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ElliottDavis - Jun 19, 2007 12:17 pm Date Climbed: Jun 16, 2007
SW Ridge from Sayres BenchmarkStarted on the SW ridge route as described by Roach. After splashing through the muddy willows, turned NW and up talus to the East Ridge of Sayres Benchmark. Sigh - some days you don't have the juice, and this was one of them; every step felt slow. Summited Sayres and then headed down the East Ridge, which was pretty time-consuming. Mostly class 3, with moments of class 4-5 that were avoidable by climbing down off the crest. The rock is mostly solid, with the East side of several towers being a bit crumbly. Then up La Plata and when I was apparently one false summit hump from the top. Oh well, no mountain is worth getting me - and my puppy! - zapped to death, so I turned around. The brighter side: Brangwen (my puppy) had already been to the top with my buddy Ian, who hadn't done Sayres, so Brangwen has now climbed her first 14er. I am a proud puppy-papa.
ktiffany22 - Jun 18, 2007 1:38 pm Date Climbed: Jun 16, 2007
Repeat #4 on the seasonAnother repeat on the season, another brand new route though:-) (standard this time). Camped at the trailhead (w/o my sleeping pad- oops) w/o much sleep, still had a superb summit the following day!
Peak_Bagger - May 15, 2007 8:04 pm Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2002
Nice oneThis one was cool.
crzyjt - May 14, 2007 10:44 am Date Climbed: Apr 14, 2007
Solo ski descent - NW ridgeBeautiful day. Unfortunately the new snow was too unstable to ski the north slopes, but it was a blast to be up there solo this time of year.
shanahan96 - Feb 12, 2007 11:19 pm Date Climbed: Feb 10, 2007
winter, la plata styleclimbed la plata with a group of six from 14ers.com. it ended up being a real adventure on a wonderful winter day! 13 hours and 55 min long....these folks are troopers.
jamie
Scott - Feb 12, 2007 4:49 pm Date Climbed: Feb 10, 2007
Winter ascentSame as Chicago' post below.
All six of us made the summit, but it was a long day. 13 hours 40 minutes. The weather was actually reasonable. A bit of wind at times, light snow at times, but mostly good and with some periods of sunshine. After sunset it was completely clear with a star filled sky. We returned about 3 hours after dark so got to see the stars.
chicagotransplant - Feb 12, 2007 4:26 pm Date Climbed: Feb 10, 2007
NW Ridge - WinterClimbed with Scott Patterson, shanahan96, jamienellis, bodacious and denalibound on a surprisingly comfortable winter day. Despite forecasts the snow was light and sparse and the ridge was fairly calm. Not too cold either. We left the trail in the trees to avoid avy paths on the standard route. The ridge was gained via a 3rd class loose scree gully, but otherwise the route was straightforward.
bpv_UW - Feb 3, 2007 8:44 pm Date Climbed: Jul 6, 2005
NW Ridge RouteClimbed with my brother on a beautiful July day. Took our time; 8-9 hrs. RT. Summit to ourselves for ~45 minutes; only saw 2-3 other hikers the whole day. Awesome views from the top!
Anya Jingle - Jan 23, 2007 6:02 am Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2002
Via Southwest Ridge from West Winfield TrailheadBeautiful hike. I wish I could do it again. Our slideshow is here: La Plata Peak hike
boisedoc - Dec 17, 2006 4:16 pm Date Climbed: Aug 10, 1992
One of the better Sawatch peaksI thought the route from the south was enjoyable. We started hiking immediately after driving from Dallas which made for a bit of altitude sickness
TiogaBradford - Sep 22, 2006 11:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2005
NW ridgeMy first 14er, and my first peak in CO! It was only my 2nd week living in Colorado, so I think I dragged a bit due to the altitude, but other than that, it was a great time!
royswkr - Sep 22, 2006 2:26 pm Date Climbed: Sep 11, 1993
From Winfield sideTook route from S described by Edrinn as little-used, to find that no longer true once book was out :-)
lwillson83 - Sep 21, 2006 10:45 pm Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2005
My 2nd 14er!#2 the day after #1! Nice steep hike.
awillson - Sep 15, 2006 6:23 pm Date Climbed: Sep 5, 2005
Great hike!A great hike!
dunking_deutschman - Sep 14, 2006 5:23 am Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2006
Northwest RidgeA pleasant hike. The route is very well marked with cairns and it is difficult to get off track. This is one of Colorado 14er's more conveniently located trailheads as it is located on a paved road. Enjoy your hike and then treat yourself to a 4 star dinner in Aspen. Your body has earned it, no doubt.
CO PUMA - Sep 9, 2006 9:28 pm Date Climbed: Sep 4, 2006
Route: NW RidgeGreat route!! Great trail!! I loved the waterfall over from the first bridge you cross.
Brandon Fuller - Sep 3, 2006 4:17 pm Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2006
NW RidgeNice well defined trail. Good rock jumping up near the top.
orangehat - Sep 1, 2006 4:27 pm Date Climbed: Aug 28, 2006
Standard routeLate start and clouds were building throughout the day but it never rained or thundered--great day climbing with my brother, his first 14er. A little snow near the summit but no need for gaiters. Came from sea level, climbed to 12,800 the day before, and had no real altitude problems on La Plata. A great nontechnical climb. Can't wait for the next CO trip!
apierce - Aug 14, 2006 7:27 pm Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2006
Excellent TrailPraise to the Fourteener Initiative for all their work on the trail. It is among the most solid and well-defined I have encountered on a Class 2. Scenic trail: we saw 2 rainbows early in the a.m. and there were thousands (literally) of colorful mushrooms spotting the forest floor. The views were awesome too, of course.
smason505 - Aug 10, 2006 6:24 pm Date Climbed: Jul 8, 2006
La Plata Northwest RidgeClimbed northwest ridge with Ian. Drizzled and rained all day and we never had a clear view of the summit. Lots of marmots though, gotta love those little guys.