In Ellen’s quest to climb all of Colorado’s 14ers, Mount Lindsey inevitably came up on the list. I had thoroughly enjoyed the mountain the first time around and was glad to climb it again with Ellen. Our original intent was to ascend the Northwest Ridge Route as described here on SummitPost. Once we had a good look at the ridge, we decided to stick to the standard route to be certain that Ellen was successful in her bid for the mountain. We love good Class 3 climbing, but if we were to get into terrain we were not comfortable with on the Northwest Ridge, we’d have to turn around and lose precious time, and perhaps give up on the summit.

In recent years people have fallen on Mount Lindsey, and a number of them have died. I was interested in the Northwest Ridge as a viable alternative. But I also did not recall the standard route being altogether intolerable or unenjoyable either. Sure, there is plenty of lose rock, but if one goes expecting such conditions and climbs accordingly, Mount Lindsey is still a fun mountain to climb and is never short on challenges.

Upon our arrival in the basin, it was evident the dreaded couloir was full of snow and ice, which would make things interesting. When I climbed it previously, there was no snow. I was now intrigued to see how this condition would affect the standard route.

In the basin we once again caught up with a young couple we had tagged off and on along the trail. The young man lived in Golden, not far from my neighborhood. His friend was fresh from Florida, having been in Colorado for only 14 hours. She was in great shape and showing no ill effects!

Approaching the notorious couloir, we intercepted a climber that was retreating from the mountain because of the snow and ice patch. He apparently was not experienced enough in exposed rock climbing to try a variation, but he informed us folks had been going up to the right of the couloir, which appeared reasonable to me. The young couple had screamed on ahead of us and climbed the couloir just to the right of the snow to near the top, then angled right up probably Class 4 rock. Other climbers coming down were further to the right and did an admirable job of not dislodging any rocks, for which I thanked them.

We zig-zagged up the steep and rocky terrain to the right of the snow and ice and thoroughly enjoyed this new variation to the standard route. On several occasions, I reached a dead end, affording Ellen to try her talents at route finding, to which she did with uttmost excellence. Evidence of foot travel was everywhere and options were many. When I climbed the mountain previously, very little evidence of human activity existed anywhere. We eventually topped out on the Northwest Ridge route and followed it over the false summit, where we intercepted the worn trail of the standard route and waltzed our way to the summit.

Our young couple, featuring Miss Florida, left the summit for us to enjoy, warning us of a resident marmot that turned out to be all too friendly. He was not shy at all and actually crawled onto our packs. We had to chase him off with pebbles, after which he tended to his own business. His pad certainly has an impressive view!

Ah…the view. This time around there really wasn’t one. There was so much humidity hanging around the area that it was like a thick veil of fog. We could not see the Spanish Peaks or Pikes Peak, as is usually the case. Only the Sangres were somewhat visible, with the Sierra Blanca obviously being the best feature due to its close proximity.

I noticed our young couple featuring Miss Florida had taken the standard trail for their descent and I was admittedly curious how the route would pan out with the snow on the mountain. So after enjoying our stay on the summit, we bade the marmot a nice day and were on our way down. The trail descended the mountain as I had remembered climbing it previously, in a contouring line along the northeast slopes. I knew some potentially perilous terrain was coming up and I feared if more snow was present, we could be descending our way into a dead end.

And I was somewhat right. The trail dead-ended in a steep ice field. Our young couple featuring Miss Florida obviously stayed high on the mountain with some rock scrambling. I remembered this spot from my previous climb as I mentioned to Ellen that I had a feeling this would happen if we descended the standard route. I wouldn’t be surprised if this spot was the scene of some of those falls I had read about in recent years. At least two of the falls resulted in the death of the climber. In one incident, the body was not retrieved for two days due to weather and the difficult location from which the body had to be extracted.

Looking below, the terrain looked gnarly enough to fit that description. A fall down the ice would be ugly indeed, if not fatal. I marvel at Lindsey’s steep and rocky slopes. The appearance at first is loose, but the mountain is actually pleasantly solid as any Sangre peak, if you just take the time to look around. I found a steep line of Class 3 climbing to the right of the ice down a rib of rock, which turned out to be an absolute gas. A quick climb of about fifty feet from below the ice up the right side of a loose couloir obviously heavily traveled followed. Climbing up this steep and solid rock was an absolute joy.

