| 13,900 Reasons to Stay in Bed: Colorado’s Drift Peak in December Trip Report |
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| 13,900 Reasons to Stay in Bed: Colorado’s Drift Peak in December   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 39.39900°N / 106.13800°E Date Climbed/Hiked: Dec 3, 2006 Activities: Mountaineering Season: Winter | Page By: jfox Created/Edited: Dec 6, 2006 / May 3, 2007 Object ID: 249491 Hits: 3132 Loading... Page Score: 91.35% - 40 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Like a splinter in my mindIt started with an email. My friend Dan (Mountain Man Dan) had recently done some technical climbing with Andy whom we both “knew” only via PM over at 14ers.com. I had always admired Andy’s input in the forums pertaining to all things mountaineering and he was always quick to answer any questions I had for him. I thought it was cool that Dan actually got to meet and climb with him. I was a bit bummed to have been out of state at the time, and unable to attend. Anyway, so out of the blue, I get an e-mail from Andy asking me if I wanted to join his team to ascend Drift Peak again. He was aware that Dan and I had been denied the summit in October from Dan’s Trip Report. This was great! Of course I wanted another shot at Drift and I also wanted to meet new people and find new climbing partners. I sent Andy my reply of a resounding: YES!
Over the next week, many emails were sent back and forth within the group, which was growing by the day. At one point it looked like we would have eight people going. I quickly realized that I would be meeting three additional members of Summitpost on this trip; Brenta, Nelson, and CharlesD. We all kept an eye on the weather reports and came to the decision that the summit attempt would be on Sunday, December 3rd.
I don’t know what it is about this mountain, but I had been thinking about it for a long time. Drift was always in the back of my mind and it wasn’t going to leave. It is by no means spectacular. It is an ordinary peak situated near the middle of the 10-Mile range and stands at 13,900’ in height, but it has drawn my attention in a strange way. I could feel its pull on me growing by the day. Maybe it’s because I had read of other’s failed attempts to claim this peak. Maybe it’s because of its dominating position at the south end of the ominous Atlantic/Fletcher/Drift connecting ridge. Maybe it’s because of how it makes me feel tiny in comparison, as I approach the cirque headwall at the end of Mayflower Gulch. The arms of the Villa Ridge and Atlantic Peaks West Ridge seem to greet climbers with sinister open arms, ready to ensnare them in a crushing embrace. Whatever the reason, I knew I wanted to go back. Drift did not allow me her summit the first time. Would she allow me this gift the second time around?Sunday (5:30a.m. – 7:30a.m.)Like last time, Dan had driven from Colorado Springs up to my house near Central City on Saturday. That way, he could sleep longer and we could carpool. The alarm went off at 5:00a.m. sharp. Uuggh I thought. Do I really want to get out of this nice warm bed before dawn and climb a damned 13K mountain in bitter cold? I must be crazy. We left my house at 5:30a.m. and arrived at the Mayflower Gulch trail-head at 6:53a.m. Dan and I were the first ones there, aside from an abandoned Volkswagen Jetta that had been plowed around. While we waited for the others to show up, we hurriedly put on our cold-weather gear and other items. I ate some breakfast consisting of a bagel with cream cheese, a banana and an Odwalla Mo’beta beverage. The temperature outside was really cold! So cold in fact that my cheap REI digital thermometer quit working! The LCD froze! I really don’t know how cold it was, but it had to be near or below 0. With every inhale, my nostrils would freeze.
Soon thereafter, the rest of the group showed up. CharlesD was driving since they had carpooled from Morrison. Of the four, two lived in Boulder, and two lived in Fort Collins. What dedication I thought as they began to emerge from the car; to wake up really early and drive all the way from Fort Collins in this frigid weather to suffer up a big mountain. The cold made me want to tuck tail and run! Soon after meeting each of them, CharlesD made the comment that was ever so fitting for the day: “We do this ‘cuz it’s fun!” For those who don’t climb, I’m sure that comment would seem to warrant a straight-jacket. For those of us who do, it’s the best reason under the sun.
Mayflower Gulch |
Sunday (7:30a.m. – 9:30a.m.)By 7:30ish we were off. The trail up to Mayflower Gulch from the parking area was nicely trampled down from skiers and so made the initial mile of walking easy. No one donned their snowshoes for this section of the climb. The walk through the forest was nice but very cold. The sun had not yet emerged from above Drift Peak and so the entire valley was in shadow. The group continued to get to know each other through friendly conversation on the way up to the mountain.
The group heads up the trail. |
My fingers were getting really cold and I had to curl them up into my palms on several occasions to re-heat them. I was getting a bad feeling about this climb due to the extreme cold. If it was this cold here, how was it going to be on the summit?
Finally we vacated the forest and were greeted by the magnificent vista before us. Rising nearly straight up over two thousand feet from the valley floor was Drift Peak. We eyed spin drift coming off the upper headwall and the summit. “Looks windy up there.” someone commented. The sun was inching closer to the summit making the spin drift look like so much glitter scattered across the sky.
