TR: Mt Bierstadt/Mt Evans (LONG)
Brad Baker
With no climbing partner and an open weekend coming, I decided
that a long hike/scramble was exactly what I needed. So, I
started to peruse my guide to Colorado 14'ers (thanks ?) for
a suitably easy peak to climb. With the very wet spring, I
was unsure of snow coniditions throughout the state, so I
scanned the guide keeping the possibility of snow in the back
of my mind. Mt. Bierstadt popped out as a climb with super easy
access, very little elevation gain, and ease of climbing even
if there were snow. Decision made.
Wired from mucho espresso, I got a super early alpine start
of 7:30am :-) and hit the road from Colorado Springs. After a
couple hours of easy driving, I was at the trailhead and ready
to hike. Looking at the mountain, snow shoes looked superfluous,
but I'd throw in my axe and crampons just in case.
The crux of climbing Bierstadt is supposedly finding your way
through the maze of willows which lie in the basin below the
mountain. Dressed in full pants and long sleeves, I was
ready for a major bushwack through the jungle. As soon as I
hit the trail, I ran into about 20 people doing trail
maintenance. The further I got into the willows, the more I
appreciated their hard work. There is a clear path all the
way through the willows! Sure, you've got to trudge through
some swampy areas, but the willows were nothing.
After clearing the willows, I hit the real elevation gain and
started climbing. The trail is fairly obvious and I was making
great time. As I gained in altitude, I ran into more and more
snow patches. Eventually, the snow became fairly continuous
and I lost the trail. I looked up and saw other hikers
skirting the snowfields to the right, but the summit was to
the left. I decided to take the direct route through the
snowfields. The "climbing" was easy. I just plodded uphill
in my boots, using my hiking poles for extra stability.
One hour and twenty five minutes after leaving my car, I was
at the summit. This was exactly the type of outing I had
been looking for: easy, fun hiking in a beautiful setting.
Sitting on the summit, admiring the scenery I gazed over
towards Mt Evans. What's this? Sawtooth Ridge has a
snowfield at the beginning of the traverse, but then clears
up and looks easy all the way to Mt Evans. Plus, I could
see boot prints from a previous climber crossing the
snowfield. If someone else is dumb enough to have done
the traverse, I could certainly match their stupidity.
So, full of over-confidence from having summitted
Bierstadt in less than an hour and a half, I set off to
conquer Mt Evans. Looking at the distance between myself
and Mt Evans, I figured that I would be back at the car in
no time. Oh, how deceptive distance can be in the mountains...
I proceeded to drop down from Bierstadt to the saddle, but
managed to go too high, ending up in no mans land. I
broke out my ice axe to cross a steep snow-filled gulley.
I found out the snow was much slicker than anticipated as
I almost slipped down the gulley, where I would have
continued my slide for a few hundred feet. Luckily, I
grapped a rock as I started to slip and arrested my fall.
"I'm an ass," I thought to myself. This is not a good way
to start this 3rd class traverse.
I carefully traversed, then downclimbed some easy 4th class
rock and ended up in the snowfield. Up ahead, I ran into
three other people. They were a friendly group from Denver
that had done the route before, so I tagged along behind them.
I got some beta from them and then decided to move ahead
when we hit the 3rd class rock section. The climbing was
easy and I was soon looking at the crux of the
route.
This section is 3rd class climbing through a narrow scree
ledge which diagonals above an 800 foot (?) cliff. This is
the type of climbing that I absolutely hate. I would much
rather be climbing 5.10 while 1000 feet up. Well, I
basically hugged the wall to the right and got through with
no difficulty. As I popped out of a chute that I
climbed in an attempt to stay away from the edge, I ran
into two people doing the route in reverse. I stopped to
chat with them and exchange beta. They proceed to just
walk right down the section that just spooked me. Oh well,
I'm a wimp, but at least I'm a living wimp.
The rest of the traverse to Mt Evans summit was just easy
boulder walking and hopping. As I passed the false summit
and regained a view of Mt Evans, I saw hordes of people
who obviously have a higher IQ than myself. They drove to
the top! I summit, look at my watch and say to myself,
"Shit, 4 hours!" It had taken me much longer than I
expected to complete the peak to peak traverse. I decided
it was time to get moving.
My plan for descent was to go down the Western slopes of
Mt Evans and end up back at Guanella Pass. Well, I ran
out of water (but eventually refilled with my new Safewater
filter), never found a trail on the descent, and did some
absolutely heinous bushwacking through willows at the
bottom. In my dehydrated, tired state, I chose swamp
over willows and eventually made it back to the car.
After six hours and forty minutes I was totally spent
and had a wicked headache. Resisting the urge to
just lay down and barf, I hopped back in the car and
headed home. My short little outting to climb Mt
Bierstadt had turned into a marathon ascent of two
fourteeners. By the time I was back in Colorado Springs,
I was already forgetting the suffering, and had started
planning my next trip...
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Brad Baker
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