Snowmass Mountain (14,092) by Brian Schultz July 26-27, 1999
I had high hopes of finishing up my fourteeners this summer and the plan was to do the longest backpack first. So unlike last year when I threw on the pack to do Capitol after a day and a half of driving in from Minnesota, I spent a night in Leadville hoping for better altitude adjusting. It proved to be of little help. After breakfast on Monday I drove over Independence Pass to Aspen and on to Old Snowmass. I took my car on this trip and initially was concerned about the road to the Snowmass Creek trailhead parking but correspondence with internet friend Steve Helle, who I'd be meeting and climbing with in August, assured the car would have no problem. He'd already been up here in June for his attempt on Snowmass and disappointingly had to turn back due to the enormous amount of snow still at and above Snowmass Lake.
The road was fine and other cars were parked but no one else was in sight. I left at 9:20 AM, knowing this would be a very long backpack and hoping for good weather the next two days. I sure didn't relish the thought of packing in 8 miles one way and having to turn back because I'm not a fan of backpacking.
Over the winter I decided trekking poles would be an advantage and received a pair as a gift from my wife. Using them now for the first time, I got a good rhythm down and enjoyed the pleasant morning on a great trail. They came in especially handy at the Snowmass Creek crossing, actually a lake with a large logjam. My backpack was awkward and I used the poles for balance to avoid falling in- my major accomplishment of the day! The logs are scattered about like giant toothpicks and the water looked deep enough, so a stick, ice axe, poles, or something is highly recommended as one walks the tightrope from one log to another.
The trail gained elevation much faster after the crossing, with two long steep miles remaining. I started feeling the effects of the altitude and the heavy pack- the straps were digging into my shoulders and I was getting tired. I was stopping much more but pushed on and caught up to some other backpackers taking a break.
Their group of ten was scattered along the trail and I was thrilled to find out they were from Minnesota. In the group was Jerry Wetterling, father of son Jacob who was abducted in St Joseph, Minn almost ten years ago and never found. Many Minnesotans are familiar with the sad story and were shook that it happened in a small rural town. This group was raising money for the foundation that Jacob's mother Patty runs back home. With the depressing thought of the kidnapping on my mind I trudged up the trail, informed by a descending hiker that the lake was very close.
The final push brought me to the scenic lake at 3:15. I dropped the pack and popped some ibuprofen- my head was spinning just like at Capitol last year. I found a decent camping spot, set up the tent, and took a walk to the lake. Two young men were milling around and we struck up a conversation. They and another friend were also from Minnesota. We Minnesotans outnumbered the natives up here! These guys read about Snowmass in Backpacker magazine and had to try it. This was their first fourteener and they were unprepared- no route info or guide books and they misidentified Snowmasss Mtn- I pointed out the proper peak and route and went back to my tent because it started raining. At 4:30 a thunderstorm blew in and lasted until 7:00, scary with the lightning flashing around. After it quit I made dinner and was so tired I fell asleep by 8:00.
I was wide awake at 10:30, and an hour later when I went out to brush my teeth, a beautiful bright moon over the ridge lit up the woods and the lake. The forest was quiet and I stood there a long time enjoying the enchanting scene. The clear sky gave me hope for the morning but when I returned to the tent I couldn't sleep. Hours later I conked out and then overslept.
I woke up at 5:30, hurriedly made oatmeal, and left at 5:55. Clear skies- hooray! I made it around the lake on a decent trail and intended to hike the scree field on the right. That's what I suggested to the three young Minnesota guys but when I got there I changed my mind and went up the left side. I stopped often as I fought the scree and above it I expected to see lots of snow in the basin. Not so! Since Steve's attempt last month, much of it had melted and the route today was mostly an unpleasant rubble and rock run up to the described hump on the ridge. Dropping down on the back side of the ridge made for fun steep scrambling and I ran into my two Minnesota friends. They were on their way down after successfully making the summit- their friend turned back long before. They did follow my advice and said the scree on the right side was good so I decided to take it on the way down. I continued up and at 10:20 stepped on the summit, 4 hours and 25 minutes from the lake. They did it in 4 hours. My first fourteener of the year felt great on top!
Another fellow came up from Geneva Lake and said he enjoyed the route from that side. The morning was sunny but the clouds to the west were a little too dark for comfort. My cold batteries in the camera finally warmed up and I had the Geneva Lake guy take a photo of me with Capitol Peak in the background. As usual, the views were incredible but at 10:40 I started down. Between the summit and the hump was a sharp cut in the ridge and I descended it for a nice shortcut into the basin. Two great glissades on the remaining snow brought me to the north side just over the scree. Careful routefinding avoided some steep cliffy areas on the way down to the lake and I got back to camp at 12:55, only 2 hours and 15 minutes from the summit.
I packed up and left at 2:00 for the long hike out, hearing distant thunder rumbling behind me. Those dark clouds I'd seen from the summit were catching up. I had to stop several times to readjust my daypack to the backpack, all the while hoping this storm would skip by me. By 2:30 lightning was flashing and it began raining- no luck this time. The storm was upon me as I reached the open area below the trees and the sky above me flashed bright. Then a big crack of thunder ripped into the valley and jolted me darn near out of my skin. When lightning flashed again the thunder was instantaneous- and incredibly loud! It seemed just inches away. I debated crouching down for fear of being hit by lightning but it stayed in the clouds so I kept going and reached the logjam, crossing the wet logs in the pouring rain. Half way across, lightning and another thunderclap startled me and I nearly lost my balance. I felt like a sitting duck out in the open. Relieved to get across, I still had a long ways to get to the safety of the woods.
I finally reached the trees and at 4:30 the rain quit but it left the trail a muddy mess with a channel of water running down the middle. My feet squished with every step- not just in the mud but inside my boots too. Totally waterlogged. Plans for Little Bear in the morning weren't looking so good- I'd need a day to dry out. I got back to the car at 6:10, exhausted but pleased because I wouldn't have to backpack this one again! (4 hours and 10 minutes to hike out from Snowmass Lake).
I drove to Poncha Springs, waiting to see how I felt when I got there and keeping the possibility of doing Little Bear open. I got a room at the Poncha Lodge and Ken and Marilyn cheerily greeted me, she reminding me again how bad my sunburn was in 1995.
Tim Briese and I had made arrangements last year for climbing Little Bear but I called him to bail out. No way I could backpack again with everything wet so we agreed to climb it in August. We still had our train ride scheduled for Friday and I suggested hiking Redcloud and Sunshine on Thursday to fill in for Little Bear. He said he'd meet me in Lake City.
Backpack in to lake- 5 hours 55 minutes
Total climb time- 7 hours
Backpack out to car- 4 hours 10 minutes