Lackawanna Trip Report 06/29/2014

Peak(s):	"Lackawanna" - 13,826 feet
Date Posted:	06/29/2014
Date Climbed:	06/27/2014
Author:	rajz06

"Lackawanna" Express
Starting Point: North Lake Creek (10,300') Peak Climbed: "Lackawanna" (13,823') Route: South ridge RT Distance: 4.0 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 3,750 feet Group: Solo "I hate trails". That was an unfortunate remark that I made in a discussion with a colleague recently so I'd like to set the record straight. After seventeen years of climbing in the Rockies I know with some certainty that I have no innate sense of the wilderness. Aside from being able to cover elevation rather quickly I am a fairly mediocre hiker/climber who has only managed to survive these solitary "excursions" by mostly eschewing routes where angels fear to tread. Any "altitude snobbery" I may have had in my younger days has also been summarily dispatched thanks to many humbling experiences in these wilderness areas. Yes, like many other hikers I do enjoy exploring the unknown and discovering hidden routes but let's be clear on this: Whether I love trails or not, I do appreciate them and there has been many an occasion in my forays over the years where I've been delighted to find a cairn or a trail segment. The service that CFI and other organizations provide in designing, building and maintaining these trails is yeomen to say the least and for that I'll be eternally grateful. That said, this is a trip report of the south ridge to "Lackawanna" peak which has no trail. Not even a climber's trail or segments of a trail that peter out, no cairns, nothing so don't bother looking for any in these pictures. This route caught my attention because of a few trip reports, most notable for me being the aptly named "Lackawanna Legburner" by Greenhouseguy. The route starts right off of one of two pull-outs on the south side of CO-82, 15.6-15.7 miles from the US 24/CO-82 junction south of Leadville. Starting point I knew the general direction that I needed to follow so the goal was to basically slog up the hillside through deadfall and bristlecone pines and aspens. Deadfall and thick undergrowth Winding through the aspens The 1,700' of elevation gain from the road to treeline occurs within a mile and that grade never relents through the remainder of the hike. The dense forest in the meantime made bushwhacking inevitable even as I tried to find the best path through the trees. Did I mention bushwhacking? An occasional clearing in the woods presented some opportunities to scale a few boulders, keeping things interesting. Ah, a clearing Some scrambling Another clearing... Any chance I got for a bit of scrambling I eagerly lapped up knowing that there would be more tedium ahead. ...and more scrambling Back to the woods The relentless slog through the trees took me an hour, and as I made it to the last boulder field just below treeline I took a breather to survey the progress. Talus field before treeline Looking down the south face I made a mental note to look for better descent options through the trees on my return but, like many of my route-finding strategies, this would not work out that well! There was nearly 2,000 vertical feet between this vantage point and the ridge that was now clearly in sight but this would have to be covered in about a mile so I knew I had my work cut out for me. First look toward false summit I stayed close to the rocks as I skirted the bluffs ahead. Approaching the bluffs Skirting the bluffs Here I paused momentarily to enjoy the view of Star Mountain and the surrounding peaks behind me to the south. The winds which hadn't been a factor until then were now blowing at a steady rate and some clouds had gathered above the ridge ahead of me. This would soon become a player in deciding how long I'd spent on the summit. Purveying the south slope to false summit The copious amount of snow that had filled the gully to climber's left only a couple of weeks ago was now rapidly melting. Last hurrah of the snow filled gully At around 12,600', there was about a thousand feet to be gained to reach the south ridge and the high point that I'd been aiming for since treeline. The terrain soon gave way to a mix of tundra and talus fields with fairly stable boulders. Tundra and talus With no route finding skills required, this terrain played more into my strength as I boulder hopped and covered that terrain in about thirty-five minutes. Final pitch to ridge "Lackawanna" summit block On the ridge, the wind was blowing even harder so the first order of business after climbing atop the summit block was to get my hands warmed up before I could snap any pictures. The light conditions and scattered clouds translated the spectacular 360� summit views into even more beautiful pictures. The rugged Elk range to the far west dominated by Castle peak: The snowfield on the east face of Snowmass still made for a visual treat and a sight like no other even among these high peaks: Capitol peak, the northernmost of the Elk 14ers and the red sedimentary rock characteristic of this great range: Closer to home, the majestic La Plata and its jagged Ellinwood ridge: Grizzly, once designated a 14er, and the rugged ridge traverse to Garfield, a bi-centennial peak: As much of a treat as the surrounding peaks provided, the sustained winds made Lackawanna's summit a not-so-hospitable perch, so after a relatively short stay I started my descent. I stayed true to the course till the bluffs above treeline and then decided to explore other options to facilitate a speedier descent. Weighing the descent options This turned out to be easier said than done as I encountered at least a couple of precipices with steep drop offs that required a detour. OOPS! That doesn't go... And then the inevitable bushwhacking ensued. Back to whacking aspens... What was that I said about trails? Ah, yes, what a wonderful concept they are! Yours Truly My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload): Login required to view this map... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

