| Peak(s): |
Vermilion Peak - 13,909 feet Fuller Peak - 13,777 feet Beattie Peak - 13,351 feet Unnamed 13302 - 13,302 feet |
| Date Posted: | 08/11/2014 |
| Date Climbed: | 08/09/2014 |
| Author: | ToddW42 |
| Peak(s): |
Vermilion Peak - 13,909 feet Fuller Peak - 13,777 feet Beattie Peak - 13,351 feet Unnamed 13302 - 13,302 feet |
| Date Posted: | 08/11/2014 |
| Date Climbed: | 08/09/2014 |
| Author: | ToddW42 |
| Vermillion to Hope Pass loop from South Mineral Creek Trailhead |
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Vermillion to Hope Pass loop from South Mineral Creek Trailhead. South Mineral Creek TH 605am Vermillion 945am Fuller 1015am Beattie 1050am V8 1145am Hope Pass 1215pm South Mineral Creek TH 200pm My first trip ever to South Mineral Creek came about due to a minor obsession of my wife's to visit Ice Lakes basin and climb some of the surrounding peaks. After about a year of talking about it we packed up the family and decided to spend a short week camping in the area with hopes of good times. Our young girls weren't up to a 10+ mile day with huge elevation so on Friday my wife soloed Vermillion (attempted to get up to Golden Horn, but didn't like the loose rock below the saddle and turned for Vermillion and Fuller). With her info on dry conditions to the Fuller/Vermillion saddle in hand I ditched crampons and ice axe, packed what food I could find and prepared for my solo trip. Being 35 fourteeners into completing that list twice due to nearly always climbing the last decade with others working on their list, I have been eyeing the top 100 and other peaks with interesting routes. I thought I had left the peak bagging mentality behind me, but... the traverse from Vermillion to Hope Pass happened to promise me four peaks I had never stood atop, including 3 ranked 13ers... My family and I had driven up to the top of the road where the Hope Pass trail hooks up, and my girls and I had ridden our mountain bikes up from the campground a ways, so that part of the return trip was familiar and not bad. That combined with the "2+" rating given by Roach and Roach gave me most of the confidence I needed that I wouldn't get myself into too much difficulty while alone. Now I was just banking on good weather and good legs. The day started with condensation from our tent camper dripping repeatedly onto my face from 230am on... lame. Snuggling under all covers to avoid the internal showers I totally missed my 430am alarm. Shoving my illuminated watch into my sleepy wife's face to ensure she knew I was starting a full hour late I finally was walking at 6am, disgusted with myself as I stuffed my now unneeded headlamp into my pack. The hike up to Ice and Fuller Lakes was absolutely breathtaking! We've been to so many wonderful places in Colorado thanks to the Roach's I can't believe there are still places like this we have missed! Yes it is steep, yes it is a 4+ mile approach, yes lots of switch backs, but who cares! The flowers, waterfalls, lakes... oh my! When I got to Ice Lake a very rare thing happened, I had to sit down on a rock and just stare. After enjoying a crunchy bar I tore myself away and continued up to Fuller Lake.   My first mistake was not paying attention to the map or description... Walking up to gorgeous Fuller Lake I saw climbers ahead of me just below the Vermillion/Fuller saddle, and no trail beneath my feet. I backtracked a ways to below the lake, swung NW and tried to LNT as I looked for the trail. I found some cairns after about 100 m and continued. The trail peters in and out through talus, passes some mines and their associated trash and covers a lot of ground towards the easily visible trail up to the saddle. With all the loose rock the trail to the saddle was great, and as my wife told me, no need to get on snow. Cresting the saddle, the views were awesome to the west, and knock down great back to the east! I was very surprised that the trail is so easy to follow from the saddle to the summit, leading you along the bottom of cool cliffs to a scruffy gully. Short and not as loose as it looked the gully passed quickly, hung left onto a broken face and minutes later on the summit! The summit was a shock for how abruptly it appeared, then the great catwalk to the high point, and the amazing number of peaks you can see! (945am). Anyone jaded with climbing a list, or tired of driving etc., needs to find this place on a clear day to recharge their inner mountain goat!  Traversing to Hope Pass Weather was looking ok, just a few clouds so I headed to Fuller, easy walk up on the trail to a neat summit (1015am). Looking over at Beattie gave me a shot of adrenaline.  Clouds were pretty good, but they were there, like grey bottomed cotton balls... could be good all day (like the last 3 days), or could pounce on me while out on a long ridge with poor escape... The Fuller/Beattie saddle is deep... steep off of Fuller, and steep up Beattie. I knew if I summited Beattie I would not want to return back the way I had come. The Beattie to V8 ridge looked like it had a more gentle loss and gain of elevation. So steeling myself to the risks I hopped down the ridge to Beattie.   