Stanley Mountain (12,521), Vasquez Peak (12,947), & South Vasquez Peak (12,900) by Brian Schultz Friday July 20, 2018

Roundtrip mileage: 13.6 miles from Berthoud Pass
Elevation gain: 4,800'
Start to finish: 9 hours 20 minutes
Participants: Jason Mayfield, Brian Schultz, and Ollie the dog

Jason and I drove separately to Berthoud Pass and began at 7:35 AM. The weather was looking good and there weren't any fire or smoke concerns, either from the Colorado fires, or the ones burning out west. I wasn't keen on breathing in smoke on a long day on the peaks so I was grateful for the clear air.

The trail is excellent from Berthoud Pass and once on the high ridge, it's a long tundra stroll to Stanley Mountain. Ollie loved scampering about and usually responded quickly when Jason called him back but not always. He was on the lookout for critters and bolted when he thought he was on to something. We arrived on Stanley's summit at 9:25 and departed at 9:50. We headed over to Vasquez Peak but Jason turned around at 11:30 because he was running out of water for Ollie and there weren't any water sources that he was aware of.

I continued on to Vasquez Peak and reached its summit at 12:40. There were two others on the summit who'd approached from Jones Pass road and I enjoyed their company before departing 20 minutes later. I was tired at this point but hiked up the short distance to unranked South Vasquez Peak, which I'd contoured below on the way to Vasquez earlier. I descended to Vasquez Pass, went back up Stanley Mountain, and began the long trudge back to Berthoud Pass. I got back at 4:55 and was pretty much wiped out.