14er Report #15: Huron Peak (Late Fall/Early Winter Conditions, Northwest Slopes)

The Approaching Sunrise. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

“What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy.” —George Mallory

In addition to much joy, anxiety always seems to accompany me on these solo, middle-o’-the night, 14er quests for sunrise photography–especially now that we are precariously balanced on the icy threshold of winter.

For this trip, the forecast was for “breezy”–which could be a burlesque show-stopper at altitude if “breezy” turned out to be 50+ mph winds or some such nonsense. Indeed, on the drive up I-70 I could see, by the light of the pizza-pie Moon, monster lenticular clouds lurking over the Front Range, a sure sign of high winds aloft. The truck was even moving around a bit with the occasional stray wind gust as I approached the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel.

Then there was the question of the snowpack. How much was there on the road to the trail head? Would I have to hike the extra four miles by leaving from the lower 2WD trail head, or could I make it up to the higher send off point (giving me better timing for sunrise photography)? What about the hiking? Would I need snow shoes? Surely, as a minimum, I would need Micro spikes. How much longer would the hike take with deep snow? Would I even be able to follow the trail and stay on route? Up high, post holing through hip deep snow between rocks would possibly be another show stopper.

So, even though Huron Peak is probably the easiest of the Sawatch 14ers, nothing at this time of year and at that altitude is a sure thing.

Trip Report: Huron Peak (14,003′)

Route:

I chose the shortest and easiest of the options–the Northwest Slopes Route–figuring the late fall snow would make it interesting enough. With luck, I could get to the higher 4WD trail head, thus shortening the walk a bit and ensuring a pre-sunrise summit arrival.

Timeline:

I departed Boulder at 11:15p.m. and successfully made it to the 4WD trail head, parked, packed up, and was on the snowy trail at 2:45a.m., by the light of a plump, silvery Moon.

By 4:05a.m., I had climbed above tree line for a spectacular lunar-lit view of the surrounding mountains, including the Three Apostles, and by 5:30a.m., I was on the ridge and resting on the lee side of a large gendarme, watching the first gold-red light leak into the clouds on the eastern horizon (the clouds, remnants of those lenticulars from earlier).

I ran out of vertical relief at 6:15a.m., about 15 minutes before sunrise, and stayed on top for a full hour, doing the photography mamba all around the pointy summit leaving behind a big patch of well-trodden snow.

Departing the top at 7:15a.m., I was back at the truck by 9:30a.m.

In summary: 3 1/2 hours up, 2 1/4 hours down (these times include a couple of photo op stops each way). So, total time, about 6 hours and 45 minutes. It is definitely a Quaker instant 14er.

Weather Conditions:

Breezy was in the forecast, but the winds didn’t hit until I was down. Yeehaw! It was clear, bright and 33 degrees at the start…sunny, high clouds, and 54 at the finish.

The wind gods were definitely on holiday–or at least off at a party elsewhere. At the summit, they dozed off completely for most of the time I was making pictures. When they were awake, the velocity was generally only 5 to 10mph or so (still enough to make you seek out a big boulder for shelter, with temps probably in the teens).

Hours later, looking up from the terra more firma of Leadville toward Elbert and Massive, I could see some snow plumes billowing out here and there…so it was much better to be here than there by about noon, which is neither here nor there for you, I suppose. Thus are the advantages of an early start.

Trail Conditions:

The dirt road leading off of US 24 (CR 390) and up to Winfield is washboardy and cratered a la Verdun. There were some good-sized packed snow patches covering the road approaching Winfield, but a 2WD would probably have been fine (assuming you don’t drive a bluesmobile with bald tires).

The two miles from Winfield (2WD trail head) up to the 4WD trail head had 1-4″ of snow, and I thankfully never noticed the big, sickly-slick sheets of ice I had heard about in other trip reports–maybe there was enough snow to give my vehicle traction over them??? So, the drive in 4 Low was uneventful if anxiety-inducing (in the relative dark of the moonlit night, the heavy shadows made it look worse than it actually was…and I was laying down the first vehicle tracks since the last snow storm…aack, unknown terrain ahead…).

Once on foot, the path switch backing up through the woods only had 1-3″ of snow on most of it, with a number of nude spots, so it was pretty easy to follow in the moonlight sans head lamp. Crossing the basin was uneventful–I just chose a route that crossed what was obviously very shallow snow and I never sank more than about ankle deep.

