Spotlight on Julian Eldridge!

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Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
My first 14ers were Mt Harvard & Mt. Columbia, on June 6, 2003.  I could barely walk the following week, but I was in love with the whole experience and knew I’d be back for more.  There was something to this whole ‘climbing mountains’ thing that was for me, I saw that almost immediately.

Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
August of this year.  I had already planned on finishing all but Culebra by the end of the summer, but wasn’t sure I’d do Culebra.  I wasn’t too keen on the ‘pay to play’ aspect.  Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that the new ownership had a more open, albeit profitable, policy towards climbers, I just wasn’t sure I wanted to pony up the cash for a walk up, even with the bonus of being able to climb a centennial as well.  But before I got to that point in August, I didn’t think I’d be in Colorado long enough to finish them all.  I just didn’t plan on staying here so long.  I came out here in February of 2003 to visit and was gonna stay for 6-8 months and enjoy the summer, do some hiking and camping.  6 months turned into a year, turned into 2 years, and next thing I know, it’s August 2005 and I’ve climbed 50 of the fourteeners.  I was out hiking and climbing peaks pretty much every available weekend, your typical June-September fair weather climber, and really the wilderness opportunities became one of the main reasons I stayed in Colorado, and didn’t leave the country again.  So here it is now August of 2005 and they announced 2 additional weekends of climbing.  At that point, besides Culebra, I was down to just Capitol, Mt. Wilson, and Little Bear.  So my perspective on paying to climb Culebra was altered because I was so close to summitting them all.  I thought “just spend the money and get Culebra, too”.  Besides, I had to drive down there to climb Little Bear.  So I called the ranch and was fortunate enough to get in for one of those additional days.  And as it turns out Culebra was my last one, just as I think it was the last one for so many others who have completed the 14ers.

Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
I don’t have any one single favorite route.  I have several that are permanently imprinted, these are the ones that generated that palpable rush that comes when I’m totally zoned in and focused on the present moment, on each move.  Those would be:  the final 3d class summit pitch on Wetterhorn’s Standard Route, ( my first solo 3d class route); Kit Carson’s North Ridge route; all 4 of the great 14er traverses; Pyramid; El Diente from the north, either as a lllooong snow climb up the couloir or equally llooong and fun 3d class rock via the North Buttress.  Handies from the east wins hands-down as the best ‘Stop and Gawk at the Ridiculous Hordes of Wildflowers’ route, in my book.  Do it in mid- to late July, and don’t forget your camera.

Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
I can’t answer that one, there were too many delightful, exciting, incredible, awe-inspiring—what have you—moments, each unique.  And I treasure them all.  Having said that, one particular type of moment that never seems to fail is being the first to top out & having the summit to myself.  I really enjoy the solitude that I find in the mountains.

Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
Actually I’ve got a few of those.  I got chased off of Halo Ridge in July 2005. I’d just passed point 13250 and the storm I was trying to outrun caught me.  I had to bail east towards Lake Constantine, the talus was loose and now getting wet, lots of thunder was rolling through the clouds.  Back in 2003 I saw a girl’s hair stand straight up on end on Mt. Evans.  Her camera, which she had handed me so I could take a picture of her, started to buzz.  I handed the camera back to her and took off.  So that was a bit sketchy to say the least.  El Diente, the first time I climbed it, was pretty action packed.  On the ascent I almost got decapitated by a rock that the climbers above us dislodged.  I was just barely able to duck out of the way at the last second.  It was a snow climb and the snow was nice and hard, and I’m just sort of stuck in one place, dug in with crampons and on ice-axe belay, so all I could safely do was lean left, lean right, or bend down.  I ducked right and it missed me by inches.  I could feel the displaced air as it whizzed by my head.  On the descent, I fell a couple of times.  It’s a decently-angled slope, maybe 50 degrees, and the snow was still pretty firm.  So I picked up momentum pretty quickly.  But I managed to self arrest both times.  I wound up completely losing a crampon on that descent, too.  Considering that that was my first ‘real deal’ snow climb, in the end I felt fortunate just to have summitted El Diente and survived it.  Although at the time I remember being pissed that we’d bailed on the traverse.

Q: Are there any 14er routes that you would not want to repeat? Why not?
In general I’m a ‘been there, done that’ person, I feel like once I’ve done a particular route, then it’s time to move on—no ‘do-overs’.  However, I have a few favorite summits that I’d revisit via different routes because of the amazing views.  Sneffels comes to mind, the view of the Blue Lakes and Dallas towering over that basin is just incredible.  And the views from Handies and Sunlight and Windom into the seemingly endless expanse of peaks that make up the heart of the San Juans are unrivalled.  And the view from Pyramid, such juxtaposition and variety to the colors of the rock and vegetation.  I’ve also got a few that I’d revisit so I could take better pictures because the views were obscured by weather the first time up.  Like when I was on Lindsey I couldn’t see Little Bear, Blanca, or Elllingwood because of clouds and fog.  And I might be persuaded to re-do a couple of peaks by a familiar route, but as winter ascents.  I mean, is it really the same route if you’re doing it under totally different and much more challenging conditions?

