Mt Elbert (14,433) by  Brian Schultz   Sunday  July 14, 1996

Due to a mishap on Mosquito Pass on Thursday, I was stranded in Leadville for the entire weekend. Since I had to wait until Monday to get parts to fix the Jeep, and Sunday was free, I thought about hiking Mt Elbert if I could only find someone to go with. I asked the workers at the Amoco in Leadville if they were interested in hiking, and Jeremy said he was. My luck was turning! He said he'd pick me up in the morning at 8:00 sharp and was at the motel waiting for me right on schedule. We drove to the Mt Elbert trailhead and by 9:00 were on the trail to the Northeast Ridge.

Jeremy was fast on the pace but I kept up for the most part because I had the benefit of adjusting to the altitude for a week. He, living at 10,000 feet, had boundless energy. We got along very well and the day was pure pleasure as we passed many on the trail, enjoying good conversation and warm, sunny weather. Just before the summit Jeremy pushed ahead and I arrived shortly after him at 12:00 noon. Lots of people were on top and we stayed for 30 minutes soaking up the sun, eating lunch and taking photos.

On the way down we passed a guy carrying up a bicycle. I wondered why he went to the trouble since he couldn't ride down from the summit on it. It sure seemed like a waste of energy to me (see postscript below). And a family- father, mother, and young children that we passed on the way up- was still struggling and close to exhaustion. They had quite a ways to go to make Colorado's highest summit.

We charged on and arrived back at the trailhead at 3:00. Jeremy dropped me off at the motel and came by later to go out for pizza. I treated him for driving and spending his day off with me.

On Monday I drove a rental car to Denver to pick up Jeep parts and Ed at Amoco made sure I got back on the road by early evening. The hike on Elbert sure made my stay in Leadville a pleasant memory.

Total hike time- 6 hours (including 30 minutes on summit)

PS: I've raised the ire of the mountain biking community by claiming one cannot ride down from Elbert's summit. A  reader emphatically assured me he's done this twice. I stand corrected. (07-30-2002)

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