Set out to climb my second fourteener with my two teenage daughters. Arrived at the trailhead just after 6:00am, with concerns about bad weather in the forecast for late morning. Cloudy but not stormy looking. Trailhead was not crowded early on a Thursday. By the time we cleared the trees we had much better light and conditions looked okay. This was my daughter's first fourteener and they were a bit surprised at the grade and the overall size of the mountain. First encountered the goats as we broke the trees, a mom and baby. The mother seemed wary of us but not intimidating like I have heard several people describe previously. In fact, on the shallower portion of the ridge, another goat ambled along in front of us for a long stretch, occasionally looking back as if guiding us up the mountain. He eventually veered off after we reached the much steeper part of the ridge. By the time we reached the steeper portion some light rain/sleet was falling and temps had dropped considerably. We knew that what we could see from below was a false summit but it was still discouraging to see how much we still had left after reaching it. We actually made very good time on the top portion and reached the top in just over three hours amidst light snow. Our summit party soon grew to around fifteen climbers as many groups were just behind us all the way up. Descent was tricky with the wet conditions making the talus very slick. This was my first hike/climb using trekking poles and I would recommend them for the stability they provide on rocky sections.
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