Mount Ouray

Description

Elevation: - 13,971'
Location - Southwest of Salida in Colorado, just off the Continental Divide.

Trip Report(s)

The following is extracted from the trip journal notebook I wrote while on an unscripted solo tour through the mountains in February and March of 2000. Photos follow.

Sunday, February 27, 2000

3:15PM - In tent, if you can believe it! This day was a humbling experience. By my estimation I made less than two miles and only a little over 1,500' in 4.5 hours. Of course it was straight uphill, bushwhacking and route finding all the way through knee deep snow of various treacherous consistencies including powder, crusted (two flavors - strong enough to hold me up, and not strong enough, with no visible evidence of the difference). I am now camped on a small ledge hacked out of the snow on the east ridge of Mt. Ouray at about 11,200' by my best estimation. I almost gave up a few times before I got here. The leg is OK - it is just energy sucking to stamp new trail through snow straight uphill with 50 pounds on your back.

My goal, if the weather looks good, is to try and summit tomorrow. See if it is better with no pack. Also, once I clear the trees, there is little or no snow on top. In fact, in the valleys and peaks around me, there are vast tracts of exposed land with no snow. If I had been smart, I would have pounded the Colt up the road a little farther and tried a southern-exposed ascent up the creek drainage. It would probably have little or no snow. But my big worry is getting the Colt out if it snows. So if the weather looks bad, I will bolt back down to Grays Creek tomorrow and boogie on (but to where? to where? :-).

Thermometer says 35° in the tent. It is calm and clear right now. The stove is acting up and that is worrisome. I moved the canister while heating water and suddenly there were flames everywhere. I couldn't tell if they were coming from the stove or the hose. I turned off the canister and luckily when I relit it, it didn't flare up again. Don't touch the can while cooking! Reading material is "Sense and Sensibility". We will see how Ms. Austen fares in a sleeping bag! Nice and relaxed, although my feet are getting cold. Time to get into the bag!

Monday, February 28, 2000

1:50PM - 45° in tent (it only got to the 20s in the tent last night - I was still cold - I think it is because of caloric deficit). Started for the summit shortly after 8:00AM this morning. Kept angling south as I pounded uphill through knee deep powder. Finally got high enough and southern exposed enough it was mostly crunchy in the aspens and open places, so that's how I got above timberline (woof!). Then the real climb started. It was steep going in places (nothing like rock climbing exposure, but 45° slopes). It was very windy above timberline, especially on the south side of the ridge (for whatever reasons, the predominant wind pattern on the side of the mountain seems to be SSW). I summited shortly after 11:00AM, so three hours wasn't bad to do almost 3,000' elevation gain. Took panoramas and a picture of myself and left (windy, cold). Made it back to camp before 1:00PM.

Photos

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