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Peak(s):  Mt. Columbia  -  14,075 feet
Date Posted:  09/18/2007
Date Climbed:   09/15/2007
Author:  Patinator
 Columbia - Hail Yes!!!!   

West Slope, N. Cottonwood
~10 miles, ~ 4200 ft. elevation gain

I had originally wanted to do the Harvard/Columbia combo, but it was still raining and dark when I wanted to start out. A few hours later, I decided to just climb Columbia but even then the weather looked a little sketchy. Since no one seems to have anything nice to say about Columbia, it seemed like an opportunity to get it out of the way. Also, a Harvard summit followed by fly-fishing at Bear Lake next season sounds pretty good.

Some of the Aspens have not started to change...
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but some have...
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After the trail splits away from the Harvard trail, make sure that you keep heading for the right side of the big bump in Bill's pictures. There is a small trail that veers left and takes you towards Harvard and some camping spots.

Although this contributes to erosion, it is easiest to take the blue route up (mostly solid dirt and rocks) and the green route down (very loose dirt and small rocks that you can control slide down).
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The higher I got, the wind became stronger and the storm clouds got closer.
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I decided to go for the summit but first put on all my gear because it looked like all heck was about to break loose.
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By the time I got to the summit, I was in the middle of a hailstorm with winds (I am guessing 40-50 mph) strong enough to make me stumble for a few steps. Check out the sheets flying in sideways.
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Wow! That was a lot of fun on the way down!



Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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