Dallas Peak (13,809 feet) by Brian Schultz Saturday July 30, 2005
I could hardly believe this day had come. As recently as spring of 2003, I had no goal of trying to do the highest hundred peaks in Colorado because of the three technical ones, and also because of the need to win the lottery at the time for privately owned Red Mountain. I'd basically gone along for the ride with Tim on the centennial thirteener climbs but when Red Mountain was added to the Colorado Mountain Club lottery drawing in 2003, I entered our names and won. It's funny because I was only interested in climbing Culebra a second time to achieve the 3,000 feet "official climb" status whereas Tim was primarily interested in Red Mountain, the centennial thirteener. Subsequent conversations with Tim launched a goal to do the high hundred but those three technical peaks still scared me. Wouldn't 97 out of 100 be good enough, I asked Tim? Oh no, we can do them all he said.
Over the course of last winter we talked much about technical climbing matters because of our lack of experience. Tim suggested we take some classes, which we did- he in the gym, me at REI- but even after completing these I wasn't comfortable climbing on our own on the outside. I don't remember which of us suggested it but we latched onto the idea of hiring a guide for Dallas and decided if all went well, we could try Teakettle and Jagged on our own. Just before I left Minnesota, Jason decided to join us for Dallas- both Tim and I were glad because he'd had some technical climbing experience while in the Army. And also shortly before this trip, Tim hired a guide on his own to climb a rock tower in Garden of the Gods, which proved to be very helpful.
While driving out of Bilk Basin after our Gladstone climb, Tim's cell phone rang. It was a fellow calling to say our hired guide with the San Juan Mountain Guides had hurt his ankle and would be unable to guide us. The people at San Juan Guides had called Telluride Mountain Guides to see if anyone there could take his spot because the remaining guides at San Juans were fully booked, and the fellow on the phone, Andy Sawyer, said he was available. He's a freelancer who's climbed Dallas 20 times over the years so we didn't mind at all getting switched over to him and agreed to meet at 4:15 in the morning at the gas station outside of Telluride.
Andy brought another guide with from the Telluride group. Kenny Fuhrer hadn't climbed Dallas yet and was looking to get familiar with it so he could eventually lead it as well. We followed their truck up to the Mill Creek trailhead and began at 4:50 by headlamp. I was glad to have climbed a few peaks already and even more glad to have taken a rest day in between because Andy set an immediate fast pace that I could barely keep up with. It didn't help that my ribs were hurting terribly from the blow yesterday on Gladstone and I was especially worried how I'd fare on Dallas' class 5.3 technical stuff. I didn't want to slow the group down before we even got to the technical part but fortunately Andy stopped for several rest breaks and I kept up fine as we pushed up the excellent trails to the open basin below the summit.
Both Andy and Kenny were a delight to talk to. Andy regaled us with many climbing stories, most notable his climb of Dallas Peak in slightly over two hours from trailhead to summit without gear, a feat I couldn't imagine doing. I asked if they knew a guide from Telluride named Mike- the one I tagged along with when I climbed Mt Wilson the first time in 1998- and Kenny knew him. They also spoke very highly of Charlie Fowler, whose alternative route we would've used on Gladstone yesterday if snow conditions hadn't allowed for crampon use, and of course, Jaime, the skier we saw on Gladstone.
We headed up to the sheer cliff walls and took several breaks before scrambling (photo 1, photo 2) up cliff bands and lesser ridges to the base of the summit, generally following the Roaches' directions by Tim's reckoning. Our last break was to don helmets and harnesses, and as we reached the base of the summit, Andy began to set up for the class 5.3 ascent on a ledge. We had plenty of room on the ledge but the exposure was pretty intense. I was grateful little snow remained on the narrower ledge ahead where we'd begin the ascent in the class 5 crack because a slip there would be akin to taking a skydiving lesson without a parachute.
Andy could see I was jittery and sat me down while preparing Tim for the climb. I'll admit I was nervous but it wasn't from the exposure- my thoughts were on rappeling from the summit because I'd never done a rappel before. The Roaches warn not to learn rock climbing on this peak and here I was soon to do just that.
Andy headed up and knocked down some loose rocks while we stood off to the side. After setting the protection in the class 5 crack, he called on Tim to begin and then me. The first move in the crack was the hardest and I tried to ignore my hurting ribs while stemming. I managed the move okay and then waited as Andy directed Tim to climb higher. Lots of small pebbles rained down on me as Tim continued up and upon nearing the summit, he unclipped and stepped around Andy to gain the summit. The crack was much easier after that initial difficult move and at 10:45, I was on top too, soon followed by Jason and Kenny. We were elated at gaining the difficult summit and congratulated each other. I did my best to enjoy the accomplishment but I could not fully relax at the thought of the upcoming rappel.
We stayed on top for a good long time because the weather was fantastic, but watching Andy and Kenny prepare the 70 meter length rope for rappel was unbearable. I finally relaxed when Andy said he'd also have me on belay. Kenny went down first, then Tim, and then me. As I backed over the edge and realized I wasn't going to hurtle into space, my fear lessened and the rappel was actually fun. The 85 foot descent included rappeling over an overhang and through a large hole, finishing with an additional 15 feet or so to a flat area below the snow. My technique was not smooth. I clanged my knee hard against the overhang but the adrenaline rush was pretty high and I didn't even feel the pain until later. Nonetheless, I was one very relieved climber upon reaching solid ground below.
Jason (photo 1, photo 2) came down next and Andy concluded with a speedy rappel. I was surprised to see two other climbers approaching as we were packing up but then again, this was a Saturday. We headed down just a short distance before doing another rappel. It saved some time and scrambling and the nearly 200 feet single rope rappel was easy and a total blast. After the four of us finished, Kenny drew in the rope and Andy scrambled down on his own. We caught a few raindrops on the descent but after taking a long break on the grassy slope we hiked out nonstop and rain-free to the trucks, finishing the day at 3:55. All in all, a great day with superb weather and great climbing conditions.
We felt the $400.00 total cost was money well spent for our first technical climb and for that matter, not having to worry about any routefinding problems. Andy highly complimented us on our climbing abilities despite our lack of technical experience and appreciated the fact that Tim, Jason, and I climb together often and get along well, thus avoiding potential personality issues for him to deal with. He also knew we were serious about the climb right from the beginning because of our desire to start early. Andy and Kenny made this adventure a very memorable outing and we recommend them to anyone looking for experienced guides as well as for terrific comraderie. Special thanks to Kenny for taking lots of these pictures with Jason's camera.
Trailhead to summit- 5 hours 55 minutes
Summit to trailhead- About 3 hours 30 minutes
Start to finish- 10 hours 55 minutes (including many breaks)