Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Jacque Peak - 13,212 feet Copper Mountain - 12441 Tucker Mountain - 12337 Union Peak - 12313
Date Posted	07/02/2017
Modified	07/03/2017
Date Climbed	07/01/2017
Author	rajz06

Just Between Jacque et Moi
Starting Point: Graveline Gulch off CO-91: ~10,220' Peaks Climbed (in order of ascent): Copper Mountain (12,441'), Union Peak (12,313'), Jacque Peak (13,211'), Tucker Mountain (12,337'), Unnamed Peak (12,3XX') Route: Southeast slopes ascent of Copper, ridge traverse to other peaks and descent via Copper Creek RT Distance: ~7.6 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: ~4,140 feet Group: Solo Lacking the services of a 4WD vehicle for the weekend, my choices of peaks to climb were rather limited. The 13ers phone app was helpful in isolating the peaks closest to a major highway. Jacque Peak won the vote and after researching trip reports, I decided to follow in the footsteps of piper14er by climbing Copper Mountain and a few other proximal 12,000-foot peaks. Starting up the lower southeast slopes Climbing the southeast slopes of Copper Mountain was an excellent introduction to the generally steep nature of this hike. The ascent to Copper was direct, climbing some 2,200 vertical feet in a tad over 1.4 miles. Enough said. Steep terrain through the trees I stopped frequently to take in views of the Tenmile range behind me. Pacific Peak in particular was a fascinating sight as I got higher up the hillside. Pacific reaches for the skies behind me Bushwhacking was not necessary as there were sufficient breaks in the foliage to make passage easy. No bushes were harmed during the making of this production Approaching 11,000', I skirted around a prominent mound of scree and continued my ascent up through the rapidly thinning pine forest. Scree mound I mentioned steep, right? Looking down the slope Treeline came at around 11,900', just under an hour after I'd abandoned the incessant roar of CO-91. Approaching treeline The last of the pines I was making good time while still enjoying my first high country outing of the season, so I paused at this high station to take in the views. The Tenmile Range The astute reader may have already guessed that this report will have an inordinate number of views of the Tenmile range. What can I say, other than that I was simply mesmerized by those peaks! More of the Tenmile peaks The striking views of the Tenmile peaks came as advertised, but the the relatively sparse snow cover on the slopes of Copper was a surprise, no doubt. Not much snow on the slopes of Copper My winter backpack was replete with microspikes, gaiters, gloves, but I would have no need for any of them today. The final pitch up to the summit of Copper was on easy grassy terrain. Final pitch to Copper The summit was a good spot to take in more views of, you guessed it, the Tenmile Range! Peaks 9, 10, and Crystal had been part of a memorable outing from three year ago. Atlantic and Pacific was another adventure that I recalled fondly from this vantage. Ahem - the Tenmile Range I then surveyed the ridge route to Jacque Peak: a steep 400 foot drop to the saddle followed by a climb up to Union Peak, and then a 900 foot ascent to the lone 13er of the day. Interesting shot this, as it shows the peaks remaining on the day's agenda, while being framed by the northernmost of the Sawatch peaks on the right, and Colorado's highest on the far left. Jacque et amis The descent from Copper was on similar grassy terrain, also mostly devoid of snow. Dropping off the summit of Copper Lovely pond at the saddle The last bit of the slope up to the top of Union Bowl was a bit rockier. Ridge up to Union is a mix of grass and talus The westernmost of the ridge bumps is the highest point and as I approached it, I heard voices. I wasn't alone They were coming from the ski lift going to the top of "Mountain Chief". Could it be that there were other hikers besides me on this mountain? Perhaps, they were intending to climb Quandary and were lost, I thought to myself as I approached them. Workers on Union, not Union workers, I hope! I chatted with them for a bit and as it transpired, they were working on the lift. Phew, what a relief! I was beginning to fear that low 13ers were no longer the best kept secret in the hiking community. Levity aside, this duo would spend the next two weeks on this mountain replacing the communication lines on the lifts. Indeed, we should all be grateful that someone was doing that job. I thanked them and set my sights on the highest peak of the day. Long saddle to Jacque As I made my way across the long saddle, I mentally mapped my route up its ridge, plotting the best path to avoid the scattered banks of snow. After bisecting a couple of snow fields, I found myself angling to the right of the ridge crest on rocky terrain. Staying right of the crest Terrain that wasn't any different from what I'd encountered on numerous high ridges; large boulders, some not so stable. But something was wrong, as my progress had slowed to a crawl. My breathing was labored and each step came at a price, which was odd considering how easily I'd dispatched the route so far. Par for the course Then it hit me. I hadn't refueled since the proverbial breaking of the fast some six hours ago. Maybe it was the excitement of the first hike of the season, or the joy of exploring the Gore range for the first time; whatever the reason for my forgetfulness, I was now literally running on fumes! I hastily dug into my backpack to fortify myself with a much needed snack. Looking down Jacque's ridge The final pitch was still a struggle, and when I reached the summit, I dropped everything including my derriere on to the summit block. Exhausted, I closed my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Then I opened them to the glory of the Rockies. The namesake snow feature on Mount of the Holy Cross was still intact. Mount of the Holy Cross Farther south in the Sawatch, Mt. Massive was still carrying a fair amount of snow on its northern bowl; also featured in this shot are two shapely Centennials - French and Casco, with Mt. Elbert and South Elbert to the far left. Sawatch Afar Closer to me, Clinton reservoir looked tranquil, nestled by the merging of peaks from two ranges: Tenmile and Mosquito. Clinton Reservoir flanked by two ranges In the next picture, Quandary towers above the rugged, saw-toothed ridge connecting Drift, Fletcher and Atlantic. But none inspire awe quite like Pacific. I think the real monarch of Tenmile is obvious Then I surveyed my return route over Tucker Mountain and another unnamed mound along the ridge that too needed to be climbed. Two more peaks to go I retraced my path down Jacque's north ridge to the saddle and aimed straight for the ridge leading to Tucker. Aiming for Tucker The terrain was grassy and the pitch gentle, which was perfectly fine by me as I jogged up to Tucker and then down to the saddle with its easterly neighbor. Jogging up gentle tundra to Tucker's summit This one has no name but still needs loving And then there were no more bumps to climb. I looked back at Jacque and Union and took stock of the day's work. Looking back at Jacque and Tucker I was still some 2,100 vertical feet above my starting point, and the first part of the descent was on steep terrain. Steep drop Approaching treeline, I sidehilled and dropped into the gully, managing to avoid the deadfall (mostly). Into the gully we go The inevitable crossing of Copper creek came, followed by another steep drop back to the road. Crossing Copper Creek Plummeting down the final pitch And so, yet another season gets underway. Where it will take me and what adventures it will bring, only time will tell. Elevation Profile My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload): Login required to view this map... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Just Between Jacque et Moi

