clearing skies for the next half hour. It was neat to look over to Mt Elbert and spot climbers up there and to also point out the many Sawatch peaks I've climbed in the area, but by 10:50 the skies were darkening so much that we decided to get moving. At 11:30 it began showering and sleeting but the crazy weather cleared again when we reached the shack at 12:15, long enough to take a comfortable half hour break.
Just below the shack on our descent, we met two fellows on their way up to visit a relative's mine. One had a metal detector and both were struggling with the altitude. We urged them to be watchful for the weather as we hurried our pace down the trail, passing by the wife of one of those fellows before rejoining the Black Cloud trail. We chatted briefly with returning climbers from Mt Elbert and as we continued down the last mile to the trailhead, thunder began rumbling. We no sooner reached Mark's truck, at 2:15, than it started pouring rain, good timing for us, not so good for the fellows looking for their mine. Despite the unstable weather, Bull Hill was a fun and easy climb.
Trailhead to summit- 4 hours 50 minutes
Summit to trailhead- 3 hours 25 minutes
Start to finish- 8 hours 50 minutes