Drift Peak |
Here we took a break to snap some pictures, and put on our snowshoes. Our next task would be to turn south and ascend the gentle north slope of Gold Hill. We took some time to study the terrain and analyze the avalanche potential of the slope. All agreed that a line up the slope staying in the skier’s tracks would be the safest ascent.
Dan took the lead breaking trail. I like to call him ‘Danimal’ instead of Mountain Man Dan, because his twenty year old frame has a lot more energy than mine, and he loves charging up the mountains. All of us older gents were glad to have him on the team! I followed second after Mr. Trail-Breaker. As we began climbing, I was worrying again. I am sort of new to winter mountaineering and I do not know much about snow conditions yet. All I could think about was avalanche. What would I do if one came? At the top of the hill were several cornices. We were ascending a giant blanket of featureless white. However, I trusted the company I was in. They had far more experience doing this than I, and if they were comfortable, then I was too. I think in looking back, that the potential for avalanche was minimal due to the slope and the extreme cold. The snow was very firm.
We all gained the top of Gold Hill without incident. Up here the views were incredible. We were surrounded by mountains in all directions. To the southwest was the Sawatch Range, and to the north was the Gore Range, and staring right in front of us, the 10-Mile. It was sensory overload! The cold crisp air, the vaulted cobalt sky, brilliant white peaks stretching off to infinity, spin drift glittering in the sun and nothing but silence made me think of what heaven must be like. Did I just die in an avalanche? Up here the snow cover was thinner and a lot harder. We decided to ditch our snowshoes at the base of the initial steep section of the ridge. We cached them behind a large boulder, not that anyone would be up here to steal them (we hoped), but so that they would not get blown away if the winds did pick up. Now the real “fun” was to begin…
Sunday (9:30a.m. – 11:30a.m.)Again, ‘Danimal’ took the lead trail-breaking duty. Next was Andy then Charles, me then Brenta and Nelson. The going was a bit easier this time than last in that there was less snow to slip on. However, there was still enough snow to make the climbing a pain in the neck. This slope is really loose and steep. 
Step #1 |
Combine that with snow and it made for a miserable time. Every now and then, one’s foot would punch through the snow and down between some boulders up to your hip! It was not “fun” to say the least….but hey…this is mountaineering!
Spin drift and sun. |
After we were all up top of this section, the leaders continued on breaking trail again. The temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up a bit. The views of the surrounding peaks were getting better by the foot! The snow up on the ridge was deeper than we expected too. Some of us were second guessing the decision to ditch the snowshoes. Too late now however! We continued on the ridge in good spirits even though the going slowed a bit. There was some discussion of choosing a turn-around time. We decided that we would turn around at 1:00p.m. in order to give ourselves enough time to safely get off the ridge and down off Gold Hill. To our left, the ridge plummeted down very steeply to the valley floor. You definitely would not want to slip here! To the right it was a long way down as well, but rockier and less steep. I kept thinking that if the ridge top avalanched right out from under my feet, that I would try to jump to my right. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that!
Up here it was single file hiking for the most part. At one point the ridge became very narrow and presented us with a few rocky obstacles to actually climb up and over. Another large, steep and loose talus slope greeted us and we begrudgingly climbed it and put it behind us. Three of us took turns breaking trail. Soon it was my turn and I couldn’t have picked a worse time to lead! The snow was really deep and at one point after post-holing to my waist for the fiftieth time I started to crawl. It was a bit easier, but even slower. 
Breaking trail high up on the ridge. |
I was simply gunning for the next section of rock. If I could just reach that I’ll be o.k. Finally, after two hours of climbing and hiking (and crawling), we were off the Villa Ridge and perched at the base of the headwall.
Sunday (11:30a.m. – 1:00p.m.)Looking up at this monster filled me with a bit of apprehension. I am always amazed at how big these mountains really are. I mean, looking at them on web-sites, in books and magazines and even in person, it seems that the summit is so close! I could not have been more mistaken. These peaks are BIG….really BIG. We had already walked two miles over steep snow covered terrain and were now facing at least another mile with steeper terrain at higher elevation. “We do this ‘cuz it’s fun.”
‘Danimal’ took the lead again and picked a line up to the right along a sort of ridgeline. I was following CharlesD and he began to bear to the left into more open terrain. The snow up here was amazing and weird. It was a patchwork of every snow type I’ve ever seen (and some I’ve never seen) strewn all over the slope. We would go from calf deep mush to stuff as hard as concrete! It was really neat in a way, because it sounded like walking on wet Styrofoam. I was amazed at the force I had to exert with my axe in order to penetrate it, even though it wasn’t ice. Unfortunately, it made walking on it dangerous. The slope was really steep and the Styrofoam stuff was slippery. In hindsight, we should have put on our crampons, but the problem was that we were in and out of it often and would be out of it totally soon. Also, donning crampons here would have been a pain in the neck.
