Portrait, La Plata Peak. From the Northwest Ridge Route on La Plata, Colorado, 2015
“The hills are alive…with the sound of music.” –Yep, the musical.
This outing turned out to offer a bit more music than I expected. First, the snow cover over the normally obvious summer path made route finding slightly uncertain at at least one critical point. Second, I found myself scrambling up some exposed and rotten Class 3, then crossing the top of a long steep snow chute, none of which I needed to do–as I later discovered.
Obviously, snow and weather conditions will cause your mileage to vary wildly. In summer conditions, this would be a wonderful hike (on a good trail) for those wanting to move up a slight notch from the so-called “easy” 14ers. As it was, in spring snow conditions, it was a strenuous (both mentally and physically) day for me.
Trip Report: La Plata Peak (14,336′)
Route:
I have the Ellingwood Ridge Route on my 14er bucket list, but this is a climb best done in late summer or early fall. So, I went for the other, more common, option: the Northwest Ridge Route (about 9.5 miles RT and 4200′ vertical).
Note that there is a winter variation to this route that heads directly up the nose of the ridge instead of climbing the western slope of said ridge–this is to avoid the possible avalanche danger on the summer route slopes. I ended up gaining the ridge via a rotten Class 3 chute somewhere right of the winter route and left of the summer route. More on that later…
Timeline:
I left Boulder around 10:45p.m. and was on the trail at 2:15a.m. with thoughts of high altitude sunrise photography on my mind.
By about 5a.m. I had made my way to the base of the Northwest Ridge. Dim moonlight hindered the route sleuthing at this point, so I waited for the first light of dawn to help me out. I worked on a few night/Moon photos, ate and drank, waited, and shivered.
Later, with a bit of glow coming to the sky, I finally was able to choose (poorly, as it turned out) a line through the cliffs above and by sunrise–around 6:45a.m.–I was on the ridge.
I made the summit at 9:30a.m. and stayed up there for well over an hour, finally leaving at about 10:50a.m. just as the first wave of the day’s climbers (skiers and the Boulder 14er Fan Club Meetup group) were starting up the final section of the summit ridge.
On the return trip I dawdled quite a bit–playing with my camera here and there–so arrived at the truck at 3:20p.m. A long day!
Total time on the trail: just over 13 hours. If you subtract out the time I waited at the base of the ridge for first light, and the various photo op delays, I suppose my actual travel time was around 10 hours.
Weather Conditions:
You couldn’t have asked for better…just some high clouds, very little wind, and 27 degrees at the start and 51 degrees at the finish. The wind–the big nasty nemesis up high–never pushed much past 15-20mph, with many lulls down to calm. A few low cumulus developed as the day wore on, but they just made things prettier (in summer, though, these will often portend the coming of a thunderstorm).
The Moon was at about half, so it did give enough light for general navigation, but not enough for the detailed navigation you might need to find a route through a set of cliffs.
Trail Conditions:
This was the “fun” part.
The short section of dirt road (closed still, for winter) leading across the bridge and to the La Plata trailhead turn off, was straightforward and covered with well-packed snow ranging in depth from zero (dirt patches) to two feet. In the dark, I missed the trailhead turnoff (it is just a few yards beyond a green metal fence panel, where the road bends right) and ended up hiking an extra 15 minutes up the road before turning back to find it.
In the dark, the short section through the forest from the trailhead to the metal/wood bridge across the little gorge required a little humanoid tracking work. Through snow, the homo sapiens tracks were easy to follow. But the intermittent dirt sections had me looking closely with my headlamp for the trail and footprints.
After the small and wonderful footbridge, the trail was well packed (hard snow) by many feet until well up into the valley. Microspikes were the ticket to ride for this area. Then, along upper La Plata Gulch Creek, the trail sort of petered out until I found myself following snowshoe tracks and deep postholes that looked like they were made when the snow was soft after the last big snow dump. The cold of night, though, made it possible to walk the crust if I found the trail too chewed up by holes.
Maybe a quarter of a mile shy of the normal summer gully (which ascends to the ridge), the snowshoe tracks turned abruptly straight uphill, through the trees, toward said ridge. In the dark, and lacking better ideas, I followed…up through brush, downed logs, steeper sections, some dirt patches…cursing those who made the trail……until I found myself (finally!) above treeline and at the base of the tip of the lurking Northwest Ridge. The question then became: Do I go further right and up to where the summer route climbs up, or do I go slightly left and up what I think is the winter variation?
Initially, I tried a steep, loose scree slope where the tracks seemed to be aiming before they disappeared–the possible winter variation. It got even steeper and more loosy-goosy as I climbed–and, in the very faint moonlight, it looked to me like cliffs above would eventually block this approach anyway. So, I went back down to the base and scratched my wool-covered head. I tried snapping an overexposed, high ISO photo of the ridge above to see if I could see the right line on the camera’s LCD. It all still looked iffy–too many cliff bands. My eventual strategy was to sit tight until first light could show me the way.
