| A Grand Tour of Colorado's Newest Wilderness, James Peak Trip Report |
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| A Grand Tour of Colorado's Newest Wilderness, James Peak   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Colorado, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Jul 19, 2008 Activities: Hiking Season: Summer | Page By: COTrekker02 Created/Edited: Jul 21, 2008 / Jul 21, 2008 Object ID: 423182 Hits: 422 Loading... Page Score: 86.89% - 3 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Destination: James PeakI told myself that this year I would focus on exploring more of my backyard, Colorado's Front Range, rather than trapsing all over Colorado. Well, it's mid July already, and I haven't kept my promise so far. So, when a fellow SPer posted a trip plan which included James Peak, Mount Bancroft, Parry Peak and Mount Eva, I had to join in.
A few days later, at 4:30 am on Saturday, I met Kevin and Adam at the Lookout Mountain park and ride for our rendezvous of the James Group. Adam drove us to the trailhead at Saint Mary's Glacier, and we were slogging up the trail at 5:25 am. The glacier climb was fun, and the snow solid. Soon we were on the large tundra slope below James. All of us relished in being totally alone at the top of the continent (save two bounding deer), with beautiful views in every direction.
En route to the summit, we stopped to peer at James' precipitous east face, and counted all the killer couloirs that funnel down the face. Adam and Kevin talked of returning tomorrow to knock off one couloir below us that appeared "in". On to James' summit! At 8 am, we were all sitting on the summit of James for a well deserved break. I had never quite had this vantage point before, so it was fun to name off the ranges and peaks in the distance, including the IPW to the north, Evans, Torreys and Grays to the south, and the Gores, Tenmile, Sawatch, etc. to the west. We could even see Holy Cross!
Approximately 25 minutes later we left the summit and headed down to the ridge that connects James with Bancroft, our next goal.
Scramble to Bancroft and BeyondWe now turned our attention to the ridge between James and Bancroft. I had read that it was class 3 and slightly exposed, but as we got into it, we found out it was actually a very fun scramble on solid rock. We chatted on the route, enjoying the views of remote Jim Creek to the west and Ice Lake to the east. Pretty soon we were traversing around the notch on the ridge, and heading up the steep scree and grass slope to Bancroft's ridge. I would say most of the ridge was class 2, with only a few class 3 moves. A few lung-popping minutes later, at approximately 10:45 am, we were at the summit. I choose to hop talus the last 150 vertical feet, and Adam and Kevin choose to boot up the remaining snow slope.
We didn't linger long on the summit of Bancroft, no more than 15 minutes, although with not one cloud in the sky, we felt like we could take all day to linger on the divide. Soon we were descending the easy class 1 ridge that would bring us to Parry's gentle summit. This would be our highest altitude of the day, at over 13,300 feet. On Parry's summit, we stopped only long enough to admire a continential divide marker placed long ago, as well as the impressive route we had already covered since leaving the trailhead a few hours ago.
We really enjoyed the hike between Parry and Eva, which I believe is just over one mile in distance. I listened as Adam and Kevin exchanged stories of past climbing experiences, including trips to Rainier, Baker, Shuksan, and Kevin's trip to Everest. I was admiring the views and abundant tundra wildflowers on the route. We also began discussing a possible return route to the trailhead. None of us wanted to retrace steps over Parry and Bancroft, so we discussed how we would drop off Eva into the Fall River basin below. Adam and Kevin discussed glissading the steep slope below the saddle between Eva and Parry. I wasn't so sure, so decided to inspect other routes once on Eva's summit.
On the summit, Kevin inspected a nearby defunct weather station, while Adam and I ate lunch and chatted. After a long break soaking up the sun, I walked off the summit and quickly determined I could descend Eva's east ridge to a slope that would take me safely into the basin below. I announced my plans, and left them at the summit, as a group of four hikers arrived. We agreed to meet at the tarn in the basin below, and regroup before the long slog back to the traihead.
Back to the BeerheadI made quick time down Eva's slopes to the beautiful tarn in the upper basin. I caught a glimpse of Adam and Kevin glissading, and it looked fun. While waiting, I refilled my water from a snowfield-fed stream, and called my wife to report our progress. Soon Adam and Kevin arrived and reported that the top of the snow slope measured 58 degrees! I was happy with my decision to forgo the snow slope for terra firma.
We relaxed for a few minutes, and consulted maps and Kevin's GPS to formulate a route back to the car. We had a good plan, and began descending the basin. Soon Fall River Reservior came into view, but we stayed high on the north side of the basin. We soon made it into the trees, and followed Adam as he navigated well through game trails. The day was hot, but we were in good spirits, and there were tons of wildflowers to enjoy.
After a couple hours of hiking we crested the east end of Parry's east ridge, and located the dirt road to Loch Lomond. We stopped in the shade to refuel, and soon we were hiking the road to Loch Lomond. I was running out of gas here, so the food helped. Adam seemed to have unending energy, so I appreciated his stamina and kept plugging away behind his lead. We soon reached Loch Lomond and passed some ATVer's who were fishing and enjoying the scenery. We hiked around the dike and located a trail that wound it's way up the hill back to the broad slope southeast of James. I believe this was part of the Continential Divide Trail, which leaves the divide for a bit at James Peak and rejoins it at Flora. We regained the tundra slopes, and took a roundabout way around willows, and motored across the remaining tundra back to the top of the glacier.
Kevin and I joked about the cold beer that awaited us at the traihead, and Kevin dubbed it the "beerhead", which I thought was clever. We plunged down the glacier, passing the tourist day-use crowd. We made it back to the car around 4:45 pm, and joyfully removed our boots. We chatted with the private parking lot owner for a few minutes, and enjoyed a cold beer. Before I knew it, Adam was ushering us back down Fall River Road and I-70 to the park and ride, where we thanked each other for a great day, and parted ways. I was majorly bushed, but what a great way to spend a day with others who share your passion. Moreover, I had finally achieved a long-time goal, exploring the southern James Peak Wilderness, which didn't dissapoint.
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Indian Peaks (CO)
