Culebra Peak Trip Report 04/26/2010

Peak(s):	Culebra Peak - 14,053 feet
Date Posted:	04/26/2010
Modified:	10/11/2013
Date Climbed:	04/24/2010
Author:	mountainmicah83

Umbrella Drinks on Culebra Peak
Before I get into the story of 9 14ers.com members making a memorable summit, I must hand out some props. First and foremost, I on behalf of the crew would like to thank Cielo Vista ranch for letting us have this wonderful opportunity to climb this mountain in Spring. On top of thanking the Ranch, I would like to give props to Carlos, the most hospitable ranch hand in the world. Thank you Carlos! I would like to also thank all of the other climbers in the group for all making it an awesome trip and especially to Mad Mike, who was the one who scored us this gem of a trip. He was the one who coordinated the whole thing and put out the offers on this site. Great team you put together Mike. Sorry for those who decided to bail due to the adverse weather. Maybe next time. Climbers: JakeK..- ski Baumgara..- ski Ngoodnight.. Mad Mike.. Alpen Girl.. Jf32.. Bean..-ski Wesley..-ski Mountainmicah83.. - ski The following info was compiled by mad Mike: Distance...5200 feet, 15 miles (for all but Micah and Jake) Total 14er Ascents...484 Total 13er Ascents...47 Total 14ers Skied/Boarded...41 Distance for Micah and Jake was 19.1 Miles and 6200 feet + Full Report found at my blog here Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Umbrella Drinks on Culebra Peak

Before I get into the story of 9 14ers.com members making a memorable summit, I must hand out some props.

First and foremost, I on behalf of the crew would like to thank Cielo Vista ranch for letting us have this wonderful opportunity to climb this mountain in Spring. On top of thanking the Ranch, I would like to give props to Carlos, the most hospitable ranch hand in the world. Thank you Carlos!

I would like to also thank all of the other climbers in the group for all making it an awesome trip and especially to Mad Mike, who was the one who scored us this gem of a trip. He was the one who coordinated the whole thing and put out the offers on this site. Great team you put together Mike.

Sorry for those who decided to bail due to the adverse weather. Maybe next time.

Climbers:
JakeK..- ski
Baumgara..- ski
Ngoodnight..
Mad Mike..
Alpen Girl..
Jf32..
Bean..-ski
Wesley..-ski
Mountainmicah83.. - ski

The following info was compiled by mad Mike:

Distance...5200 feet, 15 miles (for all but Micah and Jake)
Total 14er Ascents...484
Total 13er Ascents...47
Total 14ers Skied/Boarded...41

Distance for Micah and Jake was 19.1 Miles and 6200 feet +

Full Report found at my blog here

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

pioletski	Way to hang in there! 4/27/2010 4:10am And thanks for a frank and honest TR, there‘s a good lesson in there - having been in a similar situation recently myself.
killingcokes	Nice Weather 4/27/2010 4:19am I don‘t think it‘s ever sunny on that mountain. You had the same weather as me and doumall‘s group, as well as Frank‘s group. That mountain brings the pain. Nice job getting it done
JakeK	Captured it well... 4/27/2010 4:26am Nice TR, Micah. Definitely gives a true summary of the day, and there are some great photos in there. We made a mistake, and paid the price by having to cut trail for another 1K vertical! That blunder is not one I‘ll soon forget! I only wish we had been able to get in touch with Carlos hours earlier and tell him that we were ok. To everyone out there on Saturday - Thanks! that was a very memorable day; its a good feeling to get Culebra in those kind of conditions with a great crew.
JakeK	I‘ll also add... 4/27/2010 4:30am ...that the trees we skied from 12K down to 11K (where we intersected the (snow-drifted nightmare) road that took us back up to the upper parking, were among the steepest, deepest, most powdery wonderful trees I have ever skied. If only there was a chairlift at the bottom...
mattpayne11	Maniac 4/27/2010 4:46am Dude - glad you made it back safely - that sounded totally epic! Great work. Glad to see JakeK is still alive and well as well!
Dancesatmoonrise	How come? 4/27/2010 5:28am So Micah, How come you always get the epics? Sheesh, some guys have all the luck. : ) Our winter team was forced to suffer in sweltering heat under the blazing sun last month... At least you got a full 3/4 day for your money! (hehe...) Really like the photos, especially 1, 10, 13, and 30. Love that group around the fourway sign. Nice job, all!
cheeseburglar	Awesome! 4/27/2010 6:38am Great trip report and a good adventure. The approach pics really tell the story. Getting out gets crazy sometimes, just don‘t tell people when you expect to be back home.
Bean	Sweet 4/27/2010 1:33pm Great TR from a hell of a day, I look forward to getting out with some of you guys again.
RoanMtnMan	Holy snow. 4/27/2010 3:26pm Man that thing has a lot of snow on it right now. I thought we got it good last year, but there looks to be twice as much up there now. Nice work guys. And thanks for giving Carlos props, he is a good guy I think.
BAUMGARA	Twas good 4/28/2010 2:29am Jake, Micah and Mike ya‘ll did a killer job breaking trail the majority of the time. It was a brutal outing but I‘m glad I got it done. Its a pretty area back there and worth the $100.00
susanjoypaul	Great trip with a happy outcome 4/28/2010 2:22pm Nice job getting that one Micah, Ryan, and the rest. Kudos to Jake for sticking with you, Micah - when it comes to route-finding, especially in difficult situations, two heads are always better than one. Glad you‘re out and OK - hope you‘re feeling better, we can‘t have you yaking blue gatorade on our pretty red rocks :-) And a shout out to SAR of course - nice to know they would have been there for you, had you needed them!
Easy Rider	another whiteroom on Celubra 4/29/2010 3:40pm it‘s a new tradition
mountainmicah83	Thanks 2/5/2011 12:22am Pioletski- We all get turned around sometimes and I think that is important for noobs to see. Killing Cokes- Yeah... I‘m still hurtin a bit. JakeK-Thanks for sticking it out with me. That tree run was swwweeeettt! MattPayne11- Thanks. Tis always an adventure. Wesley- Jake and MadMike are both burly men and did awesome for us all!- Nice Meeting you out there. goinforawalk- Sorry I ruined San Luis on Sunday and thanks for being vigilant to make sure I was alright. DancesatmoonriseThis is a perfect example of my luck- Ask my brother‘n‘law Ben. Somehow you escaped it on Shav/Tab. There are plenty of trips left for adventures in the beautiful wilderness. Cheeseburgular-Normally I give my wife a get worried time which involves me supposed to be at work Monday morning and not being back yet. We were at the mercy of getting off of Cielo Vista on time without service and having partners waiting at another TH. All turned out alright though Thanks again all. It was a fun trip.
Carl	Thanks... 5/2/2011 2:23pm to Jake and Mad Mike for making that summit possible. I think 80% of the trail breaking was done by these two guys. As for that detour, I recall visibility being awful (50 feet?) at that split on the ridge and almost descending left myself. Glad it ended well. Nice TR Micah. Had a great time climbing with everyone.

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