Arapahoe Peaks - 1986 Trip Report
June 23, 1986
By Alan Silverstein
We sure lucked out on the weather yesterday! Dave Landers, his
brother, a friend, and I tackled South Arapahoe Peak (13397')
and North Arapahoe Peak (13503') in the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
The purpose was just to stay in shape while climbing some
Thirteeners we hadn't done yet -- but what a great climb it
turned out to be.
We didn't want to do anything too far away, requiring an early
start, so we left at 0600 (not too miserable on a Sunday, I
guess). The weather looked crummy, and it stayed strange all
day. From up top we saw a layer of popcorn cumulus over the
plains, but it was mostly clear above that despite the predicted
thunderstorms. Starting around 1030 the first cumulus formed in
updrafts -- which can mean lightening by 1300 -- but not
yesterday. Just cold stiff breezes and occasional cumulus until
late in the day, with fascinating swirling clouds.
The trailhead is west of Boulder, west of Nederland, actually
4.5 miles up a rough but non-4WD road west of Eldora, at the
Fourth of July campground. It's about 80 miles from Fort
Collins. The trail is nice, but this time of year muddy, with
many creek crossings. The snow is melting fast, the peaks are
down to 30-40% covered, and a lot of the snowfields are pretty
crusty. There's still some snow under timber, but not much.
We started up from 10200' at 0830. At one tough creek crossing
I got wanderlust and started straight uphill while the other
three followed the trail. Usually that sort of craziness is a
mistake, but this time it worked out. I crossed the raging
creek much higher, then sidehilled up and around to the trail
where it heads back east and up. Meanwhile the other three lost
it completely due to snow and confusion, dropped some elevation,
eventually cross-countried back the right way. I sat at about
12000' for forty minutes, watching them with binoculars and
waiting for them to get into shouting range.
After that I led them by some amount all the way up. The trail
switches east-west up a steep grassy slope, then flattens north
to the SE ridge of South Arapahoe at 12720'. The view from here
alone is worth the trip, looking over Arapahoe Pass to the west
and down Arapahoe Glacier to the north. From here the ridge to
the summit is a steep, enjoyable sawtooth, quite spectacular --
it's what you see from the road below.
I was on top by 1215, meaning 3:45 for a "mere" 3200', not very
fast. But it's a challenging climb. On top there's a brass
plate which has been there almost 60 years, pointing out various
peaks and towns and giving distances to them. Major landmarks
include Longs Peak (17 miles due north), Evans and Bierstadt,
Grays and Torreys, and Holy Cross.
Once we regrouped, as the weather was "holding" at 1250, we
started off west, then north 0.5 miles to North Arapaho Peak.
It's only 100' higher but the ridge is quite challenging, with
lots of ups and downs, some 5.2-5.3 technical moves, and steep
drops on both sides. There are arrows and cairns on it though.
At some points you walk on a ridge of snow or rock only a few
feet wide. It took us a full 80 minutes to make the traverse,
and I must tell you I found it challenging and scary, even
though I led a lot of it. I love scrambling and steep rock but
hate out-and-out exposure (you fall, you die, unless you're
lucky).
(Observation: It's mental, not physical, limitations that hold
you back the most. The laws of physics say you might die if you
fall, but they don't toss you summarily off a ridge -- unless
it's real windy maybe. It's not that treacherous or difficult.
But if you feel fear, as I did, you can end up physically
disabled -- shaky -- and that's very real and hard to control.
The only cure is practice!)
The summit of the north peak is hard to reach except by this
ridge, quite an isolated place, with sheer, sharp-edged cliffs
on one side. There's a HUMONGOUS cairn on top, a cubical shape
about eight feet high you can sit on top of (I did). It looks
like a cabin but is solid rock.
We didn't stay long before unwinding our steps (and moves) back
across the ridge, in only an hour. The weather looked more
threatening so we moved a little quicker. I found a way to
detour down and up around the worst section on a rock pillar
while the others walked it. We had to go right over the top of
South Arapahoe again, at 1530, then started the steep descent
back to the trail.
I cut off to glissade down a series of snowfields in couloirs on
the SE face. The snow was surprisingly crusty for late in the
day; the ice axe saved my life (literally) a couple of times.
It's hard but exhilarating work, and not very dangerous with the
axe, so long as you don't poke yourself with it. And of course
I beat the other three back to the main trail in the valley
below.
With a couple other detours to do glissades, we were all back to
Dave's truck by 1755. Round trip time, 9:35 (a long day);
elevation gain 3500'+.
Used here with permission of the author.
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