Displaying items by tag: Vestal Peak

Colorado is easily one of the most scenic places in the whole world, so creating this set of lists was not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. Having lived in Colorado my whole life and having visited nearly every mountain range the State has to offer, I wanted to reflect on my absolute favorite locations as well as highlight the places I’ve not yet visited. If you’ve not yet had the opportunity to visit some of these places, I would highly recommend that you do so immediately! Without further ado, here is my list of the top five stunning locations in Colorado that I have visited:

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1. Vestal Basin. Vestal Basin is a very remote valley located deep within the Weminuche Wilderness Area 32 miles northeast of Durango, Colorado. The surrounding mountains are members of the Grenadier Range, which is a sub-range of the San Juan Mountains. Vestal Basin is home to one of the most aesthetically inspiring mountains in Colorado, Vestal Peak. Vestal Peak towers above the basin in a upwards sloping fashion and contains one of the most classic climbs in all of Colorado up what is known as Wham Ridge. Vestal Peak is easily recognized from all directions by the dramatic and awe-inspiring Wham Ridge. Next door to Vestal Peak lies the also impressive Arrow Peak, which also has similar traits, in that it rises to the sky in a very dramatic fashion. A trip up these two incredible peaks should be on any serious Colorado mountaineer’s bucket list.



2. Capitol Lake / Elk Mountains. Capitol Lake sits at the base of Capitol Peak, located deep within the Elk Mountains 13 miles west of Aspen, Colorado. Access to some of Colorado’s most stunning peaks is granted from this location, including the challenging task of summiting Capitol Peak via its famous Knife Edge. Once above tree-line, views of other famous peaks, such as The Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak are seen to the southeast. The Elk Mountains are a truly magical place to behold.



3. Mount Sneffels Wilderness Area. This pristine wilderness area is located 10 miles south of the town of Ridgway, Colorado in the San Juan Mountains. The area is home to the famous Yankee Boy Basin and several incredible mountains within the highest 100 of Colorado, including Mount Sneffels, Teakettle Mountain and Dallas Peak. Dallas Peak is arguably the most difficult mountain to climb out of the highest 100 in Colorado. The rugged terrain and incredible foliage located in this area are something every visitor to Colorado should take time to see. Especially beautiful in the fall, the wilderness area’s aspen trees change to a magical display of deep gold, red and yellow, all with the dramatic and spectacular Mount Sneffels in the background. This area is a must-see for natives and out-of-state visitors alike.



4. Colony Lakes / Cottonwood Creek. These two magical lakes rest at the eastern base of Crestone Needle, Crestone Peak and Humboldt Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range, 13 miles southwest of the town of Westcliffe, Colorado. Cottonwood Creek runs on the western side of Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle and provides remote access to one of the densest, most pristine wilderness Colorado has to offer. Unfortunately, access to Cottonwood Creek is currently problematic due some private property complications at the trailhead near Crestone, Colorado. Hopefully this area will be opened back up someday so that others can fully appreciate the natural wonder and beauty this area has to offer. Access to the Colony Lakes is still available by way of a four-wheel drive road that recently was re-developed by the Forest Service. There is plenty of controversy surrounding this access point as well, due to damage to the ecosystem at the lakes above.



5. Highland Mary Lakes. Highland Mary Lakes are some of the most remote lakes in Colorado located quite deep within the Weminuche Wilderness Area in the San Juan Mountains, southeast of Silverton, Colorado. The lakes are located on the Colorado Trail on a stretch of earth that is completely above tree-line for several miles in each direction. It is truly insane to be on such an elevated plateau with some of Colorado most splendid mountain vistas surrounding you. This location is a favorite attraction of mountain goats as well. An amazing 3-5 day backpacking trip can be made by traveling from north to south or south to north from the silverton-side trailhead of these lakes all the way to Vallecito Reservior or vice-versa. The trek is truly magnificent. Be sure to coordinate a car shuttle ahead of time!

The top 5 places in Colorado that I’d like to visit but not had a chance to yet:

1. Ice Lake Basin. Ice Lake Basin is a remote area west of Silverton, Colorado. From what I understand, this is one of the most incredible places in Colorado and I cannot wait to see it myself. The basin provides access to some of Colorado’s greatest peaks, including U.S. Grant Peak, Pilot Knob, Vermillion Peak and Fuller Peak.



2. Chicago Basin. Chicago Basin is home to three of Colorado’s 14ers, Sunlight Peak, Windom Peak and Eolus Peak.  Located deep within the San Juan Mountains’ Needle sub-range, these mountains are quite possibly some of the most photogenic and rugged looking out of any set in the State. While travel to the area is popular due to the access provided for the area’s 14ers, it is still tops on my list of places to visit.
3. Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. Indian Peaks Wilderness Area is located northwest of Denver, Colorado, just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. While this area boasts no 14ers and only one peak over 13,500 ft, it is apparently a very pristine mountain range full of incredible hikes and challenging climbs.
4. Gore Range. The Gore Range is a relatively unknown area north of Vail, Colorado and obtains some of Colorado’s most glaciated and rugged looking peaks. Many mountains in this range have never been named, mostly because of the remoteness of the area.
5. West Elk Wilderness Area. This swath of wilderness is located north of Crested Butte, Colorado is home to some of the most insane images of autumn colors ever imaginable.

Photo by KAE Photography

What areas not covered have you been to that you’d like to share? Have any places you have yet to visit that you want to? I’d love to hear about your thoughts.