Starting Point: Graveline Gulch off CO-91: ~10,220'
Peaks Climbed (in order of ascent): Copper Mountain (12,441'), Union Peak (12,313'), Jacque Peak (13,211'), Tucker Mountain (12,337'), Unnamed Peak (12,3XX')
Route: Southeast slopes ascent of Copper, ridge traverse to other peaks and descent via Copper Creek
RT Distance: ~7.6 miles
Elevation Gain/Loss: ~4,140 feet
Group: Solo

Lacking the services of a 4WD vehicle for the weekend, my choices of peaks to climb were rather limited. The 13ers phone app was helpful in isolating the peaks closest to a major highway. Jacque Peak won the vote and after researching trip reports, I decided to follow in the footsteps of piper14er by climbing Copper Mountain and a few other proximal 12,000-foot peaks.

Climbing the southeast slopes of Copper Mountain was an excellent introduction to the generally steep nature of this hike. The ascent to Copper was direct, climbing some 2,200 vertical feet in a tad over 1.4 miles. Enough said.

I stopped frequently to take in views of the Tenmile range behind me. Pacific Peak in particular was a fascinating sight as I got higher up the hillside.

Bushwhacking was not necessary as there were sufficient breaks in the foliage to make passage easy.

No bushes were harmed during the making of this production

Approaching 11,000', I skirted around a prominent mound of scree and continued my ascent up through the rapidly thinning pine forest.

Treeline came at around 11,900', just under an hour after I'd abandoned the incessant roar of CO-91.

I was making good time while still enjoying my first high country outing of the season, so I paused at this high station to take in the views.

The astute reader may have already guessed that this report will have an inordinate number of views of the Tenmile range. What can I say, other than that I was simply mesmerized by those peaks!

The striking views of the Tenmile peaks came as advertised, but the the relatively sparse snow cover on the slopes of Copper was a surprise, no doubt.

My winter backpack was replete with microspikes, gaiters, gloves, but I would have no need for any of them today. The final pitch up to the summit of Copper was on easy grassy terrain.

