Mitch and I went to Colorado last weekend for some final pre-Rainier training. We thought spending 4 days above 7,000 feet would probably help us adjust to the altitude. On Thursday we went into Denver to visit REI then up to Evergreen. On Friday we did a small hike and drove up to Mt. Evans which is above 14,000 feet. We decided to tackle the 14er after two days of being in Colorado, so that meant Saturday was the big day.
We decided to go for Mt. Elbert, the tallest peak in Colorado and second tallest in the contiguous United States. At 14,440 feet, it is taller than Mt. Rainier! However, it is only a Class 1 (easy) and the round trip trail is about 9 miles on the Northeast Route.
We headed out from Evergreen at 6:30am. We stopped at The Bagelry to grab some breakfast and an extra bagel each for the hike. We made it to Leadville around 8:30am and hit the trail at 8:48am.
The parking lot was FULL so we parked a quarter mile from the trailhead. It was a popular day for Mt. Elbert! There was some sort of charity event going on, so there were 3 refreshment stations along the way for the participants. We were pretty close to the last people to start the climb. The first part was pretty steep, but heavily shaded with trees. Then we came to the fork in the trail telling us to turn right for Mt. Elbert!
Treeline was about 12,000 feet. After that, we could see the false summit. We stopped to rehydrate and eat a snack. I love to recharge with Clif Shot Blocks. So tasty! There were two steep sections on the ridge going up towards the false summit. I was nervous that it would be really hard to go back down, but it was too late to back out now. I was determined to make it. If I couldn't do this, I reasoned, then I had no business attempting Mt. Rainier.
After the steep sections from 13,000 to 13,900 feet, I had my first feeling that I was actually going to make it. We counted down the last 500 feet of the climb. As we got higher, it was harder to breathe and I was moving a lot slower. Finally, we could see the real summit! We arrived at 1:10pm and took some pictures. I'll post those after we get back from Seattle. I was so exhausted up there. I sat down on some rocks with my back up against another rock and couldn't move. Physically, we were both doing fine. Our leg muscles were not tired since we've been doing a lot of stair climbing with our backpacks. I think it was mainly the altitude that was making me so lethargic. It felt great to just sit down, eat my bagel, and drink water. But it was cold! I had to put on my coat, hat, and gloves. There were a few snow flurries.
After about half an hour, we decided to head back down because some dark clouds were approaching. It took until 5pm to get back down. At first, all I could think about was taking off my boots and eating some chocolate. But once we got in the car and started driving away, the excitement hit me. We just did it, Mitch! We just climbed my first 14er!! We had a wonderful drive back to Evergreen listening to music and enjoying a heavy rainfall which is unusual in Colorado. It was a beautiful day.
Below you can see our route and the elevation gain.
Now we are as ready for Rainier as we'll ever be! Mitch was able to stay in Colorado an extra day and did two more 14ers: Grays and Torreys. He's a machine!
We check in at RMI on Tuesday. The climb begins Thursday and if the weather holds, our summit attempt will be on Friday. You can check the RMI Blog for status. The weather the last 4 days has prevented the teams from attempting the summit. The extended forecast looks ok. Fingers crossed!
I've got my out of office sign posted at my desk, and some mini prayer flags from my friend Natacha strung over my two monitors at work. Adios Houston!
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