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There really is only one word that can aptly describe the Grenadier Range: incredible. This sub-range of Colorado's San Juan Mountains rests deep within the Weminuche Wilderness Area and sweeps up from the valley below in a gravity-defying statement of beauty, ruggedness and splendor. Sitting approximately 9 miles south-southeast of Silverton, Colorado, and 32 miles northeast of Durango, Colorado, the Grenadier Range cannot be missed. In fact, I would go as far as to say that this group of mountains should be among the places one should see before they die. Made mostly of quartzite, these mountains are the spine of the San Juan Mountains, and arguably, some of Colorado's most difficult to climb. In fact, Arrow Peak was once considered the hardest major mountain in Colorado to climb until a class 3 route was established on its northeast rib¹. Vestal Peak's "Wham Ridge," impressively seen from many vantage points in the San Juan Mountains, is considered by most to be a classic climb in Colorado. Lt. George Marshall of the U.S.G.S. 1876 Wheeler Survey reported on the Grenadier Range:

No where in Colorado can be found such steep slopes, such shapeless crags, such rocky and impassable ravines, such generally detestable characteristics and features as are here seen. The hard metamorphic rocks are shivered along their cleavage planes for hundreds of feet, leaving their odd pinnacles, there the likeness of the shattered outspread wings of some gigantic bird, and again of the grim grinning teeth of death.²

Additionally, from the summit of Mount Sneffels, Rhoda of the U.S.G.S. 1871 Hayden Survey reported:

The group of quartize peaks stood out as boldly as ever about thirty miles to the southeast. In fact, I may state here that we have never yet seen a group from any station (and we have viewed it from all sides) without feeling both deep respect and awe for their terrible ruggedness. The fact already stated, that the storm clouds seem to hover about them before starting on their meandering ways, only served to add to our other feelings of uneasiness.³

Given the incredible fanfare this group of mountains has received over the years by many visitors, I made sure to include it on my summer's climbing itinerary. Scheduling the trip would prove somewhat difficult since I was relying on the 5th class climbing expertise of one of my best friends, Jeremy Park. Jeremy was able to clear his calendar and join me from Seattle, Washington for this amazing backpacking adventure. Jeremy is a highly qualified trad climber who has spent many years climbing difficult routes in the rugged Cascade Mountains of Washington. For more on his adventures, see his profile on CascadeClimbers.com.

To start off, here is a break-down of relevant numbers from the trip:

Peaks summited:

Vestal Peak: 13,864 ft. (ranked 77th in Colorado)

Arrow Peak: 13,803 ft. (ranked 104th in Colorado)

Total elevation gain: 8,782 ft.

Total distance hiked: 25.12 miles

Total time hiking: Approx. 22 hours

Total photos taken: 582

Total wildlife sightings: 2 (marmots, mountain goats)

Total distance driven:  610 miles

Trip duration: 4 days, 16 hours

Day 1:

The rough plan was to leave Colorado Springs on Friday, July 9th, 2010 and return on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010. These plans were altered somewhat; however we did end up leaving at 8 AM from Colorado Springs on Friday and arrived at the Molas Pass trailhead at approximately 3 PM.

The long drive from Colorado Springs to Molas Pass

After arriving at Molas Pass, I became quite excited to see the Grenadiers for the first time. The range lived up to its name, striking both excitement and awe into me immediately.

The Grenadier Range as seen from Molas Lake.

One of the Grenadiers, Mount Garfield, really rises quite steeply from the valley below, and is rated 33rd on my list of "most impressive summits."

Mount Garfield rises high above (right of center)

Jeremy and I loaded our heavy packs (mine was 65 pounds) onto our backs and began hiking. We started down the Colorado Trail, which leads down 1,700 ft over 2.5 miles and several switchbacks (37 to be exact) to the Animas River and to the Durango & Silverton Railroad. Generally, most people take the train to this point to avoid the downclimb (and later upclimb); however, Jeremy and I chose to hike from Molas Pass to save money and to avoid being tied to the train schedule.

The full route map for the trip. Click to see a larger version.

Matt Payne heading down the Colorado Trail.

Before long, the river and railroad tracks became visible. Our route would eventually take us to the bottom, over the river, and up the valley to the left towards the steep looking mountains (the Grenadiers) that are nearly hidden left of center.

Looking down at the Animas River from the Colorado Trail

Once lower into the valley, Mount Garfield became more and more impressive, towering over the river like a midevil castle's guard.

Mount Garfield

Once we crossed the river over a very well-maintained bridge and over the railroad tracks, the trail leading up Elk Creek appeared and started us up into the Elk Park valley. This trail is very well-maintained, and there was even quite a bit of evidence that trail crews had been working on it this summer to fix some washed out sections. The trail is quite steep, but very manageable with a heavy pack. We followed this trail for nearly 2.9 miles until we reached a set of beaver ponds at 10,000 ft., our pre-determined trigger to head up into the Vestal Basin.

 

Vestal Peak towers above the Elk Creek valley and Vestal Basin.

Jeremy looking tired at the beaver ponds with Vestal Basin in the background.

After 3 hours of backpacking, we were determined to make Vestal Basin before nightfall. We headed south up Vestal Basin's trail - an unmaintained, but easy to follow trail which climbs quite steeply up towards Vestal and Arrow Peaks. Did I mention that this trail is steep? The trail gained 600 feet in 3/4 of a mile with large amounts of fallen trees and boulders to navigate around. In several other trip reports I've read, people have mentioned that the trail was difficult to find or follow; however, we did not find this to be the case at all.

After hiking another two hours into the basin for a total of 8.7 miles, our legs finally gave out at 10,620 ft shortly after nightfall. We found a cozy campsite near a small tributary of Vestal Creek and made our first meal of the trip - two packets of Zatarain's ready to serve rice and chicken. This was surprisingly good and filled with sodium (a nice thing to take in after a full day of backpacking). We decided to set the alarm for 4 AM and hit the sack around 11 PM. It was at this point that I realized that my Thermarest pad had somehow sprung a leak from the hike up and that I would be sleeping on hard ground. Yay!

Day 2:

4 AM came and went, and we finally crawled out of the tent around 8 AM. Both us were thankful for the extra rest and tore down camp and hit the trail at about 10 AM, heading for the upper sections of Vestal Basin.

Jeremy hikes up into Vestal Basin along Vestal Creek.

Great views of both Electric Peak and Arrow Peak were had while hiking up into the basin.

Electric Peak

Arrow Peak's steep northeast face, seen from the Vestal Basin trail.

