Pilot Knob (13,738 ft) attempt by Brian Schultz Thursday July 20, 2006
Tim and I left Ridgway at 3:15 AM for the South Mineral Creek trailhead and noticed a few lightning flashes in the south, not a good sign so early in the morning and especially considering we were heading in that direction. The partly cloudy skies in Ridgway turned heavily overcast near Ouray, and as we drove Highway 550 toward Silverton, lightning was flashing so much that I wondered whether we'd even get a chance to start. We turned onto the South Mineral Creek road and as we drove up to the 4x4 trailhead, I suddenly realized I'd left my trekking poles in my car back at the motel. It's the first time I've ever forgotten my poles and I was not a happy hiker as we began by headlamp under lightly falling rain. The time was 4:25.
I was managing well without the poles but when we reached Ice Lake at 5:55, a heavy fog settled in so we stopped and waited, hoping it would lift. It was freezing cold and we questioned continuing on but a half hour later we headed out, thinking we should at least be up at Pilot Knob's saddle and poised, if the weather provided a window, to make a run for the summit. The threat of thunderstorms lessened as we hiked up into the basin. A roundabout creek crossing had us walking through standing water and marshy patches before finding a suitable spot with enough rocks to hop across. Once on the other side, we hiked up grass and steep scree to reach the saddle just below the summit, and arrived at 7:50 to much improving weather. We took a break before crossing to the back side and continued a traverse to the 4th class gully leading up to the summit ridge.
At 8:15 we started up the gully, which was quite steep, and reached the ridge top in just ten minutes. We scrambled to a point perhaps only 100-150 horizontal feet from the summit before stopping cold in our tracks. We stared ahead at the intimidating exposure and I wondered how I could possibly continue on in the old boots I was wearing that had so little tread. Both sides of the ridge had sheer drop-offs, the ridge itself had next to nothing for handholds, and the thought of slipping was overwhelming. We just sat and looked at each other because we knew the described tricky downclimb was still ahead of us, and yet no mention was made of this part of the ridge's exposure in Dave Cooper's Colorado Scrambles book or Garratt & Martin's book. I regretted leaving my new boots at home while mulling what to do next. We considered getting the harnesses and rope out but didn't think they'd be all that helpful here.
The decision to turn around came moments later. If we had doubts about continuing before, there certainly weren't any after Tim mentioned having a dream last night and that the ridge in front of us was remarkably similar to the one in his dream. In the dream one of us fell off the ridge and when I asked who, he said it was me. Call it fate, a premonition, or just fear. We called it a day.
We retreated to the base of the 4th class gully and took a long break, with the weather clearing nicely and neither of us feeling too badly about turning around. The hike out was enjoyable but a strange thing happened as we descended from the high saddle. My pack somehow came unzipped and I didn't even notice it until I heard an empty Gatorade bottle clunk on the rocks. My polartec fleece jacket and GPS unit had already fallen out and were nowhere to be seen, and I panicked at the thought of my wallet having met the same fate. Fortunately, it was still in the pack and the remaining hike out went without incident. We arrived at Tim's truck at 12:25.
When we return to climb Pilot Knob, I'll bring rock climbing shoes or at the very least, be wearing better boots. If anyone finds a black polartec and a yellow Garmin GPS unit, please contact me. I'll pay for their return.
Start to finish- 8 hours (including all breaks)