The section above the basin to the ridge held an increasing amount of snow. Rather than stop to put on my MICRO spikes, stubborn me chose to pick lines that followed shallow snow or rocks ( I didn’t follow the for-the-most-part-unseen trail at this point). The ridge to the summit was more of a larger rock hopping drill to avoid any post holing in the snow.

The summit was a beautiful, small, semi-corniced perch with great views of the Sawatch and Elk Ranges–a great place for contemplating the meaning of all things and eating a frozen Clif bar.

For the descent, I put on the spikes and chose snowy lines instead of the rocky routes. Plunge stepping was relatively quick, but a couple of times I sank to the thigh and onto the uneven boulders underneath. Beware! (Poles are critical!) I kept the spikes on all the way back to the truck.

Photography Issues:

–Nice sunrise today–can’t wait to sort and process the images!

–Snowy spindrift is as bad as sand. One has to take great care when switching lenses. Luckily, for the most part, the wind was calm whenever I had to make a switch.

–I loved having my big tripod up top. The hike was short enough that I never even considered taking the smaller one.

–When butt glissading, snow gets into my two side pockets on my pack where I keep my two extra lenses. I definitely need to protect the glass a bit more so they don’t get wet or covered with snowflakes.

Unusual Events/Comments:

–I was totally alone on the mountain on a Moon-bright, dreamy-white, nearly windless, night. I kept saying to myself…”Damn, I love this!”

–No human tracks on the foot path, but lots of critters had used the same right-o’-way recently: elk, coyote, rabbit, squirrel. I even saw what I think were marmot tracks up near the summit (what else could they have been?).

—Colorado 14er Senior Challenge summit count: 25 of the basic list of 58 (p. xxiii in Gerry Roach’s 14er “Bible”, Colorado Fourteeners, 3rd Ed.); 31 of the long list of 73 (pp. 347-348, with South Wilson added, also in Roach’s “Bible”.

Selected Images:

Hiking by moonlight when there is snow on the ground is almost like hiking in daylight. The Three Apostles are visible to the right:

Moonlight on Huron Peak. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

On the ridge, the warm lights of Leadville could be seen to the north. The reflected light on the clouds to the right comes from Denver (sunrise was still an hour away):

Moonlight on the Ridge. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

It is always nice to have something in the sky for sunrise/sunset photography. These few clouds were the remnants of the big lenticular clouds that were parked over the Front Range during most of the night:

Approaching Dawn, #2. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

The last, steeper, section of Huron Peak:

Upper Huron by Moonlight. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

Virtually no wind on the summit made the temperatures bearable enough to hang around for an hour. It is a fine perch:

The Approaching Sunrise. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

A pre-sunrise view to the north with the Ten Mile – Mosquito Range on the far horizon:

Summit View, #1. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

I deliberately chose this day for the climb, knowing I’d have a near full Moon setting just after the sunrise:

A Speared Moon. Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

I must have been in sort of a weird, wind-less vacuum because, across the valley, I could see occasional snow plumes billowing up on Mt. Columbia, highlighted by the coming sun. The big peak to the left is Harvard:

Sunrise Snow Plume on Columbia Peak. From Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

Just right of center, on the far horizon, you can see the prominent head of Castle Peak, protagonist in last week’s adventure:

Moon Above the Elk Range. From Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

Huron is a great spot to count Colorado 14ers. Anyone idea how many you can see from here? A quick, off-the-top-o’-my-cranium, count gives me at least 20. Here are just a few:

Sawatch Sunrise. From Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

La Plata Peak, a beautiful mountain from just about any angle. It is the sunlit mass just to the right of the foreground ridge:

First Light on La Plata Peak. From Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

The Moon slowly sinks onto the Elk Range. Snowmass and Capitol are nicely highlighted by the sunrise between cloud layers. Maroon, North Maroon, and Pyramid are also visible. The distant haze lends a slightly greenish hue to the scene (which I should probably Photoshop out):

Moon Above the Elk Range, #2. From Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

The view north. Can you pick out Democrat, Lincoln, Cameron, Bross, and Sherman?

Ten Mile – Mosquito Range. From Huron Peak, Colorado, 2014

Quite the coincidence…X marks the peak just climbed. Sometimes, instead of cursing their existence, you can actually use contrails in your photographic compositions. And no, the government isn’t gassing us from high flying jets: