I've been listening to a lot of thrash metal recently. You know, classic stuff like Slayer, early Megadeth, Exodus, and a lot of Testament, who I recently discovered. I regret all those years that I didn't know about Testament; I consider the first 32 years of my 33-year-long life a tragic waste since I didn't listen to Testament for any of those clearly deprived years. Anyway, for your listening pleasure, here's what I consider to be Testament's best album, which I of course listened to while hiking alone in the dark en route to Savage Peak as a mountain lion deterrent.

Even the mountain lions headbanged furiously to this classic, and you should too.

Savage Peak, a low thirteener in the Holy Cross Wilderness, is home to the namesake Savage Couloir. I don't know where Savage Peak got its name, considering it's not a particularly striking or rugged peak, but I like couloirs, and therefore I like Savage Peak. The round trip on Savage Couloir is also nice and short, which meant I could get it in before predicted mid-day storms. I'm always a bit wary of climbing couloirs on days with storms, considering the amount of metal on and around me that lightning could zap, but thus far early starts and speed have always kept me out of trouble.

I got started at around 4:45am, and storms were not my main concern at that moment. It was over 50 degrees at the trailhead and I was concerned the entire couloir would be like climbing a half frozen, thousand food long freeze pop minus the cool color, great taste, and childhood nostalgia. I talked to two fellow climbers at the trailhead and they left a few minutes before me. I followed them up the road to the 4WD trailhead, not seeing them, then crossed over Missouri Creek and up to where the trail begins. The trail didn't have too much snow down low, though the snow cover would increase as I hiked, and it was easy to follow. That is, until I came across an absolutely massive avalanche debris field, no doubt from the 2018-2019 season.

The debris field was slow going and a bit treacherous in spots, but not all that difficult. It must have been an insane amount of work for the Forest Service to clear even what they had; being in an officially designated Wilderness area chainsaws aren't allowed, only hand tools and axes, making for incredibly painstaking work.

As I picked my way along, I tried to stay up the slope above the chaos. Savage became obvious here, and the couloir looked filled in from top to bottom.

Eventually the trail became totally snow covered. I hadn't seen this much snow in a while and it was mostly quite solid so I figured the couloir would also be in good shape. Snow on the upper approach was rather suncupped but I cared not. Suncups climb just as well as smooth snow.

I didn't hike all the way to the lakes, cutting southwest shortly before that point. A small, easy creek crossing was required, and then I was above treeline with the couloir staring me down.

I crossed the lower snowfield then scrambled up a melted out moraine to the apron below the couloir, where I ran into Kelly (14ers.com member moon stalker). I had seen her up ahead and thought she was one of the guys I'd talked to at the trailhead who were still nowhere to be seen, strangely enough.

Kelly and I talked for a bit as we strapped into our crampons and got our axes out, and then I took off ahead of her. The initial apron was pretty low angle and I switchbacked my way up until it got steep enough where kicking steps straight up the slope made more sense.

Most of the climbing in the Savage was on Moderate Snow of variable quality. Sometimes I'd kick a step and go straight up to my shin in slush; the next step would be bullet hard; the next would be perfect corn for step kicking. There seemed to be no way to tell what each plunge of my axe, what each kick of my crampon, or what each foot gained would hold.

Along the way I stared in awe at the walls of the Savage, towering above me all up and down the couloir. This has to have been one of the more inset couloirs I've climbed, and though there were rocks embedded in the couloir all the way up nary a pebble fell on this climb.

The couloir continued on at a Moderate Snow angle in the 40s for nearly the entire length, being remarkably consistent the whole way up. The couloir did narrow as it cut across the mountain, which made feel more exciting.

Eventually the two gents from the early morning caught up and began their own ascent behind Kelly and I.

The couloir was a bit of an oddity, since it was angled slightly to the right instead of being straight up and down. This required frequent adjustment of direction of travel, either by short sideways traverses or awkward angled climbing. The latter especially was somewhat irritating, as it would require the left foot to kick high and directly next to the right thigh, risking a crampon point in the leg, followed by a second awkward high and laterally spread kick with the right foot. It was easier to simply zigzag sideways and up than try and angle up.

As I progressed up the couloir I kept an eye on the top out. Kelly thought it might be melted out, but a left-hand, north facing exit would likely still be in if the direct finish wasn't.

The direct finish did in fact prove to be in still, and no cornice was present. The angle here at the very top was steepest but was short-lived. A short rock step to the right would have also gotten me up, had the snow melted out.

From the top of the Savage the true summit was just a couple of minutes away. I was the first to the top, where I took off my crampons and waited for the other three climbers to make their way up.

The four of us hung out to chat for about half an hour before beginning our descent. Going back down the couloir would potentially have been the fastest but the northeast ridge would be the easiest, so what's what we all did.

A few minutes off the summit there was a short down climb on snow that we used our axes on, and from there on the ridge was almost entirely dry as it slowly lost elevation. Along the way we passed points where we could peer over the edge onto the apron, as well as getting a sideways view of the full couloir.

The northeast ridge was quite unexciting, certainly nowhere near as fun as the couloir. It was purely a Class 2 talus type of affair, and while it was fast and easy it was comparatively out of character with the couloir and its massive walls.

Eventually the ridge dropped close enough to the trees to leave it and descend a snow slope into the forest.

I down climbed the first bit of snow weaving around a couple of rock bands and then glissaded down into the trees. At this time of day the snow in the trees was soft and postholing was inevitable, but overall it wasn't as bad as it could have been. If I tried to stick to snow in open areas that had gotten more sun things were more consolidated; snow in the trees was a mixed bag. A couple of small creek crossings led back to my tracks from earlier in the morning.

From there the remaining hike back to the car was easy with exception of that blasted debris field, which at least was a little faster going down.

Along the way Whitney Peak kept me company, and I couldn't help but laugh to myself about it. The entire hulking mountain was a Class 2 walkup with a massive, flat summit plateau, and the true summit is actually a Class 5.6 boulder. So much for keeping things easy in the Holy Cross Wilderness!

I got back at about 10:30, having made great time. Where else did I go for lunch besides High Mountain Pies in Leadville? I can't not go there, guys, I mean really. It's practically a physical law of the universe that one must eat at HMP after a climbing trip in the area. It wouldn't rain for another few hours but when the rain came it just dumped, including some hail. Good thing I'd raced up and down the Savage early! Yet another fun line to add to the list. If you like climbing snow then this route is for you! Headbang on, my friends.

Statistics

Climbers: Ben Feinstein (myself)
Trailhead: Missouri Lakes
Total distance: 9.91 miles
Total elevation gain: 3,041 feet
Total time: 6:08:17
Peaks: One ranked thirteener

• Savage Peak, 13,139'

Splits:

¹Gearing up.