
| Started 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. |