Solitude Lake Cirque

The 'Solitude Lake Cirque'

It was finally time, after many years of thinking about the various pieces, to attempt the entire RMNP Solitude Lake Cirque: a climb of Arrowhead (3rd or 4th class) from Solitude Lake, then traversing to and climbing McHenrys' NE Arete (4th Class) to the summit, then traversing McHenrys' Notch (5th class downclimb and 2nd class scramble) to reach the summit of Mt Powell, and then traversing and downclimbing Mt Powell's entire NE Ridge (4th class) to the summit of Thatchtop.

If everything worked out, it would be a long, grueling day: over 13 hours, 11.5 miles, and 5140' of elevation gain & loss, with much of it being off trail. For illustration purposes, the planned effort is similar to scrambling up and down the 3rd Flatiron five times in a row with a mouth-full of water (to simulate high altitude oxygen availability). Fun, right?

Solitude Lake Cirque Trip Report

Images

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