Mt. Elbert Trip Report 06/12/2012

Peak(s):	Mt. Elbert - 14,438 feet
Date Posted:	06/12/2012
Date Climbed:	06/09/2012
Author:	Bean

Walking downhill: still lame
Who: Andrew Knapp, Brian Pearson. What: Mountain biking down Mt. Elbert When: Very early on June 9, 2012 Where: East Ridge Why: Because walking downhill sucks and is lame, even in the summer. How: Radditude Video: http://vimeo.com/43784189 Some pictures: Photo by Brian Pearson Photo by Brian Pearson Photo by Brian Pearson A bunch more pictures and some words: http://throughpolarizedeyes.com/2012/06/mt-elbert-sunrise-bike-descent/ My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload): Login required to view this map...

Walking downhill: still lame

Who: Andrew Knapp, Brian Pearson.
What: Mountain biking down Mt. Elbert
When: Very early on June 9, 2012
Where: East Ridge
Why: Because walking downhill sucks and is lame, even in the summer.
How: Radditude

Video: http://vimeo.com/43784189

Some pictures:

Photo by Brian Pearson

Photo by Brian Pearson

Photo by Brian Pearson

A bunch more pictures and some words: http://throughpolarizedeyes.com/2012/06/mt-elbert-sunrise-bike-descent/

My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):

Comments or Questions

tmathews	What happened.... 6/12/2012 4:50pm At 3m31s? It kinda looks like either the camera fell off or you slipped on the ice.
djkest	Awesome 6/12/2012 4:56pm What a cool idea you guys had for Elbert. I guess according to the 3k' rule it ”wouldn't count” but who cares? Nice work.
Bean	Crash 6/12/2012 5:01pm My tires slipped out from underneath me at that point. If you watch in the corner you'll see my friend crashing too. How does it ”not count” to the strict 3k' weenies? If ski descents count, bike descents certainly should. It's not even a useful means of transport for the way up.
boudreaux	Hardwork 6/12/2012 5:59pm That is really nice riding, never knew that side was such a good trail for riding. Rode down Mt Lincoln from 13,000' last year in Quartzville Gulch on a hardtail, road was a jumbled mess of rock and picking your line was brutal. I rode down Antero on an unsuspened HardRock in '96, you talk about getting jackhammered. But the hardwork is riding it up with all your gear on your back. I agree with you, it's too hard to ride up a hiking trail, but a road is a little more manageable! Nice work!
djkest	3k foot rule 6/12/2012 6:16pm For the record, I'm not one of the 3k weenies. But, I heard it said that using any ”mechanical means” to ascend or descend invalidates it. IDK, I would guess hauling the bike up to the top was a lot of extra work. Good point about the ski descents, I don't know how they justify that.
Bean	3k' 6/12/2012 6:20pm Interesting, not something I was aware of. Good thing I don't care about the whole 3k' thing. Hauling the bike up was a TON of work. On smooth trail it was no big deal, but as soon as it got rough or rocky in the slightest it became a lot of work. It also was a pain because you have to lean over forward and sideways to push the thing.
benners	Nice Shots and TR 6/12/2012 7:46pm Bean, I nearly missed this one because I had the new ”filter” option selected as my default TR viewing setting (hides all TRs on the top ten most climbed 14ers) for the summer. Using this option has proven to be a catch 22 though as, while I got to remain blissfully ignorant of the creation of the 374th single paragraph Quandary East Ridge TR, I also nearly missed out on this TR and thebeave7's Tour de Longs. I guess I just can't have it both ways huh . Nice climb and bike, I'd like to do this sometime.
Oman	No fatbike? 6/12/2012 10:56pm When did you go soft and start riding with suspension again?
randalmartin	Bean and not a ski report...now this I have to see 6/13/2012 12:09am As soon as I saw Elbert TR from Bean and it wasn't a ski descent I had to read it. I knew it must be something interesting for you to be anywhere near a 14er in the summer. Nice job. I saw a father/son team on Decalibron a few years ago doing the mountain bike thing. It looked like far more work than it was worth. Of course that route on Elbert looks to have much more trail and less rock than Decalibron.
Johnson	Good fun! 6/13/2012 1:41am Thanks for sharing the video. The crash was sweet. Looks like you got some quality speed in several spots. We biked down part of Antero a few years ago. Not as much fun as your sweet single-track.
zdero1	Nice pics, Bean 6/13/2012 5:50am Nice descent, too. Thanks for posting.
Bean	... 6/13/2012 5:53pm benners, I've found that many interesting TRs happen on normally dull mountain. I rarely read TRs anyway so the filter isn't for me. Oman, I'd be terrified of slicing open a $100 tire or two on the nightmarish rock found up high. The Pugs hasn't rolled since it last snowed, though I may find an excuse to take it out on some dirt soon. Randal, Decalibron certainly looks like a miserably long walk with a bike, and I'd only do it if I were going for biking them all. Which I might.
dubsho3000	Not a narc 6/13/2012 11:06pm Not that I care about abiding laws, but is this legal? I know Wilderness areas restrict bikes, and I thought Elbert was in a Wilderness. Again, I don't care, but someone had to ask. It would definitely be illegal to ”bike them all”, right?
Bean	Totes legal 6/14/2012 2:00pm Elbert is not in Wilderness and the trails are 100% open to bikes. Such is not the case for most of the 14ers.
ajkagy	nice! 6/20/2012 6:00am strong work, I'm thinking about biking it soon myself. It's hard to justify hiking in the summer with a bike
SnowAlien	Agreed 4/2/2015 7:45pm Class 1 is lame in the summer

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