Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
Notice: This report has been DELETED by the author.
Climbed Mt Princeton solo, after a friend bailed on me the night before. I'm doing a fairly substantial writeup, since when other people do them they help me plan better.
Left from the radio towers around 5:30 am. The road is clear till about a mile past the radio towers, then big snow banks cover the road. I never used my snowshoes, but was glad for snow gaiters especially after about 10 am where the snow was very wet and soft.
The sunrise was beautiful. But you can see how impassible the road is. 322A road at sunrise
I somehow managed to miss the turnoff for the standard route, because the stone steps and cairns were covered by snow. If you look at my photo, you can see how the trail is invisible at dawn light, with the shadows.
322A road
So I kept walking up the 322A road till it neared the end. Upon climbing the ridge, I found a faint trail so I decided to follow that since it headed in the right direction. I stashed my snowshoes and started up Tigger Peak. I somehow thought that the Mt Tigger peak was the subsidiary peak of Mt Princeton, so I thought once I climbed that it would be only a short hike to the summit.
So after some class 3 scrambling up the side of Tigger Peak, imagine my surprise when I looked across and saw how far Mt Princeton really was.
So I had to descend back down some very loose rock, then I hooked onto the standard trail about 3/4th of the way up. There is quite a few gullies that are still filled with snow, and require some careful picking across to avoid slipping and potentially sliding a few hundred feet.
The final bit of trail is almost nonexistent, so you had to just keep climbing up. I summited about 9:30. I met some nice guys from Buena Vista that pointed out some really far 14ers, including Pikes peak. Visibility and weather were awesome on the summit.
I like this picture because it looks like Mt Antero is a volcano with the smoke out the top. Mt Antero volcano
I descended the standard route, with a couple stops for some short glissading. There is a lot of rocks in the snow troughs, so it wasn't very good.
The final straw, once I got back to the road, I remembered my snowshoes were still stashed at the end of the 322A road so I had to hike back up the road a mile and get them. Got back to the radio towers about 1 pm? My GPS gave me a distance of a little longer than 10 miles, compared to the 6.5 miles that the standard route would take.
So I wouldn't recommend showshoes, but definitely gaiters and spikes helped.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
looks like the snow is melting rapidly. Thinking about Shavano this weekend...any thoughts?
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
