A Foiled Attempt

[flatlanders]

Thanks for that little trip report!

I too got a bit turned around on Molas pass once with a field work buddy of mine on an attempt of Sultan. Cause we were doing field work for school we had no trail maps or information for these peaks and no internet access to figure much out so we just went for it from the CT Trail access. Got no where near it, off trail the entire time, and decided to scramble an awfully sketchy section up to the top of some 12er (if it was even that high) point instead. So you're not alone on that!

Start smaller and work up - Blanca is very doable for those prepared for a long day and light scrambling! Keep at it.

Thanks for the support, Lure! Molas Pass is so beautiful. Makes it all the more deceiving when attempting to gain any peak. Take care!

[flatlanders]

Those boulders on the Bear Creek trail at night after running the Hardrock for two days had me hallucinating so badly.

oh no, you got dizzy too?! something about those rocks.

Consider Handies from American Basin.

Indeed, Handies as well as Sunshine & Redcloud would make a fine weekend.

thank you both for the suggestion, and the support as well! we will look into the Handies.

A third vote for Handies and in extension, the San Juans

Rollie, I think i'll skip the Indiana Jones part! or at least, take something to relax (kidding)

Stick with it - you'll find the type of hiking/climbing that suits you.

thank you, druid2112! you are absolutely right. I think it will take time trying out different routes and types of routes. we will keep at it

Sounds like a bug I got a long time ago. Working methodically from class 1 to 2 to, eventually, 3 and beyond was a great way to overcome my fear of heights.

After 28 years, I finished the 14ers two weeks ago.

Wow, Glenmiz! Congratulations on that accomplishment! Hope you find some fun outlets, aka other mountains, for the bug

To build up you could also try non-summit hikes to lakes or passes - these can avoid talus fields and have good trails. For instance Cathedral lake near aspen; or Elkhead Pass from the Belford trailhead.

great idea, derek! that'll be a nice springboard to build up to more challenging adventures. thank you!

Yes it would. Personally I would start with Handies, and I found that the descent from Redcloud made my quads very sore for a few days afterwards (some of this was due to my notoriously poor route finding that made the descent harder than it should have been). All great mountains though.

Good to know about the descent from Redcloud, Sean. Sounds like you spared us! Navigating is hard, trying to imagine what's on the topo to how it translates to the landscape. Thank you!

[flatlanders]

I think I see the root cause of the issues: the zillion pound packs. If you can get them down to 10 pounds or less for an overnight or less than 5 pounds for a day trip, all of a sudden hiking switches from an exhausting death march into something more enjoyable. Obviously you don't want to go up big peaks without first testing things out more locally to see what you truly need vs what can be left out, but once you are comfortable with your gear (or lack thereof), it is a complete game-changer for mortals like you and me. Badass climbers will vehemently disagree. Cautious climbers will also disagree, but my experience has been that a lighter pack means you are less likely to get stuck somewhere awful due to sore muscles.

For Blanca, going up to Lake Como is a breeze when you have minimal weight on your backs. It also makes the next day into a fun stroll instead of a suffer-fest as you spent all of your energy just making it to base camp. Come back to Colorado a couple more times and those uber-scary portions will seem tame. I have seen that psychological progression for almost everyone. Initially a tame path will seem scary as heck until you can convince your subconscious that everything is just ok. Stick with it and you will have a hobby that you can do until your are almost 90.

My husband and I laughed so hard when we read this, spiderman!! Our subsequent hikes on this particular trip were better because we let go of the idea of backpacking, and just made it the plan to go back to our main camp every day. Truly, thanks for the tips about Blanca, and reconsidering gear and pack weight. Since we (I) am the cautious climber, I feel like I have to have everything with me, "just in case." We will definitely have to do some trial and error with that. Nice to meet a fellow, mere mortal. Thanks again!

[Sean Nunn]

Personally I would start with Handies, and I found that the descent from Redcloud made my quads very sore for a few days afterwards (some of this was due to my notoriously poor route finding that made the descent harder than it should have been). All great mountains though.

Did you descend directly down or cross back over? I descended directly, but would 100% just cross back over next time. I thought it was the best choice the first time, but the rest of my group disagreed.

Descended directly from Redcloud I believe. Reached a place where I could look down at the Mill Creek campground and see my van, but couldn't figure out how to get down without descending some pretty steep talus. So you are probably correct.