It had been over a year since our last 14er climb and I was starting to crave altitude again so Ms. Seeking and I began laying plans for our next hike. The early snow delayed us but after a week of bright sunshine on the Sawatch conditions looked good enough for an attempt on Colorado’s highest peak, the Big Kahuna, Mt. Elbert.
Funny thing about Mt. Elbert, even though it’s the highest peak in CO and the second highest in the lower 48 after Mt. Whitney in California, it’s also one of the easiest to climb. It’s pretty much a walk up, granted a 10.5 mile round trip walk up with 4,100 vertical feet of climbing up to 14,433 feet, but still just walking. No ropes, helmets or clinky, dangly things required. We once again contacted our favorite mountain climbing nephew in Denver to join us and we started out from Salida at the crack of zero dark thirty for our attempt.
Trees around the lower slopes were just starting to turn.
Looking for the most expedient route to the top we opted for the upper S. Elbert trailhead, which had the added benefit of allowing me to drive the new Jeep on a real 4WD road for the first time, which included a creek crossing worthy of a TV commercial. Woohoo!
The route starts on the Colorado trail and immediately crosses Corske Creek, which was out of its banks from all the new snow melt.
The trail climbed through thick aspen and pine forest and then steepened as it approached timberline.
The view back down to Twin Lakes was obscured by haze from the California fires.
Higher on the East Ridge.
The Box Creek couliour comes into view
At about 13,000 feet we encountered the most challenging part of the climb, multiple large snowfields that crossed the trail. In the morning they were solid, making for tricky footing on the steep slope. By the time we returned on the descent they had softened considerably and postholing became the biggest concern.
La Plata Peak comes into view over the Elbert / South Elbert saddle.
Looking up to the summit from approximately 14,000 feet. At this point our flat-lander cardiovascular systems allowed for 30 feet of walking then a stop to catch our breath. Repeat about 100 times until you get to the top.
Mt. Massive from Elbert’s summit ridge.
Elbert’s summit marker.
Summit view East, toward Leadville through the haze.
Looking down Elbert’s steep north face.
Summit panhandler.
It was good to be at altitude again. There were approximately 6 – 8 others and two dogs on the summit when we arrived. Standing on top of Elbert it’s cool to think that aside from possibly a handful of dudes out in California you are the highest people in the continental United States.