After hiking a little over a mile and gaining 893 ft., we found an ideal campsite at the foot of Vestal and Arrow, at the end of a long clearning and in some trees next to Vestal Creek. Vestal Peak itself could be seen directly from camp, with it's "Wham Ridge" rising above us.

Vestal Peak's Wham Ridge

Since we were planning on climbing Wham Ridge, it was particularly exciting to see it close-up.

Vestal's Wham Ridge zoomed in from our campsite.

After setting up camp, I repaired my Thermarest using a repair kit that I always carry with my on backpacking trips. For once the extra weight paid off! We set-up camp just in time. Clouds had been forming since we had woken up and as typically happens in the San Juan Mountains, a thunderstorm decided to develop quickly above us around 12 PM. We crawled into our tents and napped through the storm, which subsided around 4 PM. We woke up, ate a few snacks, and finished setting up our campsite. At around 5 PM, after the clouds had completely cleared out, I somewhat jokingly told Jeremy that we should climb Arrow that evening. Jeremy said, "why not," and before we knew it, we were packing our day-packs for an ad hoc summit of one of Colorado's finest summits. We departed camp at 6:15 PM, headlamps and helmets equipped, and headed up a climber's trail right next to our campsite, which went straight up the head-wall of the lower area beneath Vestal and Arrow. This trail was also easy to follow, but ridiculously steep, rising 645 ft. in just .45 miles until it reached a plateau in between Arrow and Vestal. Arrow's classic ramp was easy to spot, and Vestal's Wham Ridge continued to blow my mind.

Arrow Peak

Vestal Peak

Vestal and Arrow Peaks as seen from the top of the headwall above our campsite.

Additionally, the Trinities were quite prominent just to the left of Vestal.The Trinities are the middle three mountains of the Grenadier Range, composed of West Trinity, Middle Trinity, and East Trinity.

The Trinities as seen from the base of Arrow and Vestal Peaks.

Matt Payne posing with Vestal Peak behind.

We headed up to the base of Arrow and began the climb up Arrow's prominent ramp. The ramp itself was nearly free of snow and consisted of easy class 3 climbing.

The base of Arrow Peak and the start of our route.

As we climbed, I could not help but constantly look left at the impressive nature of Vestal's Wham Ridge, which swept up as if it were carved out with a fine instrument.

The impressive profile of Vestal Peak's Wham Ridge.

The higher we were able to climb on Arrow, the more and more impressive Vestal became. I simply could not stop myself from gazing over at its sheer beauty, and eventually, Vestal Lake came into view as well.

A panoramic photo of Vestal's Wham Ridge.

Jeremy and I reached a junction in our route and made a decision to stay left and continue up a class 4 variation of Arrow. This decision was one of our best of the trip, as Arrow's upper ramp provides some of the most fun, yet least exposed, class 4 climbing I've done to date. For those that do not know, exposure is defined as "the condition of being on high vertical rock with full consciousness that nothing exists between you and the distant ground but thin air⁴."

The start of Arrow Peak's class 4 terrain

Following the higher ridge to the left also provided some great views of the Needle Range to the south, and Jagged Mountain, Windom Peak and Sunlight Peak came into view for the first time, Jagged's pinnacles rising up like upside-down stalagtites.

Jagged Mountain (left of center), Windom Peak and Sunlight Peak

Matt Payne with Vestal's insane Wham Ridge behind him.

A high resolution panoramic photo of Vestal's Wham Ridge.

Jeremy Park on Arrow Peak's class 4 ridge, just east of the traditional class 3 route

Jeremy Park navigating the class 4 terrain on Arrow

Jeremy took my camera and was able to take some photos of me negotiating some of the class 4 terrain. The climbing was fun, challenging, and quite rewarding. Exposure was minimal, and various holds were quite ubiquitous.

The sun was setting quickly, which was both exciting and troublesome, as we did not look forward to down-climbing Arrow in the dark, but I was really excited to see the sun set from 13,803 ft.

The sun setting on Vestal Basin.

After an exhilirating climb, Jeremy and I topped out on Arrow's summit at 8:15 PM, and enjoyed the sunset from the top. This was one of the most majestic and spiritually fulfilling moments of my life.

A 360⁰ view from the summit of Arrow Peak, with the sun setting over the San Juan Mountains.

The Needle Mountains across the Tenmile Creek and Noname Creek drainages from us were impressive, each living up to their namesake.

The Needle Mountains - from left to right: Jagged Mountain, Windom Peak, Sunlight Peak, Mount Eolus, Animas Mountain, Turret Peak and Pigeon Peak

Pigeon Peak was quite possibly one of the most impressive mountains I've ever seen, with its east face dropping off like the edge of table.

Pigeon Peak

Jeremy with Jagged Mountain directly behind him to the right

Jeremy with Vestal in Arrow's shadow to the left

A self-timer captures Matt and Jeremy on the summit of Arrow Peak

Rio Grande Pyramid and  The Window were looking pretty awesome in the late evening sun as well. Rio Grande Pyramid has really piqued my interest lately since I am going to climb it in August, 2010 with my dad (update - completed - see the Trip Report). It should be pretty amazing to look back towards Arrow and Vestal.

Rio Grande Pyramid and "Window Peak" as seen from Arrow's summit. The Window is the notch on the ridge just right of Rio Grande Pyramid.

The sun sets behind the San Juan Mountains. Check out that lake below!

Arrow Peak's north face and an airy fin connecting it with the true summit

Vestal Peak's Wham Ridge during sunset.

After spending just 20 minutes on the summit to enjoy the sunset, Jeremy and I departed Arrow's amazing summit via the standard class 3 trail, which was marked by several cairns heading down the steep face of Arrow. Before long, we adorned our headlamps and were in complete darkness, but not before we had successfully navigated below the more treacherous sections. The down-climb in the dark provided quite an interesting challenge. The ramp on Arrow was quite solid and easy to climb down, rarely requiring either of us to sit down on steeper sections. We could see other campers much higher in the basin above our camp with their headlamps on, watching us. I thought the climbing down would be difficult in the dark; however, the route on Arrow is so straightforward that I think it could even be up-climbed in near darkness if one were experienced and comfortable. We reached our campsite at approximately 9:15, just 3 hours after we had set-out to climb Arrow.

