Quandary Peak

I completed my first 14er this past weekend.  In Colorado, hiking the mountains whose summits are higher than 14,000 feet is a big deal...big deal.  While they say no 14er is easy, this is supposed to be the easiest one of them all.  If that is the case, I cannot wait for my next one.

I have been extremely stoked about climbing this mountain.  I was going to do it the weekend of July 4th but after weeks of no rain it decided to pour.  As such, Colorado needed it.  If you remember, there were two major fires going on...High Park near Fort Collins in the North and Waldo Canyon south near Colorado Springs.  As such, there was no complaining going on.  Especially since the Treasure fire was near us and we were glad it was relatively small (only 300 acres compared to approximately 100K acres for High Park).

On July 21, 2012 I woke up at 6:00 am to begin my ascent of Quandary Peak.  A few statistics for you...Quandary Peak's Trailhead begins at 10,960 feet about 9 miles south of Breckenridge.  The climb itself is 3 miles to the top and has an elevation gain of 3,305'.  Here are a couple of views from the beginning.

The first part of the hike is through some nice alpine areas, but after about 500 vertical feet, you cross the alpine line and the trees become remote and eventually non-existent.  My hike began around 7:00 am and by 8:00 am I stopped for some breakfast I packed.  Homemade beef jerky, trail mix and vitamin water!

I climbed to 12,000 feet and then reached a nice plateau on the top.  Up here, many people were resting up and enjoying the scene.  I enjoyed the fact that it was about a 1/4 mile of flat terrain.  In my anticipation to get to the top, I decided to skip the break and make my way.  At this point I was two hours into the climb and covered about 1,5000 vertical.  I wish I could describe to you what the last part of the climb was like aside from straight up.  You cannot help but stop jokingly every 10 - 20 feet.  At this point, I saw someone running down and wanted to trip them.  Over achiever!!!!  UGH!!!!  I'm just happy I can walk this thing (and painfully).  Close to the top, I am checking my elevation tracker and am awaiting the infamous 14,000' threshold.  Once there, I get someone to snap a quick pic...highest I have ever climbed!!!!

As you can see it is all rocks.  It has been this way for the past mile and a half and it is pretty much bouldering with some areas on hands and knees.  I keep telling myself "Only 200' to go" and press on to reach the summit.  Holy crap, I cannot believe the view.  I also cannot believe that after two months of living out here, oxygen is still an issue at high altitudes.  For those who don't know, the air (according to locals) decreases at an exponential rate per 1000 feet.  So 9000 (where I live) compared to 140000 is much much lighter.  I didn't feel dizzy or light headed or nauseous (common symptoms of altitude sickness) but I could tell a difference.  However...I made it.

That pole in the background signifies the peak of Quandary.  Incidentally, it was named by miners in the 1800s due to the odd composition of iron ore and the metallic substance properties of the minerals on the mountain.  From the top here are you views

After a 20 minute rest up top to enjoy the view (not really a lot of comfortable spots to sit down and hang out), I began my descent.  It took me 3.5 hours to go 3 miles and climb 3,305 vertical feet.  I was dreading the climb down.  Not only is it a rough path down, you are battling the people who don't realize get out of the way for the person coming down the path.  I suffered two ankle twists (nothing major) and several times where my footing slipped out from underneath me.  A bit scary when you are starting down the edge of a mountain following the ridge line.  Once down to the area with some level ground a nice break spot I was fortunate enough to see mountain goats.  My first experience with them, needless to say a few pics and I kept my distance and walked away.

As for wildlife on my treks, I again saw many chipmunks, pika and ptarmigan.  Those are the three you can pretty much run across on any hike out here.  This was my first mountain goat experience and yet to come across any bears, mountain lions or moose.  From what I hear though I'm thankful.

Anyway, I continued to tumble my way down the mountain and finished just before 1:00 pm.  All in all it took me just under 6 hours and according to my iPhone climbing app, I burned 3500 calories.  Not bad for a day's work.  I finished it off with a beer and burger at The Warming Hut in Breckenridge and felt accomplished for the day.  

For those wanting to come out here and climb a 14er...I will need advanced notice:)  However, I'm ready for my next climb...it is exhilarating!