| Northeast Slopes from Guenella Pass, 5-08-2004 Trip Report |
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| Northeast Slopes from Guenella Pass, 5-08-2004   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 39.62261°N / 105.75439°W Date Climbed/Hiked: May 8, 2004 Activities: Mountaineering Season: Spring | Page By: altitude14er Created/Edited: Mar 17, 2006 / Jun 11, 2006 Object ID: 181686 Hits: 487 Loading... Page Score: 86.3% - 2 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
My Camera Incorrectly Dated The Pics :( We Camped @ 12,000ft.Me and my friend Mark (asphasell) left Denver on 5-7-2004. We intended on camping at the base of Squaretop Mountain which would entail hauling all our gear a couple of miles. We parked on top of Guenella Pass, which was snow free all the way to the top. Atop the pass, we hoisted our internal frame packs on our backs and set off..feeling the extra weight! We arrived to an area due east of the summit at 12,000ft. and decided to set-up camp. There was alot of snow around and we began heating the snow on our stoves for water. We planned on this and saved the hassle of extra weight by bringing less water & more gas for the stove. As is to be expected it was not a quick process. Our tents had wind shelter and we were ready for the climb. As the sun disappeared the temperature dropped steadily and we hopped into our small tents to get some rest. I remember how the moonlight illuminated the tundra that evening.
In the morning, we wanted to find some class 3 snow on the east face. There were alot of snowfields to choose from in the morning, none exceeding Class 3 snow difficulty. The photo is of Mark (SPer "asphazell") ascending the class 3 snow.
We decided to blaze up several hundred feet of hard, icy snow to get to the summit. Every few hundred feet of snow you looked across would have a large hole in it. Marmots apparently like to hang out here in the spring? They kept running in and out of these holes, making there anoying little chirps. I had never climbed snow before and found it to be exhiliterating -quite a calf workout! The mountains name really suits it because the summit is a broad wide plateau. The picture above was taken of me on the summit of this peak. We had great weather and the night at 12,000ft wasn't too uncomfortable. The only time I was cold was when we woke up and had to melt more water. We bumped into an old timer on the way down from the summit. We talked briefly about all sorts of peaks in Colorado and parted ways. The mans intent was to climb Evans from Guenella Pass via the Sawtooth with cramp-ons the next day. My kind of climber! If you study some pictures in the summit post gallery for this peak you can memorize Squaretops distinctve eastern slopes. It's hard to get lost from Guenella Pass once you know what this peak looks like. The eastern slopes will face you as you approach from Guenella Pass, heading West. Don't be fooled like me, the summit is not in sight and is further west across the long summit plane.
This peak offers more solitude and is climbed less than the other prominent Guenella Pass peaks - Evans and Bierstadt. I'd recomend it to anyone. If you desire a snow climb, it's highly possible on this peak in April through early June of most years. Images
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Front Range (CO)
