Peak(s): |
Maxwell, Mt - 13,335 feet Cuatro Pk - 13,487 feet "Leaning South Pk" - 13,203 feet |
Date Posted: | 07/28/2020 |
Date Climbed: | 07/23/2020 |
Author: | Mtnman200 |
Peak(s): |
Maxwell, Mt - 13,335 feet Cuatro Pk - 13,487 feet "Leaning South Pk" - 13,203 feet |
Date Posted: | 07/28/2020 |
Date Climbed: | 07/23/2020 |
Author: | Mtnman200 |
No Trees Passing |
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Wednesday, July 22, 2020. My usual partner was unable to do any climbs the next weekend (something about homework, impending final exams, etc.), so I headed to the southern Sangre de Cristos solo to take care of a couple of orphaned peaks that have been on my "to do" list for almost five years. I drove west and south from Walsenburg over Cucharas Pass to North Lake and then west about three miles on Forest Road 411 and another three miles on FR 437 to its abrupt end at 11,700'. There's no good place to set up a tent here, so I slept in the back of my car. ![]() Thursday, July 23, 2020. I followed a climber's trail that took me up Mt. Maxwell's east ridge for a couple hundred feet before fizzling out. That's okay because above treeline a trail is unnecessary. There were some scrubby willows to avoid, but the ridge was easy to ascend. As I got higher on the ridge, it narrowed quite a bit and the tundra and rocks gave way to slabs. ![]() ![]() The occasional scrambling was fun and kept Mt. Maxwell (13,335') from being nothing but an easy walk-up. No register on the summit. ![]() ![]() I'd left a Republic of Texas Mountaineers summit register on Mariquita Peak on 8/6/1998, years before I learned Mariquita was on private property. The register was mentioned in a 2004 ODS report and a 2006 report but probably is no longer there. ![]() ![]() After a brief delay, I headed north toward Cuatro Peak. This involved some easy scrambling, which was more interesting than a tundra stroll. (You'll see the tundra stroll a few photos later.) ![]() ![]() I was surprised to find a summit register on Cuatro Peak. The summit consisted of gentle tundra with a few rocks thrown in for good measure. Much of the tundra was golden brown, as though September was already here, and I wondered if the relatively dry winter was the reason. After a quick food break, I continued north toward Leaning South Peak. ![]() ![]() You can see from the previous two photos that the Cuatro - Leaning South Peak ridge is about as gentle as you'll find anywhere, so I was able to make good time to the summit of Leaning South Peak (13,203'). ![]() ![]() ![]() I briefly considered continuing along the ridge to Leaning North Peak, but decided to skip it because 1) Leaning North is unranked and 2) my goal was to return to Maxwell Peak by noon to stay ahead of the weather. Besides, Leaning North Peak easily could be combined with Trinchera Peak. My return to Cuatro Peak and Maxwell Peak was uneventful, and no more than 20 drops of rain fell by the time I returned to my car. Side note: With a car shuttle, a ridge run from Trinchera Peak to Maxwell Peak (or Maxwell Peak to Trinchera Peak) would make a very efficient way to combine five summits. |
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