Mt. Elbert Trip Report 08/01/2016

Peak(s):	Mt. Elbert - 14,438 feet
Date Posted:	08/01/2016
Date Climbed:	07/30/2016
Author:	crowderdds

Elbert - Northeast Ridge by flatlanders
I know a trip report up the Northeast ridge of Mt. Elbert is not novel or exciting to most regular 14ers.com members but as a newby hiker from Kansas City (elev. 960') who summited his first 14er with his 11 year old daughter I wanted to pass along my experience for those, like me, that may dream of standing on the roof of the Rockies someday. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to this website because I used it extensively in the months leading up to our hike and learned so much from the various trip reports (not just up Elbert or just Class 1 climbs). I am 44 and in reasonably good cardiovascular shape having completed several marathons over the years and routinely walk/running 15 miles per week. My daughter has always been in love with the mountains and has dreamed of summiting a 14er for a couple of years (her ultimate goal is Longs Peak but that is several years and many climbs away). This past May in RMNP she set her goal to summit Mt. Elbert before she went back to school. We began walking together several times a week doing as many hill climbs as we could and worked up to her walking 13 miles with me wearing the pack she would wear on the trip (a camelback filled with water was all I had her carry). We also did stair climbers at our local gym but that is so incredibly boring I can't say it really did much to help either of us. I did, however,have her walk on the treadmill for an hour at a time on the highest incline setting and that helped. After doing plenty of research online (and especially on this site) I had the basic gear ready to go for a daypack and trekking poles for both of us. Our biggest concern was the altitude as there was no way we could spend several weeks acclimating. So we set out on July 28th after work and drove to Denver, arriving around 1 am. After a good nights rest we proceeded into Frisco and spent the day hiking around Breckenridge. No caffeine or alcohol and lots of water and carbs were the order of the day. Early to bed (8 pm) and a 3 am wakeup on July 30. We drove to the trailhead with no problems at all - my concerns about finding the route in the dark were unnecessary as there were great signs along the road leading us to the trailhead. We got into the parking lot at 4:45 am and there were just a couple of other cars in the area. We wanted to be on the trail by 5 since our plan was "slow and steady". The TH restrooms were nicer than expected and served their purpose for us and then we were off. I had a daypack with the 10 essentials, 3 liters of water and snacks. My daughter carried a smaller camelback with her water. We each had trekking poles and they quickly became 2nd nature as we began the hike. The trail itself has been documented plenty of times so I will only point out that as a flatlander I quickly lost all sense of distance traveled and that continued for the entire hike. The trail was easy to find even in the pre-dawn darkness. A couple of trailrunner groups passed us within the first 30 minutes but we then had the trail to ourselves until we broke past the treeline. The view from the clearing just below the treeline was simply spectacular with clouds covering the valley and the sun just rising over the mountains. A great sight to encourage us as we saw the foreboding "false summit" that we had read so much about. Fortunately altitude sickness never set in for either of us but we took 5 - 7 minute breaks every hour or so and shorter "standing breaks" as we needed to. I had my daughter in front of me and let her set the pace (and we frequently reminded ourselves to stay slow and steady). The talus field at 13,400' was far harder than we anticipated. That is the one stretch where I took my daughters poles and carried them so she could semi-scramble up the very loose and sandy pathway. This is also the stretch where the Saturday, perfect weather crowd effected our climb as we had to maneuver around multiple people standing in the primary path. Once above the talus field we continued up what everyone says is an "easy hike" to the summit. I have no idea how long that stretch took but the encouragement of the downhill hikers was great as my daughter and I just took it one step at a time until we finally summited at 10:00 am!! It was like a party on the summit with dozens of other hikers enjoying the perfect weather and views. We ate a small meal of turkey and crackers with a couple of oreos and a ginger ale toast to our accomplishment. We stayed for about 40 minutes before beginning our descent. If someone can tell me how to train for descending I would appreciate it because that was a brutal next 3 � hours. Part of the challenge was the crowd coming up forcing you to stop and step aside, part of it was trying to avoid the multiple dogs roaming free and bumping into the back of my legs (that is an entire other issue - I almost fell 3 times from dogs running up behind me on the descent). But mostly it was just the endless downhill on tired legs. Once below the treeline we took about a 30 minute break and then continued on like zombies for the final 2 miles to the TH. We were exhausted but thrilled to have reached our goal. 9 hours of hiking but a lifetime of memories. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Elbert - Northeast Ridge by flatlanders

I know a trip report up the Northeast ridge of Mt. Elbert is not novel or exciting to most regular 14ers.com members but as a newby hiker from Kansas City (elev. 960') who summited his first 14er with his 11 year old daughter I wanted to pass along my experience for those, like me, that may dream of standing on the roof of the Rockies someday. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to this website because I used it extensively in the months leading up to our hike and learned so much from the various trip reports (not just up Elbert or just Class 1 climbs).