We cooked our dinner in the dark again, this time creating an amazing medley of re-hydrated black beans, jalapenos, green chilis, velveeta cheese, and tortillas. We planned to climb Vestal's Wham Ridge the next day, so we set the alarm for 5 AM again, and hit the sack at 12 AM, snoozing the night away.

Day 3:

We awoke on day 3 and quickly prepared for what we hoped to be an amazing climb. Having read about Wham Ridge over and over again the past several years, I had mentally hyped up the climb to be an epic adventure. A small group of three climbers headed up the trail shortly before us, which was somewhat concerning to both Jeremy and I as we did not want any rocks to fall down onto us during our ascent. We decided not to deviate from our plans since Jeremy felt confident that if we bumped into the other group we could find a route around them. We left camp and headed up the steep climber's trail again to Vestal's base. I carried the 60 meter rope, a nut key for taking out nuts from the rock, as well as my personal gear, and Jeremy carried the climbing rack (a full compliment of anchors, quickdraws, webbing, camalots, and nuts). The Columbine flowers on the climber's trail were outstanding.

A Columbine flower

We reached the base of Vestal and Arrow again and headed towards the start of Wham Ridge.

Vestal Peak in the morning sunlight

We stopped at the base of Wham Ridge and put on our climbing harnesses and climbing shoes. We decided that we would stash the rest of our gear under a large rock at this point. Jeremy went to take out the climbing gear from his backpack and opened to find... all of his food. Yes, that's right - his food bag and climbing bag are identical and he mistakenly grabbed his food bag instead of his climbing bag when we left camp. So, Jeremy needed to hike back to camp and then back up to the start of Wham Ridge before we could begin climbing. While we were both upset, I assured Jeremy that it would be fine and that I was not mad at him. He left for camp and I headed over to Vestal Lake to take some photographs.This turned out to be a good mishap as I was able to capture some of the most stunning photos of the trip.

Vestal Lake and West Trinity

Vestal Peak reflected in Vestal Lake

There was a small group of 4 men fishing quite successfully at the lake, and I stopped to talk to one of them. He was from Memphis Tennesee and explained that he had climbed Wham Ridge the day before without rope, and that he had only climbed one mountain prior to this. While this seemed rather dangerous to me, it did instill some confidence in my ability to complete the climb. He also said he saw us downclimbing Arrow the night before and that he was praying for us to make it down safely. Not being a religious person, I thanked him for the warm thoughts and headed off to take more photos.

Vestal Peak's Wham Ridge

I headed back to the rendezvous point and waited for Jeremy to return. It was not until 10:30 AM that Jeremy reappeared and reconvened with me. At this point, clouds had already formed and we were questioning if we should continue or not. We decided to keep going and keep an eye on the clouds. With a full compliment of climbing gear, we headed up Wham Ridge in our climbing shoes. I reached the last grassy ramp of Vestal and re-evaluated the weather. Jeremy asked me what I thought and I told him that my gut told me we should bail. We both agreed that heading back would be the best choice - safer to start earlier the next day than to get struck by lightning. I took some parting photos of both Vestal and Arrow and headed back down the steep slopes of Wham Ridge, which proved to be a quite painful experience in climbing shoes.

A view of Vestal from the turn-around point

Arrow Peak with stormy weather forming above

The somewhat loose fitting climbing shoes were quite painful on the downclimb, and caused some very painful blisters to appear on 5 of my 10 toes. This did not bode well for my chances of using climbing shoes on the actual climb. Jeremy and I changed back into our mountaineering boots, and stashed all of our climbing gear at the same large rock at the base of Vestal in a waterproof bag for the next day.

Jeremy stashes our climbing gear under this huge boulder beneath Vestal Peak

We went back down to camp and decided to take a nap. The decision to bail on Vestal proved to be a very good one, as the whole basin was riddled with rain and lightning for three hours. Fortunately, the group ahead of us had safely made it down from Vestal before the storms hit.

We got out up and cooked dinner - this time a carbohydrate-filled meal consisting of re-constituted mashed potatoes, country gravy, Spam, and cheddar cheese. While this sounds horrible - it was amazing! Go Spam! We set our alarms for 3:30 AM and crashed at a much more respectable time of 9 PM.

Day 4:

We woke up and made our way up to the base of Vestal to watch the sunrise from the final grassy ledge before the beginning of the more difficult climbing. Since my feet were completely mangled from the prior day's adventure, I decided to wear my La Sportiva Trango Evo Sport mountaineering boots for the ascent. With heavy socks on, I could barely feel my blisters. Watching the sunrise from the base of Wham Ridge was pretty awesome. The sun lit up the surrounding mountains and made for quite a peaceful start to an incredible climb.

Arrow Peak in alpenglow from the start of Vestal's Wham Ridge.

Vestal's Wham Ridge in alpenglow, with Jeremy resting at the base.

Jeremy watches the sunrise

I even took a short video of the sunrise:

Arrow Peak at sunrise.

A closer view of Wham Ridge - looks like fun!

Jeremy watches the sunrise over Vestal Lake

Jeremy warms up

Matt looking cold

Jeremy poses in front of Wham Ridge

Matt looks ready to begin Wham Ridge

We finally started up Wham Ridge, making our way quickly up the small ledges and cracks. The going was pretty easy and unexposed for awhile, with plenty of great hand and foot holds to be found.

Jeremy heads up the ledges

We continued up into some 4th class sections, with exposure and steepness increasing gradually as we climbed.

Jeremy climbs the lower Class 4 section of Vestal Peak

Before long, Rio Grande Pyramid and the Window appeared, looking really cool in the early light.

Our first view of the day of Rio Grande Pyramid and The Window

Wham Ridge continued to become more and more steep, decreasing my comfort level of being unroped.