Q: In your opinion what are the 3 most technically difficult 14ers and what are the 3 most dangerous 14ers by their easiest routes.
Most technically difficult would be (1) Capitol, because of the Knife Edge, (2) Sunlight, because of the summit block move, and (3) Pyramid, because of the Green Gulley.  Although by far the hardest move I had to make in order to reach the summit of a 14er came on the traverse from the Peak to the Needle.  We crossed this nearly vertical face with tiny handholds and footholds--it’s the infamous ‘flake’ pitch.  Really all the hardest moves that I had to make were on the traverses.  But I guess in terms of the intent of the question, those don’t really count, since one doesn’t have to do any of the traverses in order to complete the 14ers.  As far as the ‘dangerous’ category, to me danger lies in the looseness of the rock rather than in exposure of a particular position or the difficulty of a particular crux move/pitch.  So my most dangerous 3 would be: Pyramid, the sheer looseness of the rock is unparalleled.  Pure junk, really:  you have your choice of getting the projectiled OR slipping and falling because that peak really is just a big pile of choss.  On our climb of Pyramid, Rob knocked a softball-sized rock off of a ledge and it went screaming down a gulley.  We watched it shoot down & go flying over the side of the mountain, and it was pretty hairy to think about being on the receiving end, having that come at you.  And El Diente.  Not only did I almost got creamed by a rock on the North Slopes route, but when I climbed the peak again via the North Buttress, I knocked over a cantaloupe-sized rock that started a pretty decent rockslide.  It went on for quite a while, building up volume and speed, with most of the rockfall sliding all the way down into Navajo Basin, pretty much right to the bottom/start of the North Slopes route.  And because of the funnel effect, Little Bear’s Hourglass route.  Not much separates these 3 in terms of their danger factor.

Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
Not really.  There are definitely peaks I want to climb for one reason or another, so I have a sort of ‘to-do’ list.  And I want to do more winter ascents.  But it’s not a case of “okay, the 14ers are finished, let’s complete the Centennials now.”

Q: What 14er did you climb last? Did you intentionally save it for last or is it a 14er that previously eluded you?
Culebra was my last.

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out?
Mother Nature is in charge.  Period.  I always try to approach the mountains in a way that emphasizes accepting the conditions that Mother Nature offers, and responding respectfully and appropriately to them.  I’ve been on several peaks and storms have already rolled in on them, or were clearly coming, and I’m bailing down the mountain as fast as I can, yet other people were still trudging obliviously along towards the summit.  To me that lack of awareness, or maybe it’s carelessness or just dismissiveness, is just mind-boggling.  Gore-Tex is waterproof, not lightning proof.  And I’m sorry, but being flash-fried by God isn’t my idea of a great ending to an outing.  The mountain will be there tomorrow for our climbing pleasure.  And achieving the summit means you were simply equal to the opportunity that day, not bigger or better than the mountain.  Because we are simply a part of Nature, not greater than Nature or invincible to Nature.  So always be thankful and mindful, and always cultivate that healthy respect for your Mother.  So I’m a pretty conservative climber, not keen on climbing in sketchy weather, or when wet slides are cutting loose all around, etc.  To me, that’s been the key to my ‘success’ in the mountains.  Standing on a summit is simply a situation where all of the things that lie within your control, such as having the proper gear, being in shape, etc. come together with all of the other conditions or variables that are not within your control, such as weather, stability of the route, etc. in such a way that the mere potential for achieving some measure of ‘success’ becomes actual or realized.  So in my mind the crux is my relationship to those factors that are beyond my ability to control.  And all of those factors are collectively known as Mother Nature.  She’s a beautiful and seductive, but she can be easily underestimated and can prove brutally cruel when taken too lightly.  Everything else that comes with this whole mountaineering thing--in terms of building a strong foundation of knowledge, acquiring the proper equipment, getting in shape, etc.--is pretty easy, or maybe fairly straightforward, by comparison.  There are so many resources out there:  there’s this forum (and others on the web); there are the guidebooks; REI has these seminars ‘How to Climb a 14er’, I think.  If you’re completely new to the outdoors, take a CMC course like Basic Hiking or whatever it’s called.  Go to Neptune or REI or EMS and talk to the staff about clothing and equipment.  It’s easy to acquire the 10 essentials or memorize Roach’s rules of mountaineering.  Working on the aerobic conditioning, getting and staying in shape to climb mountains is a simple matter of dedication and repitition to the point that it becomes a ‘good habit’.  Absolutely one needs to do all of these things.  But taking all of that in and keeping it centered around that proper ‘head space’ as far as the mental—and really, spiritual--approach or relationship to the mountains takes a lot more focus.  With all of the resources and technology, it’s too easy to slip into a false sense of security.  So I always tried to develop that knowledge, build the gear pile, cultivate good physical conditioning, etc. around the proper perspective, and keep it centered that way.