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Last fall when I topped Culebra Peak as fourteener summit 50 the reality of possibly completing the Grand Slam in 2005 filled me with a restless anticipation. Since I am not a winter mountaineer I had to wait until this summer to get it done. The suspense was killing me, but the final four had to wait.
There were four of us on this trip; My longtime and faithful climbing partner Rich, another faithful companion Don, and Don's friend Kris who was visiting from New Zealand. There was also a supporting cast of over a hundred others sharing Chicago Basin and the routes up the peaks, as one would expect in late August in the San Juans. I'll not bore you all with too many details about the drive to Durango, the train ride to Needleton, the hike up the Needle Creek drainage to Chicago Basin on August 19,20. I just want to say that all of that was largely uneventful and that the Needle Creek drainage and Chicago Basin are stunningly beautiful and well worth the effort.
The morning of August 21 we all awoke between 5 and 6 AM had some breakfast and headed out. Following Roach's directions and a well established trail we had no problem finding the route. I had about 2 liters of water and stupidly left my filter at camp, bad mistake. The trail up the basin to Twin Lakes is well worn and steep near waterfalls just below the lakes. We then headed up Windom, by this time Don and Kris were well ahead of us. A thunderstorm the night before had dumped enough b-b size hail to cover the ground at 11,000 ft and still remain in spots on the north and west facing portions of the route. 30-40 degree temperatures overnight had also left a thin layer of frost on parts of the rocky trail. This made finding good footing on a consistent basis a challenge. As the day wore on this became less of a problem. Kris elected not to attempt the ascent and she remained near Twin Lakes and waited for us to return. Per our usual routine Don reached the summit first, followed by Rich, and then me. I reached the summit around 11 AM and joined Rich. We then headed down and over to Sunlight. We followed a well cairned route and the final move to reach the summit across the void was relatively easy. Simply put your hands on the boulder on the other side of the gap, lift your foot on to the final summit block, and continue your scramble up. This is no problem if the boulders are dry but could get dicey if they are wet. Coming down I simply jumped the void and landed solidly on a flat spot on the other side. I reached the summit and ran out of water around 2 PM. Rich had summitted about 30 minutes earlier and came back up to watch me touch the top and take pictures. He also graciously gave me a half liter of water for the descent. Fourteeners 52 and 53 were done and we headed down. Rich led the way and I followed. Rich was well in front of me and out of sight by the time I reached Twin Lakes and the end of the water he had given me. Had I not left my filter at camp this would have been perfect timing, as it was it was just frustrating.
As I descended down the trail to the campsite my knees ached and I became increasingly dehydrated to the point of suffering from dry heaves, headache, and the worst altitude sickness I have ever experienced. As I approached camp around 4 PM I met Don and Kris filtering water from a stream and immediately began drinking water to rehydrate. After about thirty minutes we headed back to our campsite. Upon arrival I kept drinking water and tried to eat. I couldn't keep any food in my stomach and vomited violently two or three times. I went to bed around 8 PM exhausted and awoke around 6 AM the morning of August 22, thirsty and hungry. I was able to eat a light breakfast and downed almost 2 liters of water before preparing my day pack for the assault on Eolus. My gear for this climb included my filter.
Back up the basin nearly to Twin lakes and then left, nearly due west, just above the waterfall toward Eolus and the summit of fourteener 54. The trail traverses for a long way, a half mile or more, and then ascends to the saddle south of North Eolus and north of the catwalk. Steep but not particularly difficult. Don and Kris seemed to run up ahead with Rich and me following behind. We caught up with Kris just before the catwalk on the saddle. She had elected not to go further. I was still a little weak from the previous day's festivities and was glad to have Rich take the point and do most of the route finding. The catwalk was interesting, but not difficult. I would not want to be on it during marginal weather, but this day was perfect. Once across the catwalk we headed up the east slope of Eolus. The trick to this route is to stay low as long as you can slowly gaining elevation and then move up the slope on a series of fairly solid ledges almost directly below the summit. There are several cairned routes, traverse as far south as you can before attacking the last 400-500 feet of vertical. Rich and I stayed fairly close together for the final push and as I got closer the reality that I was about to summit fourteener 54 filled me with excitement. Just before 11 AM I reached the summit of Eolus and shouted for joy. 9 summers of climbing mountains in Colorado had brought me to a goal I never anticipated reaching in July of 1996 when I stood on the summit of Humbolt Peak as my first fourteener. We descended the route we came up, reached Needle Creek above the waterfall, filtered water, followed the knee busting route down to camp arriving about 2 PM. Strangely Don and Kris were not there. They showed up about 4 PM and told us they had stayed at Twin Lakes after Don's summit of Eolus, enjoyed a leisurely lunch and headed back to camp after that. We cooked dinner, enjoyed a relaxing evening at camp, and I slept better than I had either of the previous 2 nights.
We slept in on the morning of August 23 until nearly 7 AM, had a leisurely breakfast, packed up the campsite. Rich and I headed down the Needle Creek trail around 10 AM and arrived at Needleton around 1 PM. We relaxed, ate, and waited for the train. While there we met another hiker who had started 3 days earlier from the Elk Park whistle stop and spent the entire time hiking north of Needleton. He said he had seen no one else for 3 days and was all smiles. We chatted for a brief period and then basically left each other alone. Don and Kris arrived around 3:30 and told us they hiked back up to Twin Lakes and up toward Columbine Pass just for the view. The train arrived around 4 PM, back to Durango, the hotel, a shower, clean clothes and a wonderful Italian dinner at Mama's Boy. The next day included a drive back to Denver and back home.
Some trail notes: The Needleton bridge over the Animas River will be closed for rebuilding beginning Sept 6. The routes to the peaks are well cairned an easy to find, or you can just follow the crowd. TAKE YOUR FILTER! There is ample water available if you remember this critical piece of equipment. If I were to do this trip again I would board the train in Silverton. You could board it around 2 PM, reach Needleton by 4 PM and be in Chicago Basin before dark if you're a faster hiker than me. Don and Kris made it in 3 hours. It took me 6 on my worn out knees. Going back to Silverton you can catch the train around noon and be in Silverton early afternoon. This could save you a day or possibly 2 for the entire excursion. |
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