Praise God! I’m standing on the 14,440′ summit of Mount Elbert. I can see the Twin Lakes from here, but the sky is gray and overcast. Cant stay long, storm heading this way, feeling rain already. Felt strong coming up, took hundreds of photos testing out the new camera gear.
Break at 13,650′, nice view of lakes. Low clouds rolling in, very cool, feels like rain is coming. Last break, will push for Mt. Elbert summit from here.
First view of the summit. 20 degree incline in this section. Fairly easy climb across the saddle to top from here.
Photo Break! I’m just above the tree line now, at 12,138′ and have my first decent view of the Twin Lakes.
Light 23′ pack, easy climb, perfect weather, but can’t stop taking photos!
I came upon a large group of slow moving and very poorly dressed hikers on the way up, too many to pass and if I take another photo stop in front of them, they might end up back in my shots. So I’ll take a long break and give them plenty of time to get ahead of me.
I have already taken a number of photo stops, but no sit down breaks. So it’s about time to grab some butt time along with some food and water.
And of course my first snack will be a Grab The Gold bar.
Sunrise came around 6:15 and found me lower on the mountain than I had planned, so I was not in a good position to capture the sun coming up across the lakes as I had hoped.
Best I could do is the log featured in this post.
The jeep road was not for the faint of heart or pregnant mothers, but the 4X4 suburban was up to the challenge and I’m at the trailhead proper.
Leaving trailhead after final gear check. The supermoon is bright, enough to forgo a flashlight.
Driving up a steep grade trail accessible only with a 4X4. Scraping bottom, even in four-wheel-drive suburban?
We took in a Jeff Brinkman concert at the Tabor House, and it was a very impressive display of musical talent. Jeff’s and his band, are very precise and work together to create a very rich musical expirerience. They also seemed to be having a really good time doing it, especially the drummer who was grinning maniacally as he ruthlessly beat the drums into submission.
The show was further enhanced by the astoundingly good acoustics of the Tabor Opera house. For the last song they came down off the stage and played unplugged. We were sitting in the front, so they were only a few feet away. I really don’t have the words to do it justice, and I have never heard anything more magical.
The downside is I’m climbing a 14K mountain tomorrow, and I’ll get 5 hours sleep at best.
Susan and I have been spending the day in Leadville which at 10,152 feet is Americas highest city. They get over 300 inches of snow each year and 300 days of sunshine, although aft on thunderstorms are typical. Weather is perfect at the moment, with some light cloud cover.
I’ll hit the Mount Elbert trailhead early in the morning, and try to get up and down to beat any potential weather.
Sorted out my gear last night and decided what clothing and tech I’ll be carrying up the mountain based on the current conditions. If you visit the blog, you can see the gear photo.
Tech includes the Delorme InReach satellite uplink, a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus USB battery pack, (sans solar panel), a Surefire St. Minimus Headlamp and 4 cameras including an iPhone 5s in a Lifeproof Fre Waterproof case. The iPhone will mostly be used to interface with the satellite uplink to send and receive messages. Also taking the awesome Olympus TG-2 outdoor waterproof camera and it’s waterproof wide angle lens. This camera is soon to be replaced with the new Olympus 16MP Tg-3. Also carrying a pair of the latest Black Edition 3+ GoPro cameras which are new to my kit. One mounted on a pack strap, and the other with the new sports mount on one of my Leki Carbon TI trekking poles. The pole mounted camera, dubbed “DangerCam1” is controlled via the GoPro iPhone app which allows full control and viewfinder functions via WiFi. I used this during my Oklahoma climb and found it very useful. With the camera mounted on the pole, I’ll be able to stab it in the ground or use the pole as a boom and take some cool selfies without a lot of fuss. The pack strap camera, “DangerCam2” is fired with a CamDo Intervalometer board which automatically snaps a photo every 2 minutes for 22 hours straight on a single battery. I won’t be taking a solar panel, so I’ll also carry extra batteries for much of the gear.
I’ll check in tomorrow morning at the trailhead.
Susan, Chris and I are in Denver at a technical conference that ends Friday. This places me within striking distance of Mount Elbert which I have yet to climb.
At 14,440 feet Mount Elbert is the highest peak in Colorado as well as the Rocky Mountains. It is also the second-highest mountain in the contiguous US, and the highest of the fourteeners of Colorado (the peaks which rise above 14,000).
So after the conference ends, well make the 3 hour drive southwest to Twin Lakes and will spend the rest of the weekend at the foot of the mountain in a Bavarian style lodge overlooking the lakes. We also plan to visit the former mining town of Leadville which at 10,152 feet is the highest incorporated city in the United States. I’m told it is a quaint little historic town with an endless supply of events, fairs and festivals and breathtaking views in every direction.
I’ll start the climb early Sunday, August 10th, which will have me climbing under the SuperMoon. The forecast calls for some bad weather and this mountain is renowned for its afternoon thunderstorms complete with dramatic light shows. The top of a mountain is no place to be when lighting takes the stage, so I intend to move fast and get to the summit and back down before that happens.
As always, you can follow along via the satellite uplink, once the climb starts. My cell phone tracker is already active and will show me in Denver until Saturday morning. Visit the Track page for all of the tracking maps.
My fellow exile and I made the hike all the way down to basecamp yesterday from 11,000′ in around 5 hours through blue skies, cool temps and dramatic cloud formations (photo on blog post) swirling all around around us providing protection from the searing sun as well as amazement. It was the best part of the trip to be sure and we hoofed it to prove a point.
After 5 days sleeping in a storage room next to the airport and 6 days on the mountain I find myself back in civilization marveling at modern conveniences like showers, toilets with seats and beds that don’t need to be blown up.
My Decision
Climbing Denali is a serious challenge with life or death consequences, and having had time to reflect and weigh the options I’ve come to a decision; I don’t like to quit, and that is a point of pride for me, often to a fault. Being hardheaded as I am God has to slam a lot of doors in my face to get my attention and I’m feeling his hand here. So I’ll give my pride a rest and take what I have learned and attempt Denali again next year with a more informed action plan.
Danger Network Going Offline
I will be writing a trip report, photo album, ETC and will let you know when it’s posted to the Highpoints Page, but aside from that the Danger Network is going offline until the next adventure.
Thank You All
I want to thank everyone for the messages of encouragement while I was up there, and especially Danielle at #GrabTheGold the purveyor of those amazing snack bars that were the core of my nutrition plan. Here’s a Grab The Gold Endorsement Video I shot for you at 11,000′ in appreciation of your sponsorship and support.
Made Base Camp 15 minutes ago, and learned that permit is handled in Town. So now I am sitting on the glacier waiting for an air taxi back to Talkeetna.
On my way down with the other climber who was voted off the island. Should be at basecamp in a few hours. It’s a beautiful day to be in the mountains.
Have line on tent but according to park ranger I have the wrong kind of permit. Must go all the way back down to base camp and pay another $300. So down I go
Talked to half a dozen teams on their way down and found all the gear I need to continue with the other group except a tent. Still looking
Found a private group to ascend with! Still need gear as guide will not loan me the gear I drug up the mountain.
I’m looking for a private group I can join to continue up the mountain. Will barter, borrow, ETC for needed gear; tent, stove, etc from descending climbers.
It’s official, I got kicked off the island. Guide doesn’t think I’m strong enough. I think I am but can’t change his mind. The plan is to send me down tomorrow.
He is also sending down another climber with me. I am very frustrated at this point.
Forgot beacon, but just returned from cache. Snowing & much easier today. But guide told me this AM he was considering sending me down based on yesterday.
Follow Danger's progress real time by clicking the icon above or click here to learn more.