Quandary Peak via West Ridge
Mount Democrat
Mount Cameron
Mount Lincoln
Mount Bross
8/28/2013
With a perfect forecast and a Thursday off, I decided to hit Quandary via it's West Ridge. Dodging the crowds and getting in a fun scramble on one of our busiest mountains had me truly excited.
I hit the trailhead about 6am and quickly made it up into the valley below the west ridge. Stopping to check out some of the old mining structures in the area was super interesting.
The views of the west ridge from below are quite inspiring and a bit intimidating.
Gaining the ridge was fairly straightforward except for one place where I had to dodge some hard snow. Looking up the ridge is very exciting.
After some simple class 2 trudging up to about 14,000 feet with some amazing views...
...I got into some of the harder terrain. Right as the scrambling started to get interesting I ran into the first sign of life for the day.
He seemed very interested in what I was doing up there and lead me right over the two cruxes of the route. He made the last one look very simple as the decent amount of exposure didn't bother him at all.
After gaining the last bit of climbing and faced with the straightforward walk to the summit, my friend decided to make a stand. For awhile I thought he was going to try and knock me off the mountain but finally gave up and went straight down the side.
After snapping a mandatory summit photo...
I picked a straight line for my car and carefully heading down the steep slope. Here is a photo looking up my descent route.
I got back to my car a little after 9 and with totally clear weather (and not wanting to go home and do real work), I decided to drive down and see if I could get in any of the Lincoln group and get a few more 14ers I'd never done before.
Not long afterward, I was retying my boots and heading up to Kite Lake. This area is really beautiful and I wasted no time in starting to trudge up Mt Democrat. Gaining the summit, I stopped to take a picture of a sign someone had left on the summit and chatted with another 14ers.com member resting on top.
After eating a bit we decided to team up and try and complete the loop together. It was wonderful to have some company and we soon were up Cameron. I thought the views of Mt. Lincoln and Kite Lake from here were pretty cool.
With the weather still holding perfectly we made quick jaunt over to Lincoln.
After another quick break we set out for the last peak of the day. We did have to stop and admire (or something like that) the car that someone had gotten stuck on the trail. Why this seemed like a good idea is really beyond me, but it did seem they had gotten themselves into quite a bind.
It was a relief to be up Bross and to know that my uphill was finally done. After taking a few summit shots on my fifth 14er for the day and soaking in the views (and still perfect weather) for a bit longer...
...we parted and I made a bee-line for my car. The slopes of Bross are very beautiful and have some really amazing colors.
I found the descent very enjoyable as all the loose scree allowed me to "skree" almost all the way down. Changing shoes was the best feeling of the day and I reluctantly set out for home.
It really was a perfect day in the mountains and the lack of people during the week made these usually crowded mountains a truly wonderful experience.
With a perfect forecast and a Thursday off, I decided to hit Quandary via it's West Ridge. Dodging the crowds and getting in a fun scramble on one of our busiest mountains had me truly excited.
I hit the trailhead about 6am and quickly made it up into the valley below the west ridge. Stopping to check out some of the old mining structures in the area was super interesting.
The views of the west ridge from below are quite inspiring and a bit intimidating.
Gaining the ridge was fairly straightforward except for one place where I had to dodge some hard snow. Looking up the ridge is very exciting.
After some simple class 2 trudging up to about 14,000 feet with some amazing views...
...I got into some of the harder terrain. Right as the scrambling started to get interesting I ran into the first sign of life for the day.
He seemed very interested in what I was doing up there and lead me right over the two cruxes of the route. He made the last one look very simple as the decent amount of exposure didn't bother him at all.
After gaining the last bit of climbing and faced with the straightforward walk to the summit, my friend decided to make a stand. For awhile I thought he was going to try and knock me off the mountain but finally gave up and went straight down the side.
After snapping a mandatory summit photo...
I picked a straight line for my car and carefully heading down the steep slope. Here is a photo looking up my descent route.
I got back to my car a little after 9 and with totally clear weather (and not wanting to go home and do real work), I decided to drive down and see if I could get in any of the Lincoln group and get a few more 14ers I'd never done before.
Not long afterward, I was retying my boots and heading up to Kite Lake. This area is really beautiful and I wasted no time in starting to trudge up Mt Democrat. Gaining the summit, I stopped to take a picture of a sign someone had left on the summit and chatted with another 14ers.com member resting on top.
After eating a bit we decided to team up and try and complete the loop together. It was wonderful to have some company and we soon were up Cameron. I thought the views of Mt. Lincoln and Kite Lake from here were pretty cool.
With the weather still holding perfectly we made quick jaunt over to Lincoln.
After another quick break we set out for the last peak of the day. We did have to stop and admire (or something like that) the car that someone had gotten stuck on the trail. Why this seemed like a good idea is really beyond me, but it did seem they had gotten themselves into quite a bind.
It was a relief to be up Bross and to know that my uphill was finally done. After taking a few summit shots on my fifth 14er for the day and soaking in the views (and still perfect weather) for a bit longer...
...we parted and I made a bee-line for my car. The slopes of Bross are very beautiful and have some really amazing colors.
I found the descent very enjoyable as all the loose scree allowed me to "skree" almost all the way down. Changing shoes was the best feeling of the day and I reluctantly set out for home.
It really was a perfect day in the mountains and the lack of people during the week made these usually crowded mountains a truly wonderful experience.
