Solving the Quandary...Peak-- My Thanksgiving at 14,264 ft.

Thanksgiving is a time spent with family and friends, turkey, homemade pies, especially pumpkin...-- but not this year, not for me. My family lives back in New England, and my family out here didn't invite me to thanksgiving this year...so I created my own holiday! I call it "Peaks-giving",  there is a
"feast" and a "gathering. " The "feast" consisted of a turkey sandwich, and two Spiced Pumpkin Pie Clif Bars. The "gathering", four other individuals from the Colorado Mountain Club. The peak, Quandary Peak...the very same peak I attempted in June and was unable to complete.

My "Gathering".

We selected the East Ridge route which is around 6.5 miles round trip with 3400 ft. of elevation gain. After last weekend's failed summit attempt on Audubon I had decided that this week would be different, even if there were 5 ft of snow, I would push myself harder to make the summit. I took it as a personal challenge... however once we arrived at the trailhead I was a bit disappointed...there was barely any snow, maybe one snowfield...on the way down.

Once above tree line the wind began to blow, the sun was high in the sky by the time we began to hike up the second shoulder of the ridge.

To the right.

To the left.

Since the last time I attempted to climb this peak, I've hike two other 14ers, and spent much of my time in the back country.  Before I was dragging, and stopping every 10th of a mile to breath, now I was able to bound up sections of the ridge. Every time I go on one of my adventures, I come back incredibly sore, but much stronger for my next trip.

This time, I summited Quandary Peak at 14,264ft, and was alone on the summit. I've never been on a summit without at least 5-10 other hiking parties.

Standing on the Summit of Quandary Peak, 14,264.

We sat down and ate our "feast" together, amongst the radiant peaks of the Rocky Mountains, only the sound of the wind and ourselves. The hike down took far less time than the hike up, however at one point we lost the trail and slogged through one of the snow fields. After a day of warm-ish weather, the snow was loose, and I post-holed above my knee down the slope. Aside from the post-holing, the rest of the hike was uneventful.

Despite the lack of traditional thanksgiving festivities, it was a truly fantastic way to spend my holiday, on the side of a Peak.

A long slog in the deep deep snow. Abominable Audubon Attempt.

Mt. Audubon looms over the righthand side of Brainard Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, and this was our presumed destination. The four of us drove up to the Indian Peak Wilderness "winter"  parking lot- the road to Brainard Lake is closed in the winter.

We started hiking around 8am, up the road towards the lake. The cool crisp air, thought normally pleasant, was blowing steadily, and increased with elevation. 

Windswept highway.

By the time we made it to the trailhead the snow had gone from a few inches to nearly five feet deep, it didn't help that nobody had been up there that day and we broke trail the whole time.

The fellas.

The trouble with winter is that if a trail has not been marked for winter use, it is very difficult to find the trail, and often you are making your own trail. We wove in and out of the woods, sometimes over and under trees while Martie, true to form,

kept a sharp eye out for avalanche danger.

Deep snow!

Stomping through the snow.

Breaking trail, at times could be rather difficult-- attempting to climb up and over snow drifts, however the weather could not have been more lovely!

Audubon.

Talus field.

I'm not sure how I was able to get Martie to agree to climbing a steep snow covered Talus field, but it appeared to be the safest route, much better than the avalanche chutes littering the side of the ridge. I had to remove my snowshoes before leading up the steep slope, careful not to kick any rocks loose. It is mildly awkward when you think your foot is on a rock, and you put weight on it....then it breaks through to a 3 foot hole. Zig-zagging up the slope, the scenery became more breathtaking, and looking back at my cohorts was fun!

The view ahead!

The view below!

Once above the rock slope, we strapped on our snowshoes and decided to climb above treeline, the snow had a beautiful carved appearance and the wind was whipping at my face mask. With Goggles and face masks we all looked like underwater explorers or like we had gas masks on!

Once above treeline, the group decided to climb to the shoulder slightly above treeline as our "summit" for the day. We removed our snowshoes and placed large rocks on them so they wouldn't blow away, you know the wind is strong when metal snowshoes might blow away. The wind was so strong, I was nearly blown over, a few times I had to brace myself against the wind. My vision was obscured by the crystalized snow enveloping around my body, the sound was deafening, I was unable to hear my three cohorts! Here are two short videos one of my party members took. In the first video, I am bracing myself against the wind

 There were times when I lost sight of the person twenty feet away, they would just vanish into a sea of  snow.

To the left.

To the right.

Mt. Audubon was so close, yet very far away, we had another 1.6 miles to hike in order to reach the summit, and another 1700 ft. of elevation gain and there was a storm, or something blowing in from over the peaks.

Me, Struggling against the wind.

We only sat at our summit for a few moments before we headed back down the peak to our snowshoes, and found an easier route down to the basin. 

Last view of Audubon before we descended.

Most of the climb down was very uneventful, however we were crossing over Avalanche chutes, and it had to be done at a time...just in case one of us was buried. There were thousands of small snowballs knocked loose by my snowshoes, plummeting towards the trees below. I kept imagining the snow fracturing right below my snowshoes and dragging me down into a crashing wave of snow, however there wasn't a high risk of avalanche.

Back to civilization. 

We arrived at the lake near sunset, and I looked west to see an unusual fiery glow from behind the snow shrouded peaks.

