Escalating Englemann Peak, the unfinished saga or I was not in the mood.

The day began early, before the sun rose above the peaks. The frigid cold froze hair, and eyelashes. Englemann peak(13,362ft) lies up a steep road, and then off trail, in to the thick woods.

The sun had barely crested the horizon as we began up a trail with extreme avalanche danger...

Or so claimed the sign, there wasn't nearly enough snow to warrant an avalanche.

The snow was beautifully crystalized and fluffy, and stomping through the high drifts deeper into the woods was my favorite part of the trip. It was so cold that my hair, eyelashes, and balaclava were frozen! As the sun began to crest the peaks, it began to warm up, and the wind began to blow.

Once above tree line we stashed our snowshoes, and there was an AMAZING view of the surrounding peaks!

Parnassus Peak

Section of the Gore Range, the jagged peak in the center is "the Citadel", with Pettingell Peak on the right.

I usually do not have great difficulty with altitude, however I had already lost energy by the time we reached higher 12s. I made the decision not to summit, which is a difficult one to make, however I'd rather not have difficulties later in the trip. I sat down with another member of our party who had been up there multiple times, and had a cup of warm coffee, discussing geography.

One of the greatest scenes from our trip was the rest of the group descending from the summit-- everyone was wearing a different color, it was as if a rainbow was haphazardly climbing toward us.

 Though I didn't summit, it was a lovely trip, and I met some nice people! I also realized that sometimes I have limitations, just because altitude hasn't affected me on MOST of my trips, doesn't mean that it won't get me sometimes. I was still able to enjoy the beautiful scenery, and stomp around in the snow....which is really the point! :)

My mouth looks frosty!