We had climbed Mount Evans, with full packs, from the Scott Gomer Creek trailhead on the Guanella Pass Road. We had gone over the mountain and were ready to descend down into Chicago Creek toward our pick-up point, where we would be extracted a day later. The weather was looking downright horrific, as if night had settled in at 1PM. We knew we weren’t going to make the descent to the higher Chicago Lake without getting clobbered. We retreated to the Summit Lake shelter house and settled in to wait out the storm.
Lightning, thunder, and a series of downpours followed. It rained and hailed so hard that I could not see Summit Lake, let alone the mountain. As the storm ended, the Evans summit and points west were bathed in hail and snow all the way down to twelve thousand feet. When the storm moved on east over Denver, we could see more clouds due west and figured they were likely the next wave of rain. We ski-daddled and made a hasty and slippery descent into Chicago Basin. We managed to get camp set before the next wave arrived, which was less intense but lasted most of the night. Another one we barely dodged…
For the 7th most impressive storm event in 37 years of climbing, head for Mount Yale. Images
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Colorado 14ers
