Cathedral Peak as seen from Grizzly Peak in 2013

2018 is the year! I WILL complete the quest to climb the highest 100 mountains in Colorado! Cathedral Peak marked #99 and was only one of two peaks standing between me and my dreams. I set off for Aspen at noon on a Saturday. My plan was relatively simple yet ambitious: Backpack to Cathedral Lake, set-up camp, photograph sunset, find a composition for the Perseid Meteor Shower, photograph the Perseid Meteor Shower, sleep (maybe), climb Cathedral Peak in the dark, photograph sunrise from the summit. Seems doable, right? I have made it somewhat of a tradition to photograph the Perseid Meteor Shower whenever I can. Last year's was a total dud due to the moon being full, so I chose not to photograph it; however, the year before I photographed it from the saddle between Pigeon and Turret, which was also ambitious (and quite rewarding). I was hopeful for a similar outcome at Cathedral Lake.

I have been dreading the climb of Cathedral for several years. Most people climb it in early summer when there is ample snow in the incredibly steep couloir leading to the summit saddle. I personally dislike snow climbing, but also did not have high hopes for climbing up that gully when it was all hard dirt and rock; however, I needed this peak and so it was on! 

As always, you can see and download my full route and GPS tracks over on the incredible app, Gaia GPS, which I use on my iPhone to plan, track, and follow my routes on these trips. It is absolutely invaluable and worth every cent. I personally love that you have full access to all USGS topo maps and National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps as well. You can use the app while in airplane mode and even save maps for offline use. To get a nice discount on the application, follow this link and you'll also support my efforts to keep this site running.

My full stats for this particular climb, which included summiting Cathedral Peak (13,943 ft.):

• Peaks climbed: 1
• Miles hiked: 8.5
• Time: 5 hours, 23 minutes
• 3,987 ft. elevation gain

For this trip, I decided to pack quite a lot of camera gear (by the way, these are affiliate links and using them helps me pay for this site and to bring you better content):

• Sony A7R2 Camera
• Sony 12-24 f/4 lens
• Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 lens
• Sony 55mm f/1.8 lens
• Sony 70-300 FE telephoto lens
• Feisol Tournament 3442 tripod

As usual, I used the beta from Gerry Roach's High Thirteener Guidebook. I was still using the 1st edition of the book; however, his new edition is available on Amazon after many years of waiting - rejoice!

I reached the Cathedral Lake Trailhead at 5 PM. It was not very full and that made me smile. I embarked up the steep trail which Roach describes as unrelenting and pretty much did not stop until I reached the lake. The hike is steep but the trail is great and the scenery is wonderful as well. 

As you climb the trail, the view opens up quite a bit across Castle Creek to reveal Ashcroft Mountain. 

The fireweed had all grown super tall and looked really eerie. 

As I continued up, the eastern flanks of Malamute Peak began to reveal themselves. 

The area just before the lake has ample camping and some great sites near the stream. I opted to find a spot a little higher up near some small trees with a wonderful view of Cathedral Peak (center) and Leahy Peak (right). 

I set-up my campsite at 6:30 PM and began hydrating my dinner. Knowing I would need a good hour for it to hydrate, I hiked to the lake and found some spots to photograph the sunset from. It was really pretty and I was the only person up there except for a fisherman, who left shortly after I arrived. Being the only soul around at a high mountain lake is equal parts scary and serene.

The sunset looked like it would open up over Cathedral Peak, so I repositioned myself on the eastern shore for some great shots of Cathedral Peak.

The light was bright, intense, and really colorful.

I decided it was time to go back and get ready for bed. I enjoyed one last gaze at the parting light before bed.

I set my alarm for 1:30 AM so I could photograph the Perseid Meteor Shower. I ended up waking up at 11:30 PM to some strange sounds (maybe just wind). I decided to get up and set-up my camera for the Meteor Shower. The Milky Way was ablaze to the south and I was loving it. 

I found a nice compositon including Cathedral Lake and the Milky Way and set-up my camera to shoot on a time-lapse automatically every 31 seconds. I lay on my back and watched the meteors for about an hour or so - it was one of the best displays of the Perseids I could remember. Huge streaks across the sky. It was pitch black - no light from cities, no moon. I decided to leave my camera there all night and get some sleep. I wanted to shoot sunrise from the summit of Cathedral.

I got up at 3:45 AM, found my camera again, packed it up, and began my journey in the dark up Cathedral, following the description in Roach's book. I was not able to find the "mining trail" he describes until about 500 feet of elevation gain above the lake. I bushwhacked up a steep grassy slope and encountered the great trail heading west. I followed cairns all the way to the base of the infamous gully, where I watched the beginnings of sunrise. The gully itself was atrocious. It was some of the nastiest terrain I can ever recally climbing up. Class 3 loose dirt and rock. Maybe snow climbing would have been fine after-all! Oh well, I suffered up the steep gully and made great time. 

The terrain between the saddle and the summit was pretty interesting. It reminded me of Vermillion Peak or Hagerman Peak. It was loose in spots but relatively easy to find good solid holds. Some care was needed to ensure a good route up, but all-in-all I did not find it overly difficult to ascend. I reached the top just in time for sunrise, which was glorious to say the least! 

I was so focused on the Elk Mountain 14ers to my west, including the Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak, and Capitol Peak that I had forgotten about Castle Peak to my south. I caught it in the corner of my eye and my jaw dropped. Castle never looked so good in the early light. So much red!

Of course the Elk Mountain 14ers looked amazing as well. 

This telephoto rendition showcases all the great peaks, including, from left to right, Maroon Peak, Thunder Pyramid (my last Centennial), North Maroon Peak, Pyramid Peak, and Capitol Peak.

It was a magical display of light and might.

It was maybe not the most incredible display of color that I remember, but it was a damn good sunrise, and I was proud to have photographed another sunrise from the top of a Centennial. 

The clouds and haze from the California wildfires added some interesting dynamics as well.

#99 was in the bag! Next up - Thunder Pyramid!

The Cathedral summit marker, looking great after 59 years.

I did not spend a ton of time on the top. I let my friends and family know I had made it to the top and then I made my way down. I reached the gully again in no time and prepared myself for hell.

This next photo is looking back up the gully from just a little ways down. It was so steep, loose, and nasty. 

More from the nasty gully, to give you a good sense of what it is like when dry.

I finally reached the bottom of the gully and my feet were sore. What a nasty spot. I don't recommend it.

The next photo shows the highest cairn I was able to locate before the gully, in case anyone needs a good marker for their climb. Going down from here was pretty easy on a well-marked trail on precarious but mostly solid rock and boulder.

Here is a look back towards the start of the gully.

And another view of the gully from a little lower.

I loved the castle-like rock formations here, they were really cool to look at.

The eastern wing of Cathedral was especially impressive, towering over the whole area like some sort of watchman.

I made it back to my campsite at about 9 AM. I felt great about my time and my legs and feet were feeling strong still. The next photo shows a zoomed in view of the gully (right of middle) and shows just how crazy steep it is.

I took one more parting panorama of the area from camp to remember the day.

I could not help but get a telephoto black and white shot of the pinnacles east of Cathedral - so impressive!

Farewell Cathedral! Your eastern friend Leahy Peak looks way more inviting! =)

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed my photos and description. One more to go!