The summit was a good spot to take in more views of, you guessed it, the Tenmile Range! Peaks 9, 10, and Crystal had been part of a memorable outing from three year ago. Atlantic and Pacific was another adventure that I recalled fondly from this vantage.

I then surveyed the ridge route to Jacque Peak: a steep 400 foot drop to the saddle followed by a climb up to Union Peak, and then a 900 foot ascent to the lone 13er of the day. Interesting shot this, as it shows the peaks remaining on the day's agenda, while being framed by the northernmost of the Sawatch peaks on the right, and Colorado's highest on the far left.

The descent from Copper was on similar grassy terrain, also mostly devoid of snow.

The last bit of the slope up to the top of Union Bowl was a bit rockier.

Ridge up to Union is a mix of grass and talus

The westernmost of the ridge bumps is the highest point and as I approached it, I heard voices.

They were coming from the ski lift going to the top of "Mountain Chief". Could it be that there were other hikers besides me on this mountain? Perhaps, they were intending to climb Quandary and were lost, I thought to myself as I approached them.

Workers on Union, not Union workers, I hope!

I chatted with them for a bit and as it transpired, they were working on the lift. Phew, what a relief! I was beginning to fear that low 13ers were no longer the best kept secret in the hiking community.

Levity aside, this duo would spend the next two weeks on this mountain replacing the communication lines on the lifts. Indeed, we should all be grateful that someone was doing that job. I thanked them and set my sights on the highest peak of the day.

As I made my way across the long saddle, I mentally mapped my route up its ridge, plotting the best path to avoid the scattered banks of snow. After bisecting a couple of snow fields, I found myself angling to the right of the ridge crest on rocky terrain.

Terrain that wasn't any different from what I'd encountered on numerous high ridges; large boulders, some not so stable. But something was wrong, as my progress had slowed to a crawl. My breathing was labored and each step came at a price, which was odd considering how easily I'd dispatched the route so far.

Then it hit me. I hadn't refueled since the proverbial breaking of the fast some six hours ago. Maybe it was the excitement of the first hike of the season, or the joy of exploring the Gore range for the first time; whatever the reason for my forgetfulness, I was now literally running on fumes! I hastily dug into my backpack to fortify myself with a much needed snack.

The final pitch was still a struggle, and when I reached the summit, I dropped everything including my derriere on to the summit block. Exhausted, I closed my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Then I opened them to the glory of the Rockies.

The namesake snow feature on Mount of the Holy Cross was still intact.

Farther south in the Sawatch, Mt. Massive was still carrying a fair amount of snow on its northern bowl; also featured in this shot are two shapely Centennials - French and Casco, with Mt. Elbert and South Elbert to the far left.

Closer to me, Clinton reservoir looked tranquil, nestled by the merging of peaks from two ranges: Tenmile and Mosquito.

In the next picture, Quandary towers above the rugged, saw-toothed ridge connecting Drift, Fletcher and Atlantic. But none inspire awe quite like Pacific.

I think the real monarch of Tenmile is obvious

Then I surveyed my return route over Tucker Mountain and another unnamed mound along the ridge that too needed to be climbed.

I retraced my path down Jacque's north ridge to the saddle and aimed straight for the ridge leading to Tucker.

The terrain was grassy and the pitch gentle, which was perfectly fine by me as I jogged up to Tucker and then down to the saddle with its easterly neighbor.

Jogging up gentle tundra to Tucker's summit

This one has no name but still needs loving

And then there were no more bumps to climb. I looked back at Jacque and Union and took stock of the day's work.

I was still some 2,100 vertical feet above my starting point, and the first part of the descent was on steep terrain.

Approaching treeline, I sidehilled and dropped into the gully, managing to avoid the deadfall (mostly).

The inevitable crossing of Copper creek came, followed by another steep drop back to the road.

And so, yet another season gets underway. Where it will take me and what adventures it will bring, only time will tell.

My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

jasayrevt	Good Summits 7/3/2017 2:20pm Very nicely done champ. Way to get a cool, quality Gore Range 13er in there with the route too. Keep climbing safe and strong.
Jay521	It's about time! 7/3/2017 3:10pm It's been too long since I've seen a Raj report. Another nice one, for sure. And, I guess I know what I'm doing this coming weekend - hope you left breadcrumbs...
rajz06	Thanks! 7/5/2017 8:49pm VT: Thanks and likewise! Jay: I'm usually the one following your tracks, so keep at it! :D
awake	Thanks 7/10/2017 9:25pm This is a lot of great info. I'll definitely have to add this route to my todo list.

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