With dawn’s early light, I decided on a line to my right that looked like it might go (but still well left of the summer route) as it seemed to avoid the worst of the snow slopes on that side. I ended up climbing through some sketchy rock and then having to traverse the top of a steep and long snow slope, all of which had me a bit nervous. A fall on the snow slope, with nothing but elbows for a self-arrest, would not have been pretty. In the end, the line worked out, though, and I soon found splats of friendly goat poop which led me–with much relief–to the top of the long-sought ridge.
From this point, the route to the summit was obvious and not too difficult–just loooong. It was also beyond beautiful…nothing like a sunrise walk along a tundra ridge, the slopes wrapped in long snow sleeves and ice cream cornices, with spectacular views of the Sawatch high country on all sides.
On the return, by light of day and with plenty of fresh human tracks to follow, I discovered the following…Where I initially attempted to climb up the loose scree in the dark actually was a route that went to the ridge–and without crossing any dangerous snow slopes. Aaargh! I should have pressed on. So, this is what I descended coming back.
The better winter route, though, was still around the corner to climber’s left (north). The summer route was covered by several long snow chutes/fields, some of which had avalanched perhaps a week ago or so (see photos). On this day, the area seemed pretty consolidated and, indeed, I watched two climbers come back down through the area with no problem.
I did carry my snowshoes all the way up to the ridge, where I stashed them for the return. I ended up using them for about a half mile once I was down alongside La Plata Gulch Creek as the snow had started to soften by then.
Photography Issues:
–You can use your camera for a night vision device. Just take a long exposure and check your LCD. You may have to overexpose to see the detail in the shadows and you will also have to magnify the image for a closer look at details. You don’t care about noise and image quality here, you just want to see what’s out there.
–I hate it when I drop a lens cap in the snow. Then I have to dry off the cap before I can put it on the lens. Carry a cloth for this (and also simply for cleaning off your lenses).
–Never leave your camera unattended on the tripod in the high mountains. Sudden gusts of wind can cause it to tip over just as you turn your back. (No it hasn’t happened to me yet, but I’ve had some very close Gillette shaves!)
Unusual Events/Comments:
–The Boulder 14er Fan Club Meetup Group was on the mountain today and I got to meet most of them (Jarrod, Slavic, Tiffany, Andrew, Heather, Tara, Matt…and?). I have been watching their trips on the site but hadn’t been able to make my schedule match theirs. It’s nice to meet other like-minded lunatics! Hopefully, I’ll be able to partner up with them in the future–especially on peaks like Little Bear, Pyramid, Capitol, and the Maroons.
–When I showed up at the trailhead at 2a.m. I was shocked and impaled. There were at least ten other cars already there, along with a couple of tents. The skis by the vehicles provided the clue–word was out among the extreme back country skiers that La Plata was in condition. Also, a few from the 14er Fan Club group had arrived and camped the night before.
–From the summit of La Plata, I did take a look at how I might get over to East Plata–a 14er high point on my list of 73. I made it about 3/4 of the way along the ridge before it became obvious it would be a bit difficult and risky for a solo hiker–too much snow and ice along the way yet. So, I’ll definitely be back to climb the spectacular Ellingwood Ridge and (along the way) East Plata when conditions are right.
–Looks like my Microspikes need replacing. Today, I noticed they had gotten dull (well-rounded) and I probably won’t go through the effort of sharpening them as it would likely make the tips smaller in doing so. This after maybe 100 miles of hiking over snow, ice, rock, and dirt. They are pretty indispensable for winter/spring hiking. (Note: Only get Yaktrax if all you plan on doing is shoveling snow from your driveway. Yes, the Microspikes are twice as expensive, but they are also ten times better.)
—Colorado 14er Senior Challenge summit count: 30 of the basic list of 58 (p. xxiii in Gerry Roach’s 14er “Bible”, Colorado Fourteeners, 3rd Ed.); 36 of the long list of 73 (pp. 347-348, with South Wilson added, also in Roach’s “Bible”.
Selected Images:
If you expose for the landscape and stars, the Moon blows out, even when it is only at half full, That’s OK, the starburst effect achieved at f/16 is interesting. Also, the naked eye couldn’t see quite as well as the camera shows us the scene here–otherwise I wouldn’t have waited at this spot for 45 minutes for the sky to lighten up enough for effective navigation.
You are looking south into La Plata Gulch. The summit of La Plata is under and to the left of the Moon with the summit ridge lit by lunar light. The obvious long slope of snow in the mid-ground is what I eventually crossed–but much higher out of the picture to the left.