We then found ourselves at the top of the notorious ice filled couloir. Ellen didn’t seem so sure about the situation we had climbed ourselves in to, but the mountain had fired me up with route finding challenges all day, so what the heck? I descended down a bit to get a better look at the ice and saw a narrow spot. I had Ellen look at it but she seemed hesitant to offer an opinion. Getting to it without placing a foot on the ice would be the trick. There was no doubt the ice was solid and traction was zilch. A single slip would mean a very fast ride to a collision with rocks below. Ellen had every right to be concerned, but I felt the situation was certainly within our ability to overcome.

We initially descended down the opposite side of the ice we had climbed just an hour ago. The climbing was Class 3, but it was like Class 4 due to the small footholds and hand holds along a wall of rock, and certainly challenging enough to get the adrenalin going. A single slip or failing hold would mean floundering onto the ice from which there was no retreat. I climbed down with extreme focus and Ellen did a wonderful job doing the same. When I reached the narrow spot, I had the option of lunging off of the rock to the other side, a three foot leap, or calmly trying to chop a step onto an ice rib with my boot. Late in the day, these features are almost always soft, and today’s warm sunshine made this situation no exception. I was able to chop in a nice footstep and I simply stepped over the yawning ice filled couloir with ease. Ellen followed, and the rest of our descent was pleasant Class 2 scrambling along the standard route.

We were the last to leave the mountain. We encountered yet another couple hoping to climb the mountain below the northwest ridge at about two in the afternoon. They certainly had the weather for a great afternoon climb, but they were not experienced with anything greater than Class 2. I advised them their day would be a long one if they chose to continue, as the standard route was certainly out of commission. With no trail to rely on, route finding and a minimum of Class 3 climbing in exposed areas would be encountered. I worried that if their inexperience got them in a jam they might end up spending the night high on the mountain, for which they were not prepared. We were relieved to see them turn around upon reaching the ridge crest. Perhaps they went on to try the mountain the following day.

Despite our changed plans, Mount Lindsey for me remains one of Colorado’s most entertaining and challenging mountains, and I’m sure Ellen would agree. A few observations and pointers:

1. To someone not as experienced, Lindsey could be intimidating or a nightmare in the wrong conditions. As usual, I urge anyone aspiring to climb Lindsey to get plenty of practice with exposed Class 3 climbing at the very minimum before engaging the mountain. Lindsey presents many challenges which could easily not be considered fun if you are not ready for them.

2. Start EARLY EARLY EARLY to beat any chance of weather raining on your parade. Bad weather on this mountain would be your worst nightmare.

3. The standard route is still a viable route IF climbed safely, and if other climbers are climbing with equal caution. Experience too makes a big difference. Otherwise the dreaded couloir is definitely worth dreading, as it can easily become a bowling alley. The presence of snow and ice easily negates the route’s safety for the inexperienced and is not recommended. If you consider your experience marginal, return when the route is melted out, and better yet, get more experience in the meantime on less exposed terrain.

4. Experienced folks should consider the Northwest Ridge route as a viable and more solid alternative. I believe this opinion should be considered as the accepted official position among the SP Rockies community as well.

AND: Crossing the Huerfano River can be a bit of an obstacle to overcome. Have fun with that challenge as well! HA!

A FINAL WORD

Ellen’s boss fell over two hundred feet while descending this mountain. He suffered numerous cuts and bruises, post traumatic syndrome and twenty staples in his head. A doctor and nurse happened to be on the mountain to tend to his injuries. He was lucky to survive. I have a feeling his fall was in the main couloir. Fresh snow and ice were present, explaining the length of his fall.

Beyond the couloir, the other ice slope obscured the standard route in a secondary gully, steeper than the main couloir, calling for some detoured route finding. I have a feeling those that died on Lindsey fell in this area. Body retrieval from this spot would be quite the undertaking. Unless you are experienced and comfortable with route finding, attempting the standard route in the presence of ice is not recommended. Return another time with more experience and better conditions, and most importantly, alive and in one piece. Doing so will make Mount Lindsey a favorite on your list of mountains as well. Just ask anyone who has already climbed Mount Lindsey.

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