Coming down Fuller was loose crud, like trying to surf on a pile of skate boards without wheels... My legs were shaking and reminding me that I had not eaten more than a couple 100 calories all morning, but I didn't hear them. The climb up to Beattie was steep, but not as loose as coming off of Fuller. What I thought was a great trail as viewed from Fuller, was more just sand, but it held the rocks like cement, so cool! Beattie's summit was rounded and made Fuller (1050am) look nice and steep like it felt. Here I discovered that my daughter's iPhone had died... so no more pics, and I was hungry. (Funny but the day before our camera battery died on Fuller while my wife was climbing, which is why I brought the phone... and despite a bag full of kid entertaining electronics in the camper, no camera charger...oh well, murphy says the best views come when the camera is forgotten or dead). I ate a few crackers and shot blocks, drank, and went. To V8 The view from Beattie to V8 looked really neat, narrow, long, and no big drops or notches to be seen. The view of Hope Lake encouraged me on, hoping all would stay calm. With more clouds around I hustled onto the ridge and loved the narrow long talus hop. The exposure on both sides was cool, but the 4' wide ridge was mostly flat on top so easy to cruise. Multiple times I was reminded to be careful as a very large and stable looking rock moved, or dislodged as I tried to hop along. This entire traverse has dangerously loose rock from Fuller to the pass. I was glad of my helmet, but feared for my ankles, legs, face etc if my balance missed one of these surprising shifting rocks. As the ridge got jagged and narrows near the 2nd low point I was surprised by the only nasty drop I found (10'). Very easily bypassed down and right V8 was getting closer and looking fun. Climbing on the ridge to the summit was more joy, only mellowed by occasional mobile rocks. The views of Rolling Mountain as you travel this ridge are spectacular! Filling me with thoughts of continuing my traverse to include V9 and Rolling Mtn... not sure if that ridge connection goes smoothly, but it looks awesome! (Maybe next year) I thought that 2+ was maybe overstating the difficulty of any climbing along the ridge, but must say that the danger of shifting rock cannot be overstated. Met Candice from California on the summit of V8 (1145am), she had come up from the pass and gave me good beta on the loose crap I was about to encounter. She recommended staying on the ridge that heads directly to the west point of Hope Lake. I gave her what info I thought useful as she was headed for Fuller, and started on my way down. After surfing on many rocks that I did not want to move, I ditched the ridge and like Roach and Roach suggest headed straight down to the pass. The rock was terrible, very dangerous, body sized surf boards moved, slid, and took large areas sliding with them, I made slides with both feet and even my hands... One 500lb surf board I made to slide with my uphill hand when I gently placed it there to balance my step... it could have cut my leg off as it fell 4' and crashed into the rock just behind my calves. Near here I was out of water, and only had 500ml Gatorade left. But I knew water would be found down the trail. After a very long 25 minutes I was on solid talus and quickly going for the comfort of the trail I had hoped to find. Hope Pass Hope Pass was mellow and the trail great after all that loose rock (1215pm). Failing to learn any lessons about looking at maps or descriptions I blew right by the junction of the mining road and the Hope Pass trail. After about 3/4 mile and little elevation loss I reflected that the giant cairn I had passed long ago likely marked the split in these options. Studying the map I decided to continue on. Roach and Roach's map clearly marks the road, and it joins the main road around the Bandora mine and where we had seen cars parked previously. But my TrailsIllustrated map does not show it. The mining road is not a road anymore, but a trail with lush growth crowding it in many places. It's rocky however, and made me wish I hadn't missed the turn off (of course I don't know if the other trail to South Park is better, my feet just assumed it was). At the first nice stream crossing the trail I treated some water. It looked great, not full of weird colors like some streams in this heavily mined area. I was back on the main road at 115pm and was back at the South Mineral Campground at 2pm. All in all a great day, lots of summits, cool ridge, with only loose rock to whine about. Hope Pass down to South Mineral Creek Trailhead is easy, but not as pretty as Ice Lake basin (though the views of Twin Sisters and Rolling Mtn are GREAT!!).   Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow): 
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