Wham Ridge's profile

We reached a great stopping point with plenty of room at our feet for belaying, and prepped the rope and our gear for 5th class climbing. Let the fun begin! While I did the route in my La Sportiva EVO Mountaineering Boots, Jeremy did Wham Ridge in his Evolv Bandits. According to Jeremy, they were quite comfortable shoes and he felt like he probably could have gone without a rope (being that he is very experienced and the shoes made for great traction).

Jeremy prepares for our 1st pitch of Wham Ridge

Jeremy led the first pitch as I belayed from below, only placing two pieces of gear for protection on the way up - a camalot and a nut. Once Jeremy arrived safely at the next obvious stopping point above at about 55 meters up from me, he created an anchor and signaled me to begin climbing.

The first pitch

I easily ascended the first pitch, removing Jeremy's protection as I climbed. I reached the anchor and Jeremy prepped for the 2nd pitch. Meanwhile, I decided to take a few photos from this vantage, looking down.

Looking down Wham Ridge

Arrow Peak's profile from about 3/4 up on Vestal's Wham Ridge

We cruised up the 2nd pitch in quick order and set-up for one last pitch, which proved to be quite difficult in one section. I found myself at a point where there were no foot-holds and only one hand-hold - a large inset section holding a rusted cam. Having on mountaineering boots and not climbing shoes made the climb much more difficult than it needed to be, but I welcomed the challenge. The move required me to do a one-armed push-up with my right arm in the inset section and to reach up with my left arm to a hand-hold. Once in this position, I pulled myself up and placed my feet where my right hand was previously at. This was probably the crux of the entire route. It felt much harder than 5.4, but I suspect that was because I was wearing boots.

Matt on Wham Ridge

At this point, Jeremy and I both felt comfortable being unroped and headed up the class 4 / low class 5 remainder of the route. There was only one other section that was greatly exposed, which required us to do a really crazy move with about 1,000 ft. of exposure below us. The move was on a completely solid rock, so I felt comfortable enough to make a go at it without rope. This proved to be OK, as the move was totally solid, and fun to say the least.

The last section of Wham Ridge proved to be a very fun class 4 and 5 playground.

We finished up to the top of Vestal, and I celebrated. Since I had been dreaming of doing Wham Ridge for quite some time, this moment was especially exciting for me. I thanked Jeremy for leading the climb and began to go crazy with my camera.

As expected, the views from Vestal were outstanding. The Needle Range and the remainder of the Grenadier Range to the east were quite the sight!

A view of the Needle Range to the south of Vestal Peak.

A zoomed in view of Pigeon Peak

A zoomed in view of Jagged Mountain

A zoomed in view of Windom, Sunlight, and Sunlight Spire

A zoomed in view of Mount Eolus

A zoomed in panoramic of the Needle Range.

 

The La Plata Mountains seen in the distance to the southwest, including Hesperus Mountain

A panoramic photo looking west to north from Vestal Peak.

A fully zoomed in panoramic view looking down and east from Vestal Peak, with Vestal Lake below. Seen at far right are the Trinities, Storm King Peak, Mount Silex, and The Guardian.

Jeremy sits on the summit of Vestal Peak with Pigeon Peak behind him.

Matt and Jeremy are captured in this self-timer from the summit of Vestal Peak.

Matt looking proud on the summit of Vestal Peak.

I think I see my house from up here!

A panoramic photo of the Needle Range

A panoramic photo from Vestal Peak, looking north to south - with Basalm Lake between the Grenadiers and the Needle Mountains.

With more sky this time...

After a great time on the summit, we decided to descent via the "class 3" route of Vestal on the south side of the mountain. I put class 3 in quotations marks because this was the worst, chossiest, nastiest, most unpleasant class 3 climbing I've done in my life. The route was unmarked, with no trail, and no cairns until the bottom. We weaved in and out of gullies, unsuccessfully finding one dead-end after another. Finally, as we were nearing desperation, Jeremy found a narrow but climbable gully leading down to a large cairn below. The climbing on the backside of Vestal reminded me of Crestone Needle, except steeper and looser. Not a good combination! We finally reached the saddle between Arrow Peak and Vestal Peak and descended via the "Dues Collector Couloir." I've often wondered why it was called this, and realized it was because it was loose talus and dirt, not the most enjoyable stuff to climb up or down.

Jeremy in the "Dues Collector Coulior"

We reached the end of the coulior and headed towards the end of the base of the mountains where we would down climb back to our campsite.

A view of Vestal's Wham Ridge on the way down

Vestal Peak and some Columbine flowers

We reached our campsite about six hours after we had begun, still high from the amazing climb. We prepped our dinner - this time a hearty meal consisting of tortellini and pasta sauce with chicken. Yum.

A view of Vestal Peak from Vestal Creek near our campsite. It should be noted that the steep section between us and Vestal (right of center) was the trail up from our campsite.

The flowers were incredible in the afternoon sun, so I took some time to photograph them after dinner.

A purple flower in front of Vestal Peak

Lower Vestal Basin, where we were camped

We hit the sack around 10 PM, and set the alarm for 5 AM, tentatively planning to do the Trinity Traverse the next morning.

Day 5

We awoke around 6 AM, seeing that the clouds had already formed in the basin. We opted to cancel the Trinity Traverse and head back to the car. We packed up and left camp around 11 AM, making our way back down the steep trail and to the beaver ponds. The view from the beaver pond was incredible as ever.

Vestal Peak and Arrow Peak are reflected in a beaver pond

We cruised back down the Colorado Trail, meeting up with the train around 2:30 PM.

The Durango & Silverton Narrowgauge Railroad

We reluctantly trudged back up the 1,700 feet to our car in a matter of 2 hours and drove into Silverton, where we dined on Elk Burgers and French fries.  The drive home was uneventul yet completely satisfying.

Vestal marked the 60th mountain of the highest 100 in Colorado for me. 40 to go!

