First 14ers - Plan Assessment

[ZNixon]

I'm anxious to finally say that I'll be heading to Colorado at the end of August, with plans to hike/climb my first two 14ers, Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive! I plan to arrive around 7am-8am on Friday 8/30/2019, and set up camp immediately. I wanted at least a full day in the area before hiking to hopefully acclimatize, so I plan to just hang out all day Friday and maybe do a little hiking on the Colorado Trail before passing out early. I typically adjust to altitude and climate changes very quickly, and am hoping this will be the case while in Colorado! Anyway, I plan to wake up around 3:30am-4:00am on Saturday, and start my ascent on Elbert before 5:00am taking the Northeast Ridge route. I'm fairly quick when I hike solo, and my main goal is to get to the summit as early as possible to avoid lightning and hopefully spend a little while taking pictures. (Any info on Elbert/Massive weather between 08/30-09/02 in the past would be wonderful, by the way!) Of course I'll be descending back to camp next, and most likely packing up to move closer to the Mount Massive Southwest Slopes trailhead. I'm not sure where to camp the night before attempting Massive, but I've heard camping right along the CO Trail is acceptable. (Any Advice?) My plan for Massive is similar, wake up around 3:30am-4:00am and get started by 5:00am.

Does this plan sound feasible, or like a somewhat solid gameplan? I have good solid gear, and some experience, just no experience in Colorado. My main worry/anxiety is the trail-finding on the Southwest Slopes of Massive, but I'm thinking with a GPS watch I should be fine as long as I pay attention. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!!

[tjmartn1]

Sounds alright but I would imagine you don't need to move camps, the trailheads are pretty close together for each mountain and there's a ton of dispersed camping along the road so you shouldn't need to camp along the CO trail.

You shouldn't worry at all about routefinding on the SW slopes route, as it has a very well-defined trail nearly the entire way, there likely won't be any snow slopes to cross (there's just one now and it's low consequence and low angle) and the avalanche debris blocking the route has decently defined paths through them already (stay right on the way up, left on the way down).

[davebobk47]

Plan seems good - weather that time of year typically is past monsoon but early start is always best. Massive is still loaded with snow but guessing route should be clear by then. SW slopes route finding is fine - might want to have the turnoff marked so you don't head up toward Oklahoma. There is plenty of camping along road to Massive TH and at TH itself. Last 1/2 mile up to Massive SW slope TH is a bit rough - not sure what vehicle you have but that could be an issue. Then again it wouldn't be adding much distance if you had to hike it.

[ZNixon]

Plan seems good - weather that time of year typically is past monsoon but early start is always best. Massive is still loaded with snow but guessing route should be clear by then. SW slopes route finding is fine - might want to have the turnoff marked so you don't head up toward Oklahoma. There is plenty of camping along road to Massive TH and at TH itself. Last 1/2 mile up to Massive SW slope TH is a bit rough - not sure what vehicle you have but that could be an issue. Then again it wouldn't be adding much distance if you had to hike it.

Sounds alright but I would imagine you don't need to move camps, the trailheads are pretty close together for each mountain and there's a ton of dispersed camping along the road so you shouldn't need to camp along the CO trail.

You shouldn't worry at all about routefinding on the SW slopes route, as it has a very well-defined trail nearly the entire way, there likely won't be any snow slopes to cross (there's just one now and it's low consequence and low angle) and the avalanche debris blocking the route has decently defined paths through them already (stay right on the way up, left on the way down).

Thank you both for the advice and information! I'm happy to learn that I shouldn't have to move camps, and that I may be able to find easy camping close to the trailheads! I'll be driving a GMC Terrain, no 4WD but it sits higher than some SUVs. I doubt I'll be able to make the last 0.5 miles, I'll just trek it! Is there anywhere to park off the road once you hit the last 0.5miles?

[tjmartn1]

There are dispersed sites and pulloffs that would fit a vehicle all along the 4wd road. I took a Forester up the road a short ways until it got rougher than I liked and just found a convenient pullout to park in for the day. The worst parts are very close to the upper trailhead so you will be able to get pretty close to the top and finding a place to park if you don't feel comfortable is easy.

[nunns]

Plan looks good to me. My only advice is to start early, but don't start fast. Give your body time to warm up and adapt to the effort of climbing at altitude the first hour of each climb.

Also, don't be disheartened when you exit the trees on Massive. The summit will look like it is still 10 miles away, but it isn't.
Above all, enjoy the views.

Sean Nunn

[ZNixon]

There are dispersed sites and pulloffs that would fit a vehicle all along the 4wd road. I took a Forester up the road a short ways until it got rougher than I liked and just found a convenient pullout to park in for the day. The worst parts are very close to the upper trailhead so you will be able to get pretty close to the top and finding a place to park if you don't feel comfortable is easy.

Excellent! Thank you for letting me know, it's one anxiety to cross off my list!

Plan looks good to me. My only advice is to start early, but don't start fast. Give your body time to warm up and adapt to the effort of climbing at altitude the first hour of each climb.

Also, don't be disheartened when you exit the trees on Massive. The summit will look like it is still 10 miles away, but it isn't.
Above all, enjoy the views.

Sean Nunn

Thank you, Sean! This is great advice, I'm glad you said something about the initial pace! I'll remind myself to start slowly, and pick up pace when I feel my best after a mile or so and take a few breaks. And also thank you for the warning on Massive, I'll definitely keep my spirits high! Hopefully I'll see some of you up there, some day!

[tjmartn1]

I'm not sure Sean's advice on Massive applies to the SW slopes route. You can't even see the summit on that route until you're basically on it.

[rijaca]

I'm not sure Sean's advice on Massive applies to the SW slopes route. You can't even see the summit on that route until you're basically on it.

Maybe Sean can see it from Raytown, MO. It is Massive.

[mtree]

From the SW slopes route I don't recall being able to see the summit even while hiking along the ridge. Its not obvious until just before the final summit pitch, I think???
Maybe I wasn't paying close attention. After all, I did miss the "exit" on the descent and began heading down the east slopes route. That sucked. Talk about getting your bearings out of whack. And the upclimb to find the intersection was a blast I'll never forget.

[ZNixon]

From the SW slopes route I don't recall being able to see the summit even while hiking along the ridge. Its not obvious until just before the final summit pitch, I think???
Maybe I wasn't paying close attention. After all, I did miss the "exit" on the descent and began heading down the east slopes route. That sucked. Talk about getting your bearings out of whack. And the upclimb to find the intersection was a blast I'll never forget.

Can you explain the upclimb that you're referring to? I'm curious!

Also, how can I avoid having the same issue on the descent?

[nunns]

I'm not sure Sean's advice on Massive applies to the SW slopes route. You can't even see the summit on that route until you're basically on it.

Maybe Sean can see it from Raytown, MO. It is Massive.

Hahaha, yeah, that's what it is.
Like I sometimes do, I didn't bother to check which route the OP was climbing. Tjmartin1 is correct; I was thinking of the standard route, so disregard that bit of advice OP.

Sean Nunn