Starting up the trail in my leather hiking boots, I met a returning climber who told me the snow wasn't so bad, so I went back and donned running shoes.
The lower trail was totally free from snow, as you can see from the photo at right.
| After climbing Handies in the morning of Oct 10, 1998, I set
out to the north from Grizzly Gulch around 1 PM for Redcloud and Sunshine
peaks--two fourteeners normally climbed together.
Starting up the trail in my leather hiking boots, I met a returning climber who told me the snow wasn't so bad, so I went back and donned running shoes. The lower trail was totally free from snow, as you can see from the photo at right. |
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Below Redcloud was a huge snowfield, but it was easy
enough to step in the footsteps of previous climbers. The climb up the
final ridge to the summit of Redcloud was long and tedious. Then when I
saw Sunshine way in the distance it was discouraging. I spied a climber
hiking along the ridge in between. (She took this shot on Sunshine's summit
looking back on Redcloud above my right shoulder.) Sam is reluctant to
get in the photo. I'm holding a beef jerky wrapper to bribe him. He's smarter
than that though.
Gina Wang hiked the rest of the way down the mountain with us. It was nice to have the company. |
| Sam enjoys the snow and is in his element up high in the mountains. He has climbed every Colorado 14er I have. When he first saw snow today he danced around in it like a puppy. |
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I camped out for the second night at Grizzly Gulch on Oct 10th. The next morning I was up at 430AM to a temperature of 16F! Frost was crystallizing in the air. Very cold! It took me nearly two hours to get my car started, but eventually I was on my way towards the Sawatch Range, where I would climb Mt's Shavano and Tabeguache that afternoon. |
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