A Whole New World II

[Biscut]

Day 1 land Denver around noon. Hit a store for some food, beer, water, and supplies (namely some canister fuel). Enjoy some local flavor and I hope to find a good brewery. First night in a comfy hotel. Up pretty early, say 6 or 7am. Head to first trail head for Greys's & Torres. I was able to rent a full size pick up for cheaper than a mid-size suv, go figure. Planning on camping in the truck bed with a bivy (I do it in my own truck often) at trail head so I should get some decent time to acclimate to the thinner air. Early start for these 2 summits.

It take about 1-1.5 hour to get to Greys and Torreys trailhead, let's say you stop for coffee and take your time, you'll get to G&T TH around 9 am. What are you going to do for the rest of the day? My recommendation is to skip the hotel for the first night, drive to Guanella Road south of Georgetown and camp there over night. There are a couple fee campgrounds, and many free disperse camp sites along the road you can just pull off and camp. Next day you can drive up Guanella Pass, which is the trailhead for Mt. Bierstadt. If you don't think you can hike Bierstadt right away, you can go on the other side of the road and hike to Square Top Lake, or even Square Top Mountain. Hiking around at altitude during the day will help you acclimatize better. That night you can drive to G&T TH to camp, then hike G&T the next day.

I will check this out. Thanks for the heads up.

[Biscut]

I was able to get out to CO as planned. I was there mid Sept. and was blessed with some great weather. What an amazing place. I stayed in Denver and spent most of my time in the Idaho Springs and Georgetown area. Bierdstat, Grey's and Torres. I landed around 1200pm day 1, went to my hotel and just happened to notice "Station 26" brewery; had to stop in! Great place. Went to bed early and got up about 4am and headed to Guynella Pass for Bierdstat trail head. OHHHHH MAN! As soon as I got out of the truck to get my bag, 10k ft I could feel it. I knew it was going to be a rough hike.

It was a really good day in low 30's and a little crusted ice on the walk ways. Total up and back I was with less than a dozen people. Jackpot! And the ones on the trail were super nice. I was ok but breathing was rough up to 12500. At 12500 it really knocked me on my ass. No headache, no nausea, but the O flow was kicking me hard. I've never felt fatigue quite like that in such a short time. I took the advice here, drank 3+ liters of water, and just went slow, like real slow! It seemed ok up to 14k mark. At that point it made me dizzy a bit. Right around the area where you are at the base of the summit cone looking down into frozen lake area. I had 2 dizzy spells of less than a minute each. The way down was uneventful but a lot easier (usually is) than up.

Lesson learned: Altitude without acclimating kicks your ass. I'm coming from 1200ft where I live. I can carry a day pack for days with zero fatigue in arms and shoulders. By the time I got down from Bierdstat, which is a very easy hike, I was totally shot. Little in legs, but mostly in places I do not get tired....back, shoulders, arms (Who the Hell Gets Sore Arms??). Awesome experience. I took the next day off knowing I would have no stamina for all 3 trips I was looking to do. Day after I hit Greys and Torreys....what a difference! I could breathe so much better. Staying in Georgetown for the day (9kft?) I'm sure helped a lot.

I really enjoyed the friendliness of Denver. I could not get over the separation of buildings in the downtown. So use to NYC and Boston where there is enough space for an alley way and that's it. I had a great time at the Tap House...but who wouldn't?? I am already starting to plan next years trip for a few more 14ers. I hope to retire in another 4 years or so. I couldn't live in Denver....mostly because of ME! I'm way to much east coast ass to fit in Denver. I was surprised at how crowded Denver seemed; lack of nightlife in the downtown; I-70 SUX!!!!!!!! and I was devastated to see how close Winter Park and many other resorts were/are to denver. I say that only because I can't stand crowds and these places are so awesome, it must get $$$$ and packed.

Very happy I went and can't wait to get back. Amazing place and I know I only touched the tip (haha, that sounds bad). Thanks for all the help in getting an idea of what to expect.

[Rollie Free]

So glad to hear back from you and that you had a great time.

I am an out of stater too and have read numerous reports like yours that were very ambitious but then rarely ever see a follow up. I think that first altitude 'whomp' gets a lot of people and they give up. As I said in an earlier post, the trip reports and maps seem so easy but get out on the trail at 12+ and its a different story.

One of the great things about doing this is just getting the experience. You had no idea what would happen physically (for sure), now you do and you can roll with it. When I come out I know its going to be tough. Just knowing that really helps. I've been coming out once or twice for about five years and every year the altitude is less and less an issue. I don't get nauseous or terribly worn down I just slow down. (I can go all day, it just might take me two days).

I've noticed also a lot of your performance depends on the day and since we have so few days its hard to peg what helps/hurts performance on a personal level.

Yeah, the first time for a low elevation type can be a real eye opener. It gets nothing but better.

[Biscut]

Thanks for the words from another flatlander perspective. I can't wait to come back. But I will change up my approach and get more time at higher altitude. I'm going to use it to drive my training as well. I'm now looking at getting to 210/215 lbs and to crank up the elevation gain/hr on the treadmill. I can swing 3200ft in an hour but moving to higher numbers than that will demand some serious attention. Maybe it will get me back to some running, which is a good thing.

I've read lots and do understand how your body does at elevation is not directly correlated to conditioning; but after the level of fatigue I felt, I dont see how increased conditioning could be a negative....AND less weight to drag up and down the mountain is always going to be easier.

[Shaolin]

Glad to hear you had a great time.