Once beyond the lake, we headed back to the car, arriving around 5:00pm. We were out there all day, and only hiked 9.8 Miles, with a 2,000 ft elevation gain. 

Here is the route from today courtesy of one of my cohorts!

Every time I head out into the back country, I learn something new about the landscape, how to treat certain situations, and what I can handle. 

Below are shots of the dream team!

Mike

Will

Martie

Me!

1 Mountain, 1 Lump, and 1 Peak- Chief Mountain, Papoose Mountain(Lump), and Squaw Peak

Chief Mountain, Papoose Mountain(the lump), and Squaw Peak, are three of the lesser peaks in the Indian Peaks Wilderness(IPW). All three are tree covered, however Chief and Squaw have rocky outcrops at their tops. Here is a map of all three!

View from the side of Chief Mountain.

 This last Sunday, I went on another group snowshoe with the Colorado Mountain Club(CMC), it was an unusual day for weather. At 7:30, when we left the Denver area, the sun was rising, and there were some clouds in the sky, when we arrived at the trailhead it was grey, halfway up the trail the wind picked up, and it began to snow. The trail started on road, then veered off into a foot and a half of snow, it was packed down-- there were  few skiers up ahead of us. The Chief Mountain trail headed up onto the side of the peak, and through a few clearings. Once we cleared tree line, the wind became relentless, stinging my face with snow crystals. I removed my snowshoes, and followed the snow-slicked rocky trail to the summit of the peak.

The final scramble was slippery, but fun. The wind nearly swept me from atop the summit, and it had begun to snow.

View from the Summit of Chief Mountain!

We hiked back down the trail and up and over the "lump" known as Papoose, and down the back side which was FANTASTIC powder! Then we hiked up the road to the summit of Squaw Peak and back to the car. All in all, a good first foray into the Indian Peaks Wilderness. 

Grizzled at Grizzly Gulch

I was supposed to climb Argentine Peak, however the group I went hiking/snowshoeing with changed the destination halfway there to Grizzly Gulch.  I was rather disappointed, however getting blown off of a ridge by high winds didn't suit me either.

From the cars, we hiked up a steep unplowed road to the trailhead, where we strapped on our snowshoes and slogged on. The trail was strewn with disintegrating cabins, abandoned mine shafts, and awkward stream crossings.

We veered off trail about two miles from the cars onto a heavily wooded hillside, that dipped down into a brook. Now this was the first time that I navigated a stream crossing on snowshoes, it was a swift stream, and stepping onto rocks with big "yeti crampons" on my feet was awkward! There was a few times throughout the day that I feared that I'd end up in the water, I'm not the most graceful of women. 

We found the trail and continued through a few clearings, the wind was howling through the trees, kicking up snow and nearly obscuring the scenery. 

On the left was Kelso Mountain, and Torrey's Peak, to the right was either Bard or Baker Mountains, and straight ahead Grizzly Peak loomed in the distance, a dark monolith. 

Kelso Mountain and Torrey's Peak

To the Right.

Grizzly Peak.

On the way up the trail, I was having my tushy handed to me by an 84 year old gentleman, on the way down, I was in the front of the pack. It really hit me that I need to be training WAY harder than I have been in order to become a strong mountaineer. 

Snowshoeing is great training, I find it to be far better exercise than hiking-- if I had been hiking this trail I wouldn't have been so tired.

I was rather disappointed that we didn't climb Argentine Peak, however I was able to see a different side of Grizzly Peak, and had a good introduction to winter!

Doing things in Du-rango!

Five days after I returned from New England, my brother came out to visit. We planned a three day trip to Durango, arriving on Monday night, and leaving early Wednesday morning to drive back and have dinner with a friend.

Though I usually do not show photos from the drive, they are so spectacular that this post will include some of them. The drive to Durango took about 6-7 hours from Denver, and we passed through some of the most lovely scenery! Snowcapped ranges,  unusual rock formations, and a cascading waterfall!

Driving through Fairplay and South Park County.

Chaffee County, Co.-- more 14ers than any other county in Colorado.

Treasure Falls-- Over the summit of Wolf Creek Pass.

The next morning, after a crazy halloween evening, we drove up the Colorado Trail a ways, for a lovely view of the peaks.

View into the Las Animas valley

Peaks to the west!

View towards Durango.

Later we took a hike up an area called "the hog back", which is an interesting place geologically speaking, I found a small fern fossil near the top! The trail began in a wooded area, with many desiccated streams, and the distinct clink of mountain bike gears. The first section of the trail was not exceedingly steep, however once on the ridge you could fall for hundreds of feet!

Half way up the ridge. 

My feet, and the drop!

The trail was very dry, and towards the top quite difficult to maneuver. I felt my feet slipping, and slid a few feet with nothing to grab, luckily I was able to dig my toes into the dust! Once we reached the terminus, the view was incredible!

We took a photo for our parents, as this was the first time since I was 9 and he was 7, that we were together in Durango!

After the hogback, we walked up Horse Gulch, a lovely area surrounded by beautiful rock formations, and a large meadow with two ridges jutting from the far-side.

The weather was gorgeous, and I found Durango to be one of the coolest places I've ever had the pleasure of spending time! If i were offered a job there tomorrow, I would be out of the city so fast, even if it meant living in my tent for a few weeks :).

It was awesome to spend some time with my brother, despite the fact I was unable to challenge myself in the backcountry, however next time...I'll be climbing some larger peaks!