"Lackawanna" Express

Starting Point: North Lake Creek (10,300')
Peak Climbed: "Lackawanna" (13,823')
Route: South ridge
RT Distance: 4.0 miles
Elevation Gain/Loss: 3,750 feet
Group: Solo

"I hate trails". That was an unfortunate remark that I made in a discussion with a colleague recently so I'd like to set the record straight. After seventeen years of climbing in the Rockies I know with some certainty that I have no innate sense of the wilderness. Aside from being able to cover elevation rather quickly I am a fairly mediocre hiker/climber who has only managed to survive these solitary "excursions" by mostly eschewing routes where angels fear to tread. Any "altitude snobbery" I may have had in my younger days has also been summarily dispatched thanks to many humbling experiences in these wilderness areas. Yes, like many other hikers I do enjoy exploring the unknown and discovering hidden routes but let's be clear on this: Whether I love trails or not, I do appreciate them and there has been many an occasion in my forays over the years where I've been delighted to find a cairn or a trail segment. The service that CFI and other organizations provide in designing, building and maintaining these trails is yeomen to say the least and for that I'll be eternally grateful.

That said, this is a trip report of the south ridge to "Lackawanna" peak which has no trail. Not even a climber's trail or segments of a trail that peter out, no cairns, nothing so don't bother looking for any in these pictures. This route caught my attention because of a few trip reports, most notable for me being the aptly named "Lackawanna Legburner" by Greenhouseguy. The route starts right off of one of two pull-outs on the south side of CO-82, 15.6-15.7 miles from the US 24/CO-82 junction south of Leadville.

I knew the general direction that I needed to follow so the goal was to basically slog up the hillside through deadfall and bristlecone pines and aspens.

The 1,700' of elevation gain from the road to treeline occurs within a mile and that grade never relents through the remainder of the hike. The dense forest in the meantime made bushwhacking inevitable even as I tried to find the best path through the trees.

An occasional clearing in the woods presented some opportunities to scale a few boulders, keeping things interesting.

Any chance I got for a bit of scrambling I eagerly lapped up knowing that there would be more tedium ahead.

The relentless slog through the trees took me an hour, and as I made it to the last boulder field just below treeline I took a breather to survey the progress.

I made a mental note to look for better descent options through the trees on my return but, like many of my route-finding strategies, this would not work out that well!

There was nearly 2,000 vertical feet between this vantage point and the ridge that was now clearly in sight but this would have to be covered in about a mile so I knew I had my work cut out for me.

I stayed close to the rocks as I skirted the bluffs ahead.

Here I paused momentarily to enjoy the view of Star Mountain and the surrounding peaks behind me to the south.

The winds which hadn't been a factor until then were now blowing at a steady rate and some clouds had gathered above the ridge ahead of me. This would soon become a player in deciding how long I'd spent on the summit.

Purveying the south slope to false summit

The copious amount of snow that had filled the gully to climber's left only a couple of weeks ago was now rapidly melting.

At around 12,600', there was about a thousand feet to be gained to reach the south ridge and the high point that I'd been aiming for since treeline. The terrain soon gave way to a mix of tundra and talus fields with fairly stable boulders.

With no route finding skills required, this terrain played more into my strength as I boulder hopped and covered that terrain in about thirty-five minutes.

On the ridge, the wind was blowing even harder so the first order of business after climbing atop the summit block was to get my hands warmed up before I could snap any pictures.

The light conditions and scattered clouds translated the spectacular 360� summit views into even more beautiful pictures.

The rugged Elk range to the far west dominated by Castle peak:

The snowfield on the east face of Snowmass still made for a visual treat and a sight like no other even among these high peaks:

Capitol peak, the northernmost of the Elk 14ers and the red sedimentary rock characteristic of this great range:

Closer to home, the majestic La Plata and its jagged Ellinwood ridge:

Grizzly, once designated a 14er, and the rugged ridge traverse to Garfield, a bi-centennial peak:

As much of a treat as the surrounding peaks provided, the sustained winds made Lackawanna's summit a not-so-hospitable perch, so after a relatively short stay I started my descent.

I stayed true to the course till the bluffs above treeline and then decided to explore other options to facilitate a speedier descent.

This turned out to be easier said than done as I encountered at least a couple of precipices with steep drop offs that required a detour.

And then the inevitable bushwhacking ensued.

What was that I said about trails? Ah, yes, what a wonderful concept they are!

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

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

boudreaux	I'll be up there on Sunday 6/30/2014 1:49pm Will be the 1st one I do next week, just haven't decided how which way to go yet!
Jay521	Nice one! 6/30/2014 1:55pm Another nice one, Raj. I always enjoy your very descriptive reports.
JosephG	Bushwhacking... 7/1/2014 2:06am Never seems pleasant! But Lackawanna has great views. We went up direct from 82, just east of the snow gully. Steep bushwhacking that. Congrats!
FireOnTheMountain	this is cool 7/28/2014 5:06am I always enjoy your reports. Neat route. Piqued my interest.

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