I am 44 and in reasonably good cardiovascular shape having completed several marathons over the years and routinely walk/running 15 miles per week. My daughter has always been in love with the mountains and has dreamed of summiting a 14er for a couple of years (her ultimate goal is Longs Peak but that is several years and many climbs away). This past May in RMNP she set her goal to summit Mt. Elbert before she went back to school. We began walking together several times a week doing as many hill climbs as we could and worked up to her walking 13 miles with me wearing the pack she would wear on the trip (a camelback filled with water was all I had her carry). We also did stair climbers at our local gym but that is so incredibly boring I can't say it really did much to help either of us. I did, however,have her walk on the treadmill for an hour at a time on the highest incline setting and that helped.

After doing plenty of research online (and especially on this site) I had the basic gear ready to go for a daypack and trekking poles for both of us. Our biggest concern was the altitude as there was no way we could spend several weeks acclimating. So we set out on July 28th after work and drove to Denver, arriving around 1 am. After a good nights rest we proceeded into Frisco and spent the day hiking around Breckenridge. No caffeine or alcohol and lots of water and carbs were the order of the day. Early to bed (8 pm) and a 3 am wakeup on July 30.

We drove to the trailhead with no problems at all - my concerns about finding the route in the dark were unnecessary as there were great signs along the road leading us to the trailhead. We got into the parking lot at 4:45 am and there were just a couple of other cars in the area. We wanted to be on the trail by 5 since our plan was "slow and steady". The TH restrooms were nicer than expected and served their purpose for us and then we were off.
I had a daypack with the 10 essentials, 3 liters of water and snacks. My daughter carried a smaller camelback with her water. We each had trekking poles and they quickly became 2nd nature as we began the hike. The trail itself has been documented plenty of times so I will only point out that as a flatlander I quickly lost all sense of distance traveled and that continued for the entire hike. The trail was easy to find even in the pre-dawn darkness. A couple of trailrunner groups passed us within the first 30 minutes but we then had the trail to ourselves until we broke past the treeline. The view from the clearing just below the treeline was simply spectacular with clouds covering the valley and the sun just rising over the mountains. A great sight to encourage us as we saw the foreboding "false summit" that we had read so much about.

Fortunately altitude sickness never set in for either of us but we took 5 - 7 minute breaks every hour or so and shorter "standing breaks" as we needed to. I had my daughter in front of me and let her set the pace (and we frequently reminded ourselves to stay slow and steady). The talus field at 13,400' was far harder than we anticipated. That is the one stretch where I took my daughters poles and carried them so she could semi-scramble up the very loose and sandy pathway. This is also the stretch where the Saturday, perfect weather crowd effected our climb as we had to maneuver around multiple people standing in the primary path.

Once above the talus field we continued up what everyone says is an "easy hike" to the summit. I have no idea how long that stretch took but the encouragement of the downhill hikers was great as my daughter and I just took it one step at a time until we finally summited at 10:00 am!! It was like a party on the summit with dozens of other hikers enjoying the perfect weather and views. We ate a small meal of turkey and crackers with a couple of oreos and a ginger ale toast to our accomplishment. We stayed for about 40 minutes before beginning our descent.

If someone can tell me how to train for descending I would appreciate it because that was a brutal next 3 � hours. Part of the challenge was the crowd coming up forcing you to stop and step aside, part of it was trying to avoid the multiple dogs roaming free and bumping into the back of my legs (that is an entire other issue - I almost fell 3 times from dogs running up behind me on the descent). But mostly it was just the endless downhill on tired legs.

Once below the treeline we took about a 30 minute break and then continued on like zombies for the final 2 miles to the TH. We were exhausted but thrilled to have reached our goal. 9 hours of hiking but a lifetime of memories.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

rayers1001	Nice Job 8/1/2016 4:00pm Nice job to both you and your daughter. I think, with a few more high-altitude hikes, summiting Longs Peak is not as far out as you might believe. Especially if you can get a permit to camp in the boulder field. That will let you spread the distance out over a couple days!
nmachol	Great work! 8/1/2016 4:22pm Thanks for the write-up. So cool you and your daughter could share in this accomplishment. Really heartwarming! RE: downward hike, use the heck of your poles for weight support and consider wearing knee braces. Also don't forget that a few stops on the way down are never a bad thing.
Chagster1	More to come 8/1/2016 4:52pm I started hiking 14'ers in 2004 when I lived in Colorado. Every year it gets tougher to hike them since I live in Texas now. Mt Elbert is a great starting peak. I recommend the following mountains before you attempt Longs Peak: Quandary Peak, Grays & Torreys, and finally Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak will give the endurance you will need for Longs Peak. Awesome description of your Mt Elbert Hike. Good luck!

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