References:

1. The San Juan Mountains - A Climbing and Hiking Guide. Robert F. Rosebrough

2. Wheeler, Annual Report of the Chief Engineers for 1876, Appendix JJ, p. 101

3. Rhoda, Summits to Reach, p. 75

4. http://climb.mountainzone.com/glossary_a_l.html

Hiking in the San Juan Mountains was quite possibly the best gift a dad could get. Make that two dads.

My dad is who introduced me to climbing mountains at the young age of six, and it was fitting that we spend Father's day climbing a mountain that we had both had our eyes on for quite a few years. While my dad had originally planned in the 1980's to save Handies Peak as his last 14er, he decided to give up that idea. The last time my dad climbed a 14er was Uncompahgre Peak in 2001 - another father-son outing in the San Juan Mountains, nearly 10 years ago. Having prepared for the past two months through rigorous training and exercise, my dad, now 60 years old, believed he was ready again for climbing. Since all I talk about anymore is climbing mountains, it was no surprise that his interest in climbing is renewed and I was very pleased that he asked to join me on my attempt of Handies Peak. My dad (Old Climber on this site) and I debarked from Colorado Springs at roughly 5:00 PM on Friday, June 18th 2010, heading straight for the rugged San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. We drove south down State Highway 115 and connected with Highway 50 heading west. We stopped for a bite to eat in Salida and drove to Gunnison and south towards Lake City. The drive up towards Cinnamon Pass from Lake City was a somewhat confusing one in the dark - there are a couple points where you can make a wrong turn - neither intersection having been mentioned on the route description at 14ers.com. To top things off, the road was pretty rough, but my Jeep handled it like a champion. We managed to find our way to the American Basin near Handies Peak and began setting up camp with our headlamps on at around 11:30 PM.

Here are some interesting statistics from this amazing adventure:

Total elevation gain: 3,629 ft.

Total distance hiked: 8.22 miles

Total time hiking: 8 hours, 15 minutes

Total photos taken: 346

Total wildlife sightings: 3

Total distance driven: 480 miles

Trip duration: 28 hours

A map of our driving route to our campsite in the American Basin  from Colorado Springs

As we began setting up camp, I turned back towards my vehicle to see two glowing eyes about 20 feet away. These were no ordinary glowing eyes - these were quite large and clearly fit a very large animal. I whispered to my dad, "Ray - look - there is an animal over there!" Ray got out his flashlight and revealed a giant moose! We were both in shock, as neither of us had seen a moose in the wild in Colorado before. The moose walked around our campsite for much of the remainder of the night and at one point got within 5 feet of the tent before walking away. I decided to name the moose "Tim" since I thought it would be funnier and more convenient to refer to the moose by name instead of "it" or "moose."

The moon was about half-full and lit the basin up quite well. We could make out the ridge line of Handies Peak and the American Basin crags (American Peak, ranked 102nd highest in Colorado).

We enjoyed the views of the basin in the moonlight and set the alarm on my Suunto Core watch for 5 AM.  The tent was sitting on a lot of wierd bumps, so sleeping was not the easiest of tasks. I think I did get a few hours of pretty spotty sleep before the alarm went off. We woke up and broke down our camp pretty quickly while eating some oatmeal. "Tim" was still hanging around, eating some willow trees 50 or so yards away from our campsite. We prepared our packs and debarked up the road towards the trailhead, but not before taking a photo of the basin around our campsite.

Handies Peak seen at left of center with American Peak at dead center and UN 13,512 at far right. The American Basin is a very peaceful locale.

The plan for the day was to ascend Handies Peak (14,048 ft. and ranked 40th in Colorado) via the standard trail and then to traverse over to Whitecross Mountain (ranked 222) to the northeast of Handies. Starting the hike pretty early and at a respectable elevation, I believed that the itinerary would be quite manageable.

A topo map with my route shown in red. We began the hike near the word "Fork" on the map.

Ray and I quickly began the hike up the trail at 6:15 AM and within minutes, the sun began to light up the surrounding peaks, including American Peak.

American Peak gets a healthy dose of sunlight.

The basin itself was quite serene, with waterfalls everywhere and green slopes and orange mountain tops surrounding us in all directions.

Ray Payne with an awesome waterfall in the background

We probably could have made better time, but I was taking tons of photos the whole way up!

Matt Payne with American Peak in the background.

The trail was mostly snow-free, with a few sections of snow obscuring the trail. We were able to quickly follow the trail up the side of Handies Peak, weaving our way up towards Sloan Lake.

Ray Payne gazes up the side of the relatively steep trail leading up Handies.

Shortly before reaching the turn-off for Sloan Lake, I stumbled across a beautiful ptarmagin, still in the process of changing out of its winter coat and into its summer colors.

A ptarmigan rests on rocks near the trail leading up Handies Peak.

The ptarmigan peers back at me, wondering if it is on the menu for dinner.

The ptarmigan made a loud squak and flew down the trail and away from our threatening gaze. What a pleasure it was to see wildlife!

Shortly after heading away from Sloan Lake, the trail turns back towards Handies and down through a small snowfield. The snow was steep but easy to navigate.

Ray navigates through a steep snow field.

The trail quickly zig-zags up Handies and before we knew it, we gained some incredible views back down into the American Basin.

Sloan Lake sits in front of American Peak, with the Handies standard route trail below. The first view of distant San Juan Mountains is revealed.

We rested in the shadows for a bit and resumed the hike up towards the saddle between Handies Peak and American Peak. Once gaining the saddle, views east into the next valley over were presented with the morning sun welcoming us.

A 360^o view from the Handies - American Peak saddle. As a reminder - many images can be clicked on to view the full resolution versions!

We continued up towards the summit of Handies and were wildly surprised with a view of Rio Grande Pyramid, one of the top 100 summits in Colorado (ranked 97).

Rio Grande Pyramid sits prominently in the far distance to the south of Handies Peak.

This was a particularly exciting discovery for Ray and I since we are planning to climb Rio Grande Pyramid at the end of August of this year. Getting a first-hand view of this magnificent mountain was quite awesome.

