| Peak(s): |
Mt. Sherman - 14,043 feet |
| Date Posted: | 07/24/2015 |
| Date Climbed: | 07/17/2015 |
| Author: | morginco |
| Peak(s): |
Mt. Sherman - 14,043 feet |
| Date Posted: | 07/24/2015 |
| Date Climbed: | 07/17/2015 |
| Author: | morginco |
| Mt. Sherman, South Ridge |
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The hike/climb from the trailhead at the gate to the summit of Mt. Sherman was different from my previous two 14ers, but challenging none the less. I met up with a really nice family at the trailhead around 8am, and started up exploring the ruins of the Dauntless mine. Unfortunately, the distraction caused us to lose our view of the trail, and we had to traverse up a steep hill over loose shale rock. We all made it safely and quickly though, even the 4 year old that was in the group. Once the trail was regained , we hiked up to the ridge where the wind was intense. I considered departing from the others and summitting Mt Sheridan, but decided that I might not have the stamina to complete both climbs, and if I had to choose one, it would be the 14er. The wind blew steadily up the ridge and the footing was unlike Mt Elbert and Mt. Massive in that there was no real dirt trail, just a rough path on the loose shale rocks, some of which were unstable. The good news was that the route was short since the trailhead was at 12,000 ft. Near the top of the ridge the path turned into a bit of a rock scramble, but there were enough people coming down that the route was obvious. It was great in that the folks coming down gave a lot of encouragement and up to the minute reports on the conditions and weather. I was relieved to know that once the top of the ridge was attained, the wind would die down, and it would be an easy walk to the summit. About this time however, the 4 year old had had enough and the family had to turn back. Once at the top of the ridge, the wind carried some sleet for a few seconds that died down completely. It was indeed an easy 15 min. walk to the summit where many were talking photos with the sign showing the name and elevation of the peak. The views were great and on the East side of the mountain was a lot of snow deposited by the prevailing Westerly winds. There were some fast moving clouds but it was relatively easy to complete the climb and come back down in about 5 hours. After lunch and a shot of Tequila, it was down the ridge and some glissading down a few snow fields for fun and shortcuts. I explored some of the highest mine ruins and took a more direct path down to the main trail from there. I was back at the trailhead by 1:30pm and happy to know that I beat the rain which started soon after. To display your photos (uploaded below) in the final trip report, type the image number (i.e., 1, 2, 3), highlight it with your cursor, and click on the Image button on the right. Example:  More image format examples: Float image right:  Float image right, width of 300 pixels: Float image left, width of 175 pixels: External image: Float external image right, width of 600 pixels: Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow): 
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