Welcome to SP!  -   
 
 MbPost.com -- It's SP for Mountain Biking!
Areas & Ranges·Mountains & Rocks·Routes·Images·Articles·Trip Reports·Gear·Other·People·Plans & Partners·What's New·Forum

Mummy Mania or Insania?
Trip Report
Mummy Mania or Insania? 

Page Type: Trip Report

Location: Colorado, United States, North America

Lat/Lon: 40.44420°N / 105.6887°W

Date Climbed/Hiked: Sep 12, 2004
 

Page By: mtnhiker13

Created/Edited: Sep 15, 2004 /

Object ID: 169605

Hits: 783 

Page Score: 85.07% - 1 Votes 

Vote: Log in to vote

 
Here are some details from my recent Mummy Mania trip - hopefully the chronology and route descriptions will be helpful to those of you planning a similar trip in the future. Feel free to email me with any questions as well.

What is Mummy Mania? I think Gerry Roach first coined the term in his book, Rocky Mountain National Park, Classic Hikes and Climbs. The hike consists of a route that hits the summits of all of the mountains in the Mummy Range in RMNP. It is 16 miles + and 5600 feet of elevation gain. If you plot your route on a topo map you may get more elevation gain and more mileage depending on your exact route taken. The route takes you over 6 mountain peaks, 1 mountain is 12K and the other 5 are over 13K feet. I think 4 of the 13ers are ranked 13ers as well.

Why did I do Mummy Mania? I saw the hike listed in the CMC schedule and decided to sign up for the hike in order to complete my D Classification. You can read more about CMC Hike Classifications here.

Once I had my D Classification, I would be able to sign up for any hike which the club offers without having to call the hike leader each time and present my case. This looked like a fun hike anyway and a challenge as well.

The group met at the 88th and Sheridan Park and Ride at 4:30 am! There were 8 of us, which is a good size group for a climb such as this. We arrived at the Lawn Lake Trailhead in RMNP where we left 2 cars around 6:00 am. We then piled into the other 2 cars to head up to Chapin Pass via the Fall River Road and we started hiking around 6:45 am. Chapin pass is at 11,020 feet of elevation. Luckily it was just getting light so there was no need for headlamps. I had hiked Crystal Peak the day before, so I wasn't moving too fast. The group took off at a quick pace that I had trouble keeping up with. It usually takes me a good hour before my legs and lungs are warmed up and into any type of rhythm.

Chapin - Chiquita: We hit the summit of Chapin around 7:50 am. Chapin is the lowest of the peaks we would be climbing that day. We had ascended up the west tundra slopes to the ridge and then onto the summit. After a very brief stay we were on the move again, down Chapin over to the saddle between Chapin and Chiquita. Chapin is only 12,454 but we gained quite a bit of elevation to get there 1,434 – this would be the most elevation gain in one shot we would have all day.

Mount Chiquita, at 13,069 feet, is another tundra walk - there is actually a trail most of the way up the southwest slopes. I think we hit the summit of Chiquita around 9 am. 2 mountains in 2 hours! We continued to move quickly as the wind didn't allow us a very comfortable rest on any of the summits so far.

Traversing to Fairchild from Ypsilon
Digital photo by Ellen Ritt

Ypsilon 13,514 : Over to Ypsilon next. I had done Chapin and Chiquita before so this was new territory. Ypsilon was another walk up tundra slopes. I think we hit the summit there around 10-10:30 timeframe. It was another very brief stay and then off to Fairchild. We dropped a lot of elevation from Ypsilon and had to regain 1000 feet to get to the summit of Fairchild. Instead of taking the ridge over, we decided to drop down into the basin a little and traverse over to the start of the climb for Fairchild. I think the ridge looked like a very fun climb but probably more time consuming than the option we chose. There is a sort of trail that drops into the basin - mostly loose scree. After that you are just boulder hopping. The rocks were quite stable and enjoyable to climb over.

If weather is questionable you could turn back at this point and head back to the cars you left at Chapin Pass. You could contour around Chiquita to get back to the main trail back to Chapin Pass.

Fairchild 13,502: Once we arrived at the base of the slopes of Fairchild, we made the decision to pick a diagonal line heading up and to the East to ascend the mountain. Although the rock looked loose from the bottom, it really was quite a stable slope of rocks. The climbing was very fun as well. We summitted Fairchild around 12:00. Everyone was starving by this point but the wind was too strong to sit on the summit. We dropped off the backside (north) of the mountain and found a place to get out of the wind and take a much needed lunch break.

Ascending Mount Fairchild on the Mummy Mania Route
Digital photo by Ellen Ritt

Hagues Peak 13,560: From there we examined our next challenge, Hagues Peak. Hagues Peak is the highest in the Mummy Range and the highest peak in Larimer County for you county highpointers. It is the 4th highest mountain in RMNP.

