| Bear Lake Trailhead ,R.M.N.P., 4-17-2004 Trip Report |
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| Bear Lake Trailhead ,R.M.N.P., 4-17-2004   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 40.29629°N / 105.67749°W Date Climbed/Hiked: Apr 17, 2004 Activities: Mountaineering Season: Spring | Page By: altitude14er Created/Edited: Mar 18, 2006 / Apr 2, 2006 Object ID: 181693 Hits: 556 Loading... Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Bear Lake Trailhead, 4-17-2004I climbed this peak with my buddy Mark (asphazell) from summit post. When I ascended this peak I only had 10 months of prior climbing experience. We were lucky enough to get to wear our snowshoes from the trailhead all the way to the summit. We started not so early (7:00am) but had a good pace. We followed the Bear Lake trail and followed the signs, leading gently up Flattops gentle slopes. The forest is dense here and you won't see much but trees. The weather was awesome. We were lucky to have a well defined trail leading up Flattop mountain. It was obvious many other snowshoers and cross country skiers had been up this trail as of late. No routefinding was needed at all. Once we got above treeline the wind picked up a bit and I realized I didn't bring enough gear. Well, I was cold but lived and have learned from this mistake. Inexperience can pay it's price. I'd rather carry extra weight then need something I don't have. The above picture features me and Mark in front of Hallett's North slope. Tyndall Glacier can be partially seen to the right of Hallett.
We saw a couple of other climbers as we acheived Flatop Mountain. It's name is very befitting - flat! Boring! Yet as we ascended Flattop Mountain the views of the surrounding R.M.N.P. peaks was great. We wrapped around Flattops saddle with Hallett and began the few hundred feet remaining to the summit. The snow hard and corniced to our left, hanging over Tyndall Glacier and the steep slope that accompanies it. It was getting colder but the views of white peaks were distracting me for the moment. We could see alot of R.M.N.P.'s peaks in all directions. The summit of Hallett is pretty small and doesn't offer any cover from the wind. We were able to climb to Hallet's summit and do the whole thing without getting ourselves onto any avalanche slopes. We laid down on our sides to lesson the sting of the wind on our faces and ate some lunch. Me and Mark were probably a little out of shape on this climb, and given the April snow conditions this thing was no easy jog up. Flattop Mountain was the first mountain I had ever climbed years prior and this trip was a nice return.
The ascent was straightforward and the trail was impressed upon the snow on this awesome trip. These peaks are a great option if your thinking about doing some suffering - ooops! I meant if your thinking of doing summer winter mountaineering. Images
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Rocky Mountain National Park