We also could not help but notice the other quite prominent mountain sitting in front of Rio Grande Pyramid Peak on the near side of Pole Creek Mountain (ranked 138th in Colorado) - Half Peak (ranked 86th in Colorado).

Half Peak (left of center) sits left (northeast) of Pole Creek Mountain, and Rio Grande Pyramid.

Additionally, views of Mount Sneffles (ranked 27th in Colorado) and the surrounding mountains came into view.

Ray Payne gazes towards Mount Sneffels to the northwest.

Ray snapped a shot of me before I continued up the trail.

Having gained the amazing views of the San Juans, I was re-energized to hike faster, so I quickly made my way up towards the summit of Handies. I peered back to catch the first glimpse of the Grenadiers and Needle Mountains near Silverton. I have always been completely awe-struck by these mountains, so seeing them from here was quite exciting for me. Views of Pigeon Peak (ranked 57), Vestal Peak (ranked 77), and Arrow Peak (ranked 104) were impressive. Due to the fact that I am climbing Vestal's Wham Ridge and Arrow Peak in three weeks, this view was especially awesome.

Ray Payne ascends Handies with the Grenadier range and Needle Mountains showing themselves above American Peak. Pigeon Peak seen just above American Peak, with Arrow and Vestal Peaks to its left.

I was able to complete the climb of Handies at 9 AM, a brisk 2 hours and 45 minutes after we started, and was greeted at the top by Ray within minutes. Handies was the 48th 14er for Ray and the 36th 14er for me.

Matt and Ray Payne celebrate on top of Handies with the Grendiers and Needle Mountains in the background.

The wind on top was fairly chilly, so Ray and I found shelter on the eastern side of the summit. Ray got out his topographical maps and I began to take my ritual photos for the 360 degree panoramic photo from the summit. The views from Handies were much more impressive than I could have ever imagined.

A 360^o view from the top of Handies Peak. The views of the mighty San Juan Mountains were astounding. Click on the image for the full resolution version (very large).

A 180^o view looking northeast to west from Handies Peak.

I continued to marvel at the sheer impressiveness of the Grenadiers. The thought of climbing them in a few weeks seemed very surreal. Vestal's Wham Ridge looked impossible.

The Grenadiers and Needle Mountains zoomed in.

Views of other areas of the San Juans also did not disappoint. The Ice Lake Basin and Wilson group were quite impressive as well.

Looking west from the summit of Handies Peak

In my office at work, I have a framed topographical map composed of many different 7.5 minute maps of the Grenadiers and Needle Mountains. I had always wanted to capture a comprehensive photo of that area, showing the various summits of the region. I had a great time using the 100summits.com Google Earth plugin tool to attempt to correctly identify all of the mountains in the following giant panoramic photo. I would greatly welcome and appreciate any feedback or corrections to the labels, as the viewpoint from Handies made for a distorting and confusing process for peak identification. Be sure to click on the images to see the full resolution versions and the labeled photo (2nd photo).

A large zoomed-in panoramic photo of the San Juan Mountains.

Many mountains are labeled in this version. Send corrections to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For a more natural way of viewing this photo, check out THIS PAGE.

Views of both Wetterhorn Peak and Uncompahgre to the north were also outstanding.

Wetterhorn Peak

Wetterhorn Peak (left of center) and Uncompahgre Peak (right of center) rise up impressively to the north of Handies

Looking further west, were able to identify Mount Sneffels and Teakettle Mountain (ranked 98th).

Mount Sneffels (largest at center) and Teakettle Mountain (right of Sneffels)

Due west of our position on Handies, were caught view of the Ice Lake Basin. We originally thought this was the Sneffels group; however, upon further investigation, we believe we have correctly identified the mountains west of Handies as U.S. Grant Peak (ranked 119) et.al.

The Ice Lake Basin - send corrections to Matt at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

After the whirlwind of photo taking, I decided to sit-down and eat some food. Ray ate his hard-boiled egg (apparently a long-standing tradition for him), while I chowed down on a Clif Bar and some cashews.

Ray chows down on a hard-boiled egg with Wetterhorn Peak behind him.

Matt Payne relaxes on the summit of Handies.

Sitting on the east side of Handies to eat, we were able to get a great view of Grizzly Gulch, Sunshine Peak and Redcloud Peak (ranked 53 and 46 respectively).

Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks rest just east of Handies.

Additionally, I was able to get a good glimpse of my second objective for the day - Whitecross Mountain. Whitecross looked further away than I thought it would, but with the insanely great weather we had and with my legs feeling superb, I was not concerned.

Whitecross Mountain and the traverse to it (partially obscured by snow).

We were joined on the summit by Ben Smith of 14erPlatinumTeam.com. Ben was with his friend Don, and they were quite friendly. We chatted for a bit about our climbing adventures and plans and exchanged website information.

I took more photos of the surrounding peaks.

Half Peak

Rio Grande Pyramid

I had Don snap one more photo of my on top and Ben volunteered to take some photos with his camera as well. He was kind enough to email me the photo he took of Ray and I on top.

Matt Payne on top of Handies Peak

Matt and Ray Payne atop Handies Peak - photo courtesy of Ben Smith.

Ray and I packed up and got ready for our traverse over to Whitecross Mountain. Ray informed me that he would probably not go to Whitecross but would wait for me at the saddle between Handies and Whitecross. This sounded like a good plan and we began to head north after bidding adieu to Ben and Don.

Shortly after making our way down towards the Handies - Whitecross saddle, we gained an excellent view down to the west into the valley we started in. Lo-and-behold we could see my Jeep way down below. 

Matt Payne's Jeep far below in the American Basin.

After making it down the steepest section from Handies' summit, we gained excellent views of the Whitecross traverse and the terrain we ultimately needed to navigate across.

Whitecross Mountain's traverse terrain

By this point, we could look back at Handies and get a really nice profile of it from the north side.