The summit block looked interesting from where we were. A few members of the group were trying to decide if they wanted to continue or not. There is a bail out spot at “The Saddle” between Fairchild and Hagues, you just follow the drainage down to Lawn Lake and then take the Lawn Lake Trail back to the trailhead parking area. Two members of the group decided to head back at that point. The other six continued on towards Hagues. We had 1200 feet of climbing to the summit of Hagues. By this time fatigue was beginning to set in. The climb up the south slopes of Hagues was just tundra and rocks, very enjoyable and not terribly steep. We got to the summit block and had a nice surprise - some great class 3 climbing! The route we took had a couple of moves that may have bordered on class 4- I am not sure if there was an easier way to go, but I doubt there was a more fun way to go. We navigated the large rocks near the summit and then onto the summit plateau. We reached the summit around 2:30-2:45 pm - about 8 hours into our journey. Hagues is the crown jewel of the Mummy Range as far as I am concerned. It was the most fun to climb - too bad it is in the middle of the range - not very easy to get to if you wanted to schedule a return trip to the mountain.

We enjoyed another short break before beginning our traverse over to Mummy.

Mummy Mountain, seen from Hagues Peak, Mummy Mania Route
Digital photo by Ellen Ritt

Mummy Mountain 13,425: We dropped down slightly below the ridge on the south side and began our traverse. This was probably the most time consuming traverse of the day. It was a longer traverse than the others and over smaller looser rocks. The wind was just wailing by this point so you really had to use your hands quite a bit just to steady yourself on the rocks. Eventually we got to some tundra where the hiking was bit easier. From the saddle below Mummy you look up and see your last objective. It looks huge only because by this point you are very tired. In reality it is only about 500+ feet of elevation gain to the summit of Mummy.

I think we hit the summit of Mummy around 4:00 pm. From the top of Mummy Mountain back to the cars was still 7.5 miles away!

From the top of Mummy we examined our descent route. We could see the Lawn Lake Trail down below next to the creek. The only question was how to get there. We descended down the southeast slopes and headed towards the ridge and took the first drainage before the groves of evergreen trees. We contoured around and began looking for the Black Canyon Trail, which eventually connects to the Lawn Lake Trail.

When we hit the Black Canyon Trail we took a right heading north and within a short while we were back on the Lawn Lake Trail - at this point we were still 5.7 miles from the cars. It was around 5:30 pm at that point. The Lawn Lake trail is well maintained and very flat with some switchbacks. We were able to pick up the pace and hoofed it out and got back to our cars around 7:30 pm. We then had to drive up to Chapin Pass and pick up the other cars and then take the long descent down Trail Ridge Road. I had never driven Trail Ridge Road in the dark before - it was a different experience.

I think I got back to Estes Park around 9 pm. I still had another 1.5 hours to go before I got home.

Some things to consider when planning attempting this hike:

1. Water - there are no water sources on this route until you get to the junction of the Black Canyon Trail and Lawn Lake Trail - be sure and carry enough water. I had approximately 180 ounces for the whole trip and nearly finished it by the end. On the day I did the trip it wasn’t even a warm day! It was cool and windy for most of the day.

2. Daylight - as the days get shorter in the fall - you may have to either start or end your hike in the dark. Be sure and carry a flashlight or headlamp.

3. Food - this is a long endeavor - be sure and carry enough food to be eating constantly. As you are going up and then down, your energy needs will vary throughout the day. Carry enough high-energy food to get you through the day. Since you have a very early start of a long day - something with caffeine may be greatly appreciated in the afternoon as fatigue starts to set in.

4. Conditioning - I was glad that I was doing this hike late in the season when I had quite a bit of climbing and hiking under my belt for the year already. As a result, I had no blisters and my muscles were only a little sore the next day. I would recommend that you build up your mileage on some hikes in the 10 miles range before attempting this hike. Be sure and carry moleskin in case you do get blisters.

5. Car Shuttle - a car shuttle is required to execute this hike or if you can leave your car at the Lawn Lake Trailhead and then get someone to give you a ride up to Chapin Pass that would work as well.

6. Weather - nearly the entire hike is above timberline. There are a few options for bailing out of this hike to get back to lower elevations. Please consider this and plan carefully if the weather looks questionable. I think for several reasons, weather and conditioning especially, it may be nice to do this hike in the fall.

7. Plan on a long day. Our group wasn't slow or extremely fast - I would say we were a little better than average and the hike took us 12.5 hours. Factor this into your plans. You may want to spend either the night before or the night after the hike (or both) in Estes Park somewhere or camping in RMNP. A little extra sleep the night before is a good idea.

It is quite an accomplishment to climb 6 mountains in one day - this hike is well worth the effort. You will see some spectacular views and fun climbing terrain. Enjoy Mummy Mania!


Comments

[ Post a Comment ]
Viewing: 1-1 of 1

aemterThank you

Voted 10/10

This is a nice page. I will be attempting "Mummy Mania" in Sep. '07. Could use a few more pics, but the information is very good!
Posted Dec 6, 2006 8:36 pm

Viewing: 1-1 of 1


Sign in to post!

Don't have an account? Register now.



"My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat your children. Praise be to Allah."   --Mike Tyson   

© 2006 SummitPost.org. All Rights Reserved.