Can you find the constellation of Scorpio?…
La Plata Gulch by Moonlight. La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
Again, I processed this to make it a bit brighter than my eye was seeing at the time. That’s Mount Elbert on the left. Shortly after this, I packed up and made my way up the booger-nasty scree to the dorsal spine of the Northwest Ridge…
Photographing First Light. La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
And the reward of the morning–besides finally gaining the ridge: watching the first rays of Sun caress the summit of La Plata as a half Moon moves off to the west…
First Sunlight on La Plata Peak. La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
And looking north, at sunrise. That’s Elbert (and South Elbert) again on the right…
Sawatch Sunrise. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
A look at the now sun-bathed objective from the mostly snow-covered Northwest Ridge. The route simply follows the obvious ridge line, sometimes on rock, sometimes on snow…
Portrait, La Plata Peak. Colorado, 2015
Finally, Mr. Sun pops into view above the jagged Ellingwood Ridge…
Sunrise Over Ellingwood Ridge. From La Plata’s NW Ridge, Colorado, 2015
It is actually only a benchmark called “Sayres” at about 13,300′ or so, but it sure caught my eyeball as an awfully proud and sexy peak. The summit looks to be pointy and spectacular…
Thumbs Up for Sayres Peak. From La Plata’s NW Ridge, Colorado, 2015
What a fine walkway in the sky this is! Looking back to the north from whence I came…
Northwest Ridge, View North. La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
Finally, the top! Looking north, past Mount Elbert, you can pick out Twin Lakes, the Democrat-Lincoln Group, and Mount Sherman…
Summit View, North. La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
How many of the famous Elks summits can you identify? Castle and Conundrum are on the left–the only two in that range I have so far visited…
The Elks Range. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
From the summit, the Northwest Ridge looks like a giant loaf of bread covered with frosty icing…
The Big Hump. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
Mount of the Holy Cross is in the far distance on the left and Mount Elbert is close by on the right–an early spring view into the northern Sawatch…
Holy Cross and Elbert. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
Can you pick out the very snowy Snowmass Mountain and then Capitol Peak farther to the right?…
Northern Elks Range. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
Looking east past Quail Mountain and the twin Buffalo Peaks to Zebulon’s landmark…
A Distant Pikes Peak. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
Finally, the view into the southern Sawatch. How many 14ers can you identify?…
View South. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
First, can you see the climbers–very possibly the 14er Fan Club group (there are two standing, and a small group sitting off to the right)? They have stopped to admire the view. Note also the avalanche debris on the west slope on what is the normal summer route…
Climbers Above La Plata Gulch. From La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
On my way down, I paused to photograph the skiers and climbers headed up. Can you spot the two Springer Spaniel mountaineers with obviously very high red blood cell counts?…..
Climbing the summit ridge. From NW Ridge of La Plata, Colorado, 2015
A telephoto view toward Mount Sherman. Would there be a Peabody Peak nearby? (Ya have to know the cartoon.)…
Twin Lakes View. From NW Ridge of La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
One last peak at the Peak before sliding down the scree toward the trees…
Last View of La Plata Peak. From NW Ridge of La Plata, Colorado, 2015
Oh, yes, I did manage to catch two of the skiers as they started down the North Couloir. So very impressive. Ah, if I were only 30 years younger…
Ski Descent, North Couloir. La Plata Peak, Colorado, 2015
Nothing like a few choice clouds to help out the itinerant landscape photographer…
Sayres Peak Landscape. From NW Ridge of La Plata, Colorado, 2015
Ellingwood Ridge is on the docket for this fall once the snows melt away and the thunderstorm threat diminishes–it is a Colorado classic…
Ellingwood Ridge, Cloudscape. From NW Ridge of La Plata, Colorado, 2015
I started up this awful slope in the dark only to turn around and wait for more light. I was convinced it was cliffed out higher up. In the light of day, it made for a quick descent on ball-bearing sliding scree–and much safer than what I had come up…
The Scree Descent. NW Ridge of La Plata, Colorado, 2015
Looking back up toward La Plata’s summit (under the cumulus cloudette). You can see two climbers (Boulder’s 14er Fan Club!) coming down through what is normally the summer route…
The Descent. La Plata Gulch, Colorado, 2015
And back across the mini-gorge, homeward bound. I was waiting for a gnome or hobbit to greet me as I crossed…
The Bridge. La Plata Gulch, Colorado, 2015
3 Comments
Great Report and awesome pics! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Doug!
Wow, almost too much to process. I hope you’re planning a book. I don’t know if I’m. Impressed, intimidated, or kind of frightened by the thought of you hiking these trails alone and in the dark. You do like challenges. Glad you connected with the Meetup group. Beautiful photos but cold and majestically lonely.