Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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Looking to get some Cottonwood Creek 13ers this weekend. Derek's photos from 1/25 indicate there's lots of snow! My questions are pretty specific.
Does anyone know about these lines up or down Owen?
They can be seen in this photo from Derek's TR:
Blue and yellow could be spicy crossing that gully to gain the NE ridge.
How about this line up or down PT 13490'?
Seen in this photo from Derek's TR:
^ This is the one that most concerns me. Looks gnarly at the top and I've found no beta. My guess is it's probably safer to start with 13490 as Owen has an obvious easy descent option.
I did those from the Wild Cherry Creek drainage, so don't have first hand knowledge of those routes. I would think your red n.e. ridge route on Owens should go, but that's gonna be a wallow fest on a north facing slope getting to it. Don't think I would mess with your yellow or blue routes on an east facing slope. I did 13490 via the west ridge from 13122. Are you camping for those? It would be a heck of a day just to get one of those in winter!
Always do what you are afraid to do. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Approach is Cotton Creek. So ascending red forces me to descend the east side of 13490 sight unseen. Instead, assuming I can get up that, 13122 and Owen should fall in line and I can descend red. I'm planning to camp someplace.
For what it's worth, we approached Unnamed 13,490 and Unnamed 13,122 from Rito Alto creek (one spring weekend a few years back). We followed the trail up to "Cotton Pass" and accessed Unnamed 13,490 from there (the route from the "pass" to 13,490 could be dicey under snowy conditions ... you follow the ridge proper for awhile from the "pass" and then cross the face heading to your left (a bit southwesterly). The ridge between 13,490 and 13,122 was no big deal. We actually did a traversing descent from 13,122 back below Kolkman Basin bushwhacking (mild) back to our camp which was near the junction of the Rito Alto Trail and Cotton Creek Trail. We did Mt. Owen from the Wild Cherry Creek trail early one spring (after attempting it earlier in the year and failing due to weather moving in).
Look forward to your trip report! Happy trails. :D
As if none of us have ever come back with a cool, quasi-epic story instead of being victim to tragic rockfall, a fatal stumble, a heart attack, an embolism, a lightning strike, a bear attack, collapsing cornice, some psycho with an axe, a falling tree, carbon monoxide, even falling asleep at the wheel getting to a mountain. If you can't accept the fact that sometimes "s**t happens", then you live with the illusion that your epic genius and profound wilderness intelligence has put you in total and complete control of yourself, your partners, and the mountain. How mystified you'll be when "s**t happens" to you! - FM
I'd be interested to hear how much snow is on that approach - for a ski out.
Have fun!
"When I go out, I become more alive. I just love skiing. The gravitational pull. When you ski steep terrain... you can almost get a feeling of flying." -Doug Coombs
Thanks for the info. It's hard to tell from the photo whether it's dicey at the top. Anyway I was going to make three days of it and try to hit all eight of those thirteeners, but I've lost a day to gear issues so I'm going to do the ridge from Electric to Silver and probably call it good. Camping just off the saddle NW of De Anza. Depending on wind I'll probably have to hike down to the trees unless the willows at 12300' are burly.
Bill -- I'll put up some photos afterwards. Based on Derek's TR from 1/25, my bet is lots!
Bill: it's actually pretty thin there and melting fast. Unfortunately I didn't complete my intended route so I didn't get to see Cotton Creek up close. Here's a shot from the ridge to the west:
Presto: I made it 3.5 miles and 3200' up the ridge before I realized I hadn't given myself enough time with a heavy pack to get over the first 13er and set up camp before dark/wind/snow set in. This was really irritating because the weather was supposed to be nice for the area Monday.
That last photo is a beauty, Mr. Boggy. I'd still like to check out that Cotton Creek trail ... it's one of the couple of trails on that west side of the Sangre's that I haven't explored. I hear ya on travel time/distance with these winter climbs ... it certainly can take more time and effort than what is expected sometimes (has happened to me on more than one occasion). Still, though, sounds like you had a nice trip and obtained some good beta (which is worth trip in itself). Better luck next time ... happy trails! :D
As if none of us have ever come back with a cool, quasi-epic story instead of being victim to tragic rockfall, a fatal stumble, a heart attack, an embolism, a lightning strike, a bear attack, collapsing cornice, some psycho with an axe, a falling tree, carbon monoxide, even falling asleep at the wheel getting to a mountain. If you can't accept the fact that sometimes "s**t happens", then you live with the illusion that your epic genius and profound wilderness intelligence has put you in total and complete control of yourself, your partners, and the mountain. How mystified you'll be when "s**t happens" to you! - FM
