Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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So I've been looking forward to some good fall hikes this year, but the past couple of weekends the weather has been incredibly nasty (mostly wind/cold). I browsed the trip reports and it seems like everyone else has had a similar experience. I'm still fairly new to hiking at this time of year and I was just wondering if anyone knows if this is just what happens occasionally in the fall or if this is abnormally bad weather. I'm trying to get a feel for if it will clear up, and also if anyone has any advice on how to predict it. When I went out 2 weekends ago I had checked the weather report right before we got in the car and it had given no indication of how fast and steady the winds were going to be
I'm not expecting it to be beautiful, sunny, and warm all the time, but when you get out of the car at the TH and there is over cast & 30mph winds before you even start the hike, it's just not worth it! Any advice/information would be much appreciated!
My experience has been that you just can't know until you're at the trailhead, and then it could be something entirely different on the mountain - but some of the best times I've had up there have definitely also been on fall afternoons.
"Everybody I know has a big 'but'" - if you can tell me what movie this quote is from (and aren't too embarrassed to admit it), I'll buy you lunch.
"Oh...oh I've got a helmet - I got a beauty!" - George Hanson
highpilgrim wrote:Start climbing in the gym. It's climate controlled.
haha, thanks. I tried to avoid that sort of response by explaining that I wasn't expecting sunshine and roses all the way to the summit ... but there's a big difference between climate controlled climbing gyms and running into winds so strong that you can't even stand up and you still have 2 miles to go.
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SkaredShtles -- I appreciate the effort
I'm trying to get a feel for if it will clear up, and also if anyone has any advice on how to predict it.
Temperatures in Colorado have varied between -61F and 114F. I predict that on any given day of the year, the temperature will likely fall somewhere between those two figures.
That said, other than the above prediction, it's hard to predict much in advance.
Bad weather doesn't mean no hiking or climbing though. Year round, my family goes hiking/climbing on every weekend and holiday (with only extremely rare exceptions). Sometimes we do change plans and choose alternate destinations though. We've actually changed destinations quite a few times this year.
Here's our trip log (needs some updating though) for this year:
If you glance through it you can see that sometimes we've had really good weather and sometimes we had to change plans and either head to where the weather was better or do hikes/climbs that are safe to do in bad weather.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.
highpilgrim wrote:Start climbing in the gym. It's climate controlled.
Beats watching the inevitable collapse of the Cardinals (and the Blues), I suppose. Hopefully you'll get good enough to lead on Sharkstooth and Coxcomb next summer. I want to tag those summits.
When I first started hiking 14ers, I was under the impression that September / early October was generally dry in the mountains, but as time has gone on, I've found that to not necessarily be the case. True, the likelihood of getting a nice, calm, dry day from dusk to dawn is probably higher in September than it is in July or August, but as others have referenced, fall can still provide its share of nasty weather. I didn't do anything in the mountains after mid-August last year, but my understanding (mainly from this site) was that last year, there was really no break between the summer monsoon and winter snow. This year, it also seems like the monsoon is slow to let go.
With all of that, I agree with those who say, just go to the trailhead, start hiking, and see what things look like. I used to be someone who tried to only pick the good weather days, and wouldn't even make a trip if the forecast didn't look good. I still track the weather, but now, if I have a trip planned, I'll just go, and hope for the best. When I climbed Wetterhorn this summer, it was pouring rain in Lake City at 4 am, and it was very tempting just to turn around. But at the TH, even though it was still cloudy and humid, the rain had let up, so I started hiking. The clouds eventually broke up, and it turned into a beautiful day in which I reached the summit of a spectacular peak. This, on a day in which the forecast had said "60% chance of storms, mainly after noon", with the potential for rain in the morning.
Regarding wind, I've found that is the one thing that often doesn't show up in the mountain forecasts. In my experience, if it's extremely windy in the morning, it's probably only going to get worse as the day goes on. I've had to abort a few summits due to high winds that I wasn't expecting. Again, it's probably best just to show up at the TH and check out conditions.
“Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.” - Ecclesiastes 1:10-11
highpilgrim wrote:Start climbing in the gym. It's climate controlled.
Beats watching the inevitable collapse of the Cardinals (and the Blues), I suppose. Hopefully you'll get good enough to lead on Sharkstooth and Coxcomb next summer. I want to tag those summits.
How'd you know what my plan was? I was going to take my old overweight 3 legged dog with me while I'm at it.
Come on guys, I hope this is all in good jest, but I posted this question under 13er's rather than 14er's to try and avoid some of the elitist mockery that seems to just be non-stop in these forums ...
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Peter - that's exactly what I'm worried about. In past years I've found weather.gov has at least given me a reasonably good idea of what to expect for the day, but it hasn't been doing so well for me the past couple of weeks and I'm wondering if we're in for some freak storms, even by CO standards.
highpilgrim wrote:Start climbing in the gym. It's climate controlled.
Beats watching the inevitable collapse of the Cardinals (and the Blues), I suppose. Hopefully you'll get good enough to lead on Sharkstooth and Coxcomb next summer. I want to tag those summits.
How'd you know what my plan was? I was going to take my old overweight 3 legged dog with me while I'm at it.
Come on guys, I hope this is all in good jest, but I posted this question under 13er's rather than 14er's to try and avoid some of the elitist mockery that seems to just be non-stop in these forums ...
Didn't know you were a Cardinal and Blues fan too. My sincere condolences.