Ever upward we climbed. The pace really slowed down here and the conversation ceased. I could tell everyone was concentrating on foot placement and focusing on the climb. We were becoming tired, sore, hungry, thirsty, cold and excited at the same time. We could see the summit…not much farther now. After a while, the group caught up with Dan who had taken a break on the ridgeline. He was complaining about his toes being cold. The temperature up here was very low. We had him remove his boot and get his socks off so he could massage his toes to get the blood flowing again. I gave him one of my chemical toe warmers since I didn’t need it. I’m blessed with good circulation and a high tolerance for cold, but I bring them anyways…you never know. This worked for Dan, and soon we were off and climbing again.
CharlesD and Dan taking in the view. |
With only a few more hundred vertical feet to go, we knew we were going to make it! We could see a knob at the end of this ridgeline and headed for that feature. There was a lot of spin drift coming off of it as well as the summit. When we got there, it was a nice natural notch to sit and gather our strength for the final summit push. However, the wind was really strong up here and the temps plummeted again. The first three of us waited for the others but then had to get moving because it became too cold to sit still. Andy headed out from here first, followed by Dan then Charles then I. Andy and Charles picked a line to the right and Dan and I headed to the left followed by Brenta and Nelson. I was climbing good and felt strong all day. I was worried about this because I had spent the prior week at sea-level! I thought for sure I’d be whipped. Dan was following behind me and I could see Andy and Charles below and to the right. Would I be the first on the summit?!? I couldn’t believe it! I am by no means a fast climber and the company I was in has lots more time in the mountains than I. Not that this was a race, but I was feeling rather proud of myself for hanging in there.
Andy |
Just then, I hear a loud and shrill cry for help from Dan behind me. I quickly spun around to my left to see him waving his arms and trying to get my attention above the howling wind. Evidently, Dan had reached up and dislodged a 600lb. rock. It came loose and rolled down onto his foot! I rushed down to help him dislodge it but by the time I got to him, he rolled it off himself. I asked him if he was o.k. to continue and he said he was. I pressed on his toes and feet in the boot to see if he could feel any pain in case he broke or fractured anything. He told me it was his same foot that was cold and so couldn’t feel anything anyway. From there, we both continued to the top.
Just below the summit, I met up with CharlesD and told him what happened to Dan. He graciously let me walk past him, and be the first one of the team to reach the top of Drift Peak at 12:54p.m. on Sunday December 3rd 2006. CharlesD, Dan, Andy, Brenta, Nelson and I all made it to the top just before 1:00p.m.
The Summit! |
Sunday (1:00p.m. – 4:30p.m.)The views from the top of the 10-Mile Range are simply beautiful. We all congratulated each other on a fine climb on a fine day. We were exhausted but elated at the same time. The winds up here were sustained at around 25mph – 30mph. We all took pictures and a few of us took the obligatory “hero” shot.
High winds on the summit. |
I was amazed at how small the summit of this mountain is. It drops sharply away to the east and was heavily corniced. The awesome west ridge of Quandary Peak was before us and that sight brought me back to me and Dan’s trip up it back in July. We could also see Long’s Peak to the north and Pikes Peak far off to the south. What a day indeed! Unfortunately, winter ascents are not really ideal for hanging out on the summit. After about fifteen minutes, we decided to head down. Was it worth it? Six hours of drudgery to savor fifteen minutes on the summit? Of course it was, but words fail to describe why.
The summit is only the half-way point. We still had a lot of mountain to get down, and now we were fatigued. This is the most dangerous part of the journey. Down-climbing steep and loose talus covered in snow makes for a dreary way to spend the next few hours. Doing it while exhausted makes it all the more grave. Though I felt great on the ascent, I quickly began to tire. I stopped for breaks often…more often than on the way up. I still had plenty of water, but I had not eaten enough I now came to realize. I always find it hard to eat while climbing. I forced myself to eat a frozen trail mix bar. I washed that down with my slushy orange juice and continued down. How easy it would have been to glissade down, but waaaaaay too dangerous! I thought to myself how I would love to have had a sled with me right now.
The walk back down to the base of the Villa Ridge was pretty miserable and uneventful. A couple people in the group were feeling bad and so I’m sure their suffering was exponential. 
Andy negotiates the knife edge. |
Finally though, we all made it down to our snowshoes. Here we took a long break and warmed up in the evening sun. We joked, ate and took some pictures as well. As the sun continued on its downward journey towards the horizon, we saddled up and went over the side of Gold Hill. Skiers had been enjoying this slope all day, and we took advantage of walking in their tracks to the bottom. As dusk fell once again upon Mayflower Gulch, the six of us made our way back to the trail-head and our vehicles.
Summit team. |
It had been an incredible day with a great group of people. I really enjoyed myself through all the pain and suffering and found focus in these hills. I knew now what it was that had drawn me here; it was the power of place. Of the few ranges that I’ve visited in Colorado and the American west, this has to be one of my favorites. The cathedral-like spires of these peaks stretching out to the sky catch my eye every time I pass here. I will be back. Why you ask? “We do this ‘cuz it’s fun.”
The VideoCourtesy of Andy.
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Tenmile Range > 13,900 Reasons to Stay in Bed: Colorado’s Drift Peak in December
