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Distance: 9 miles
Elevation Gain: 4,292’
Difficulty: Class 2
Participants: Steve Hoffmeyer solo
Originally I planned to try Sprague Peak in RMNP, but when I checked the NWS forecast on Friday night I saw that it deteriorated from “breezy” to “windy” with 30-40 MPH winds and 60 MPH gusts. I quickly searched through forecasts for the other ranges and saw that the Sawatch had a “sunny” forecast with zero wind. WRONG…
I arrived at the South Elbert TH at 7:20, and continued up the 4WD road until I reached the end at 10,440’. There were two other cars already there and two more pulled up as I was getting ready. It was calm and I was excited to get started. My plan was to try for “South Elbert” which had eluded me last year.
Having been hiking in the IWP and RMNP lately, I was shocked to see so much snow in the Sawatch. People were actually carrying snowshoes, and there was evidence that they were being used. Luckily they were not necessary on this day.
When I got above tree line it was a little windy, so I stopped to put on my wind gear. When I reached the ridge it got VERY windy and I started to wonder how windy it was going to be on top.
As I approached the final stretch, the wind got so strong that I was nearly knocked down a couple of times and one of the two parties that were ahead of me decided to turn back. I was thinking the same for myself, but since there was still one group pushing on, I kept moving forward, fighting an unbelievable strong headwind.
At this point the idea of trying for “South Elbert” was completely erased from my mind. I realized that today I would be lucky to just get Mount Elbert. And then, like a miracle, the wind died down as I started up the south face for the final push. I guess the face was blocking the wind because I could still hear it on top and see it blowing chunks of hard snow into the air.
I arrived at the summit after 3 hours and 45 minutes of hiking. I had caught up with the couple that was ahead of me and we shared exclamations about the windy conditions. This was no day to relax on the summit. We all snapped a few pictures and decided to quickly drop down out of the wind.
Once out of the wind, I sat down to eat my sandwich, which I wound up sharing with that couple’s dog. Dogs like peanut-butter and jelly and this one quickly became my best friend.
I arrived back at the car after 6 hours and 17 minutes. Aside from the wind, it was a great day. |
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