Ray Payne traversing towards Whitecross Mountain away from Handies Peak

Being mid-June still, we encountered some difficult snow on the traverse and at one point I fell up to my hips into a snow bank. This was rather uncomfortable, being on a quite steep section with about 100 feet of run-out below me. I decided to pause to gather my wits and to get out my ice axe. I used the ice axe as a safety device as I faced into the mountain and slow kicked steps into the snow while heading down at an angle towards the saddle. Ray followed in my footsteps and we both decided that it would have been smart to just stay high above on the ridge proper instead of angling around the side of the saddle near PT 13,577.

After successfully making it past the snowy sections, I once again stumbled upon a ptarmigan. This time, it let me get very close to it before I even noticed.

A Ptarmigan feeds upon the tundra near the saddle between Handies and Whitecross

The views down into Grizzly Gulch were great during the traverse and I paused several times to get photos of the area.

Ray Payne, traversing towards Whitecross Mountain, with Redcloud Peak left of center.

Most of the way to the saddle between Whitecross and Handies, we encountered some nasty scree below the ridge that we were forced to cross. The rock was the kind that when you stepped on it, huge sections of rock would slide above and below your feet. While this terrain is rather fun when down-climbing, it was not so fun while going across it.

Scree with a red hue made for an interesting traverse to Whitecross Mountain.

Looking back towards Handies Peak - Ray Payne welcomes the break in crossing the awkward terrain.

Ray and I reached the saddle near some fun rock outcroppings and discussed my plans for heading to Whitecross. I told Ray to "send the cavalry if I'm not back by midnight." I took off most of my gear and left it with Ray so that I could increase my speed for the traverse.

Whitecross Mountain sits above interesting terrain

Ray Payne nears our meeting place

I started my traverse over to Whitecross at 11 AM. There were no threatening clouds and I felt solid.

Matt Payne poses on top of a rock formaton on the way up Whitecross Mountain

About halfway up Whitecross, I was able to get a better view of the cornice across the way and Golden Horn (ranked 116) behind it in the distance.

Cornice with Golden Horn behind it.

I made my way up Whitecross quite steadily and quickly. I made great time to the tundra field below it and could see the route up the summit block.

Whitecross Mountain's summit block

I also could see some amazing views of the western ridge of Handies and a couple lakes below it.

A small lake rests in the basin below the western ridge of Handies Peak.

I made my way up towards the top of Whitecross rather quickly and was greeted with views of another neat cornice sitting in front of Uncompahgre Peak and Whitecross (to its left).

A cornice sits below the summit of Whitecross with Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn in the distance.

I finished up the climb up Whitecross and enjoyed views of Handies and the valley below Whitecross which was obscured before. The traverse from the saddle took 30 minutes on the mark.

Handies as seen from the summit of Whitecross

The summit register lays out on the summit of Whitecross.

I signed the summit register (first to do so in 2010), and gathered a few more photos for a panoramic photo and a self-timer summit photo.

Redcloud and Sunshine are seen in better detail from Whitecross Mountain.

A view north, east, and south from Whitecross Mountain.

A self-timer summit shot on top of Whitecross Mountain.

After spending a few minutes on top, I headed back down the ridge towards Ray, stopping once on the way to capture a shot of some wildflowers on the ridge.

A macro shot of some purple flowers on the ridge between Whitecross and Handies.

After 20 minutes of down-climbing, I reached Ray again, having spent a total of 50 minutes on the traverse from the saddle and traveling a distance of 1.11 miles with 558 ft. of elevation gain. Ray and I packed our belongings and headed down the steep scree to the north of the saddle. We had studied our maps and determined that this route would get us back to the road eventually and that it was the safest descent route. The only downside was that we would be required to hike back up the road to my car. A small price to pay for a great traverse.

Ray descends the steep and loose scree below the Handies-Whitecross saddle.

Ray Payne with the Whitecross-Handies saddle above

On the way down, we captured one last view of Uncompahgre.

Uncompahgre Peak pokes above the surrounding ridges.

The route down towards the road was straight-forward and enjoyable. We made awesome time down towards tree-line.

A look back towards the Whitecross-Handies saddle and the steep terrain negotiated on the way down from Whitecross.

We made quick time to tree-line, and after less than an hour, we were entering the trees and much steeper terrain.

Ray Payne down-climbs from the Whitecross-Handies saddle.

The wildflowers on the fridge of the forest were amazing -yellow flowers were blooming everywhere on the mountainside.

A yellow flower blooms in this macro shot near tree-line.

Soon after entering the trees, the terrain became much steeper and was littered with huge deadfall and other fun obstacles. We negotiated through the deadfall for about 20 minutes until reaching somewhat of a clearing.

Deadfall on the descent of Whitecross and Handies.

From this clearing, we were able to find a small service road on the mountain side. We aimed for this road, hoping we were not trespassing on private property, and followed it down. We were grateful for finding the road, as it had a bridge across the Lake Fork Gunnison River where it connects with the main American Basin road.

We also saw a large mine shaft with railroad tracks leading into it - evidence of that at one time this region was heavily mined.

Railroad tracks lead into the darkness of an abandoned mine shaft.

Once back on the main road, we were able to get a good view of the valley and mountainside we had come down.

Ray and I hiked back up the road towards my Jeep. The road was pretty long and we needed to hike about a mile or so. American Basin was looking impressive in full sunlight.

American Basin

We crossed the head of the river near a large snowbank we had noticed on the way up the night before.

I took one more photo of the American Basin on the way back up to my Jeep. The waterfalls and surrounding terrain were very aesthetically pleasing after the long day of hiking.

We finally made it back to the Jeep at 2:30 PM and I took one final set of photos to illustrate the daytime views from where we camped.

We packed up our gear after eating some snacks and headed back down the road in my Jeep. This is one of the best hikes up a relatively easy 14er with highly rated views. Given the ease of climb and the rewarding views, I would say that Handies Peak should be on all beginner and serious hikers' to-do lists.

I hope you enjoyed this trip report for Handies Peak and Whitecross Mountain. Next weekend: Missouri Mountain, Iowa Peak and Emerald Peak with my friend, Ethan Buete.