Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
Unnamed 11180 - 11,180' (Class 3/4)
"Tarryall Peak" - 11,780' (Class 2/3)
The Catamount (Attempt) - 11,695' (Class 4) Total Mileage - 22.5 miles
Elevation Gain - 5900'
Trailhead - Twin Eagle
Fellow travelers - Clay (claybird) and Brian Thomas
Backtracking... About 15 months ago, I posted a farewell trip report that I assumed would be my last as a Colorado resident. The family and I moved from Denver to Grand Rapids, Michigan and started enjoying the new lifestyle that it held. After work trips to the beaches of Lake Michigan, helping out with the family farm, and simply being closer to my extended family were all a lot of fun, and we really had a good time being there. However despite all of this, the years of wandering Colorado and collecting summit views remained fresh in my memory.
Finally, during this past summer of 2014, my wife and I made the realization that our hearts were still stuck in Colorado. We sold our second home in as many years (ugh) and loaded up the family (which had increased by one) and made our way back. Fortunately, during my entire time Michigan I was able to maintain my job in Denver, so this made readjustment to the area much smoother.
Back in the Saddle I'm sure that it will come to very little shock to those that know me, but one of the first things I did after returning was head straight for the mountains. (Within 48 hours I already had a couple IPW summits visited.) My legs obviously were a bit under-trained from my time in the flatlands, but it still felt great to be back. Almost as soon as I had announced to family and friends that we were headed back, I received a message from Brian Thomas inquiring about an attempt on UN11180 in the Lost Creek Wilderness. This secluded summit had been on my to-do list since I first saw it 8 or so years ago, and being one of only a handful of my remaining LCW summits I was obviously interested. We expanded the plan to make it an overnight and visit some Lake Park area peaks on day two. Clay (Claybird) is always up for joining trips to lesser-known areas promising tough terrain and hard scrambles, so he was in too.
Report Note: There are a number of individuals who are uncomfortable with too much information being provided on some of these secluded areas within the LCW. I understand this feeling, as these are some beautiful and remote areas. I also understand that an intriguing part of this area is the unknown. Based on this, I have avoided using too much detail regarding the final summit routes to leave the enjoyment of discovery to those following after.
Day 1 - Under Yellow Leaves and a Bright Sky : UN11180 Our gang of three reached the Twin Eagle trailhead (off Tarryall Road, about 10 miles south of the reservoir) around 10:00AM. This was quite late, but the weather looked to be great and camping high up allowed us the extra time. (Hindsight, leaving an hour or so earlier would have probably saved some rushing at the end of the day.) Our first goal of the day was to reach a planned camp in McCurdy Park. The six mile trek up to McCurdy Park with overnight packs (and recovering flatland legs) was a chore. For late September, it was quite warm so we made sure to take in a good amount of water breaks. Eventually, we reached the intersection of McCurdy Park Trail at SW corner of the open expanse of the park. We found a good site, dumped off overnight gear, and repacked for the 5.5 mile out and back to UN11180.
Brian and Clay starting out on the Brookside/McCurdy Trail near the Twin Eagle trailhead. The Catamount is the highest point in the distance.
Passing through one of the many aspen groves along the trail.
Back in the LCW again....
Tall aspens towering over Clay.
McCurdy Park, looking west towards the lower slopes of McCurdy Mountain.
McCurdy Park Tower from near camp.
UN11762 and McCurdy Mountain from camp.
UN11180 is a peak that is tiny in comparison to the large mass of McCurdy Mountain next to it, but makes up for its small size in both technicality (considered class 5 by its easiest route up until a few years ago when a class 3/4 route was discovered) and in its isolation from any nearby trail. Located just east of McCurdy, the shortest route to the peak is from Lost Park to the north, but this involves a descent and ascent out of the McCurdy creek drainage with the promise of plenty of bushwhacking. The longer and arguably gentler approach is via a 5.5 mile out and back from McCurdy Park. (Adding the approach, this makes for around a 17.5 roundtrip if going for this peak only... a real leg killer.) This was our approach, although if we had planned this as a day trip we likely would have followed the Lost Park option. Our path to the base of the peak from McCurdy Park involved following a due north heading, attempting to stay at around 10,900' with the slopes of McCurdy on our left hand side. There were a number of small passes to go up and over on the way, but travel wasn't overly difficult in terms of bushwhacking. (We did learn on the return that for some areas it was easier to drop and reascend to the passes rather than try maintaining elevation simply for sidehilling/deadfall issues.)
After 1.5 hours from camp, we finally arrived at a small meadow below the towering south slopes of 11180. It is truly a beautiful and impressive looking peak. Following the path of least resistance, we made our way up and around the west side of the peak leading us to the north side of the summit area. From here, we were able to explore and find a passable way to the large, bouldery summit. This summit ranks high on my list best views in the LCW (behind Tarryall Peak the next day) and we were the first register entries in over a year. Part of the reason for the great views was due to the approaching sunset over McCurdy. The fading sun and late hour made our summit stay quite short, and we wanted to avoid any chance of navigating the 2-3 mile bushwhack back to camp in the dark. We carefully descended our ascent route and retraced our steps back to camp, trying to keep up a good pace despite tired legs as we watched the sun disappear behind McCurdy Mountain. We reached camp just in time to pump water before we had to break out headlamps. After a quick dinner, we retired at 8:00 with plans to arise at first light.
Derek and Clay headed out towards UN11180. Image by Brian
Some of the easier terrain between camp and UN11180.
Looking south-east on the trek to UN11180.
Interesting rock formation near UN11180.
The impressive south slopes of UN11180.
Sandy bench and tree below the summit area.
North side of the summit area.
Brian on top, Clay on his way.
Unique summit area.
Brian carefully descending.
Clay descending.
Brian descending.
Double time back to camp before darkness hits.
Day 2 - Repeats, Failures, and Reasons to Return : Tarryall Peak and The Catamount When we awoke to a brightly lit tent and a very chipper robin, we realized the "arise at first light" didn't happen. No worries, as we were able to grab breakfast and break camp quickly. Once packed up, we returned south on the Brookside/McCurdy Trail about 1 mile to the intersection of the Lake Park Trail. We took this trail as it ascended 800 or so feet wrapping around the base of "Tarryall Peak" until it leveled out around 11,600'. Here we ditched our overnight packs and headed up the NE slopes for the final couple hundred feet to the "Tarryall Peak" summit. This was a repeat for me, however my previous time up I do not recall anything beyond class 2, but this time we definitely had class 3 terrain. So I guess there are a couple different ways to get up there!
I can speak with absolute honesty that this summit provides the best views of any peak I've been on in the LCW. The close proximity to the Lake Park trail means that it sees a good number of travelers, and this is confirmed by the activity in the register. This peak also gave us a good look ahead at the next peak on the agenda: "The Catamount".
Rock formations near Tarryall.
The Catamount from the summit of Tarryall.
View from Tarryall.
Brian browsing the summit register of Tarryall with the Puma Hills in the background.
The Catamount is an intriguing little peak about a half mile from Tarryall Peak. Although it is unranked, it has quite a good reputation. Kane has a very good Summitpost page dedicated to this complex mountain. (see HERE.) To reach Catamount from our descent from Tarryall Peak, we continued down the trail towards Lake Park. Around 11,200', we again stashed our backpacks and began a steady ascent up to the east face of the peak. Everything within around 200' of the summit was quite steep with plenty of deadfall, so great care was taken. We attempted multiple lines to reach the summit ridge, but each ended with too technical of terrain without using any gear. (We had decided against bringing any gear on the trip for weight purposes, and knowing that there would be at the least class 4 options for each summit on our itinerary.)
After some trial and error, we finally discovered what we believed to be the route identified on Kane's Summitpost description. Unfortunately, by that time the sky had clouded up quite a bit. The first 15-20 feet of the climb appeared to hold the toughest climbing, and although we all were fairly confident we could make it up that section without gear, none of us wanted to even take the chance of descending the same spot in wet conditions. So on our final peak of the weekend and around 40 feet shy of the summit, we decided to pull the safety card and put the summit off for another day. At the very least, we got a great look at what we would face on our return.
We navigated the steep, wooded terrain back to our packs and descended to Lake Park just as the raindrops started spitting. We continued down the trail past brilliant yellow leaves to Hankins Pass, then headed west down to Lizard Rock junction. From there, we took the short spur trail that connected us back to the Brookside/McCurdy trail that we came in on the day before. Eventually, our luck ran out and the small spitting rain turned into an all-out downpour/thunderstorm about 1 mile from the trail head.
We made it back the trailhead wet and exhausted, but content from a good weekend of fun in the wilderness.
Scrambing up to the east face of the Catamount.
Clay and Brian ascending one of the "no-go" routes.
Another "no-go" route. Clay looking perturbed at all my wrong route guesses.
Lake Park as the rain comes rolling in.
Exiting Lake Park.
More aspens along the Lake Park Trail.
It was great to get back to one of my favorite places in its most spectacular season. It also feels good to be home.
wise wise decision dude! And you even got Clay to come out and play. He makes those aspens look small. BT, there you at - If you fellers make it into RMNP and the IPW lemme know. Enjoy the fall!
I didn't really know you had left but glad you're back in CO again.
You were the reason I did Bison a few years ago, and I need to get back into the Tarryalls again sometime. Beautiful report! Looked like peak color time with the trees! Lovely!
Did you manage to collect all of the balloons that accumulated in the LCW during your absence?
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
- If you fellers make it into RMNP and the IPW lemme know. Enjoy the fall!
