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Mini
Peak(s)  Quandary Peak  -  14,272 feet
Date Posted  10/09/2005
Date Climbed   10/09/2005
Author  debbie
 Quandary - West Ridge with Fletcher   
As it is well into the fall and thunderstorm chances are at a low, doumall (didumall!!) and I started out the day of hiking around 10:30 from Blue Lakes TH (much different then what were used to). We found a clear trail through the bushes, though slightly braided, which headed up into the hanging basin. We planned on summiting Mt. Fletcher first, a centennial 13er, so instead of following the cairned route at the top of the basin, we contoured directly towards Fletcher, through broken cliffs and ledges. From here the route was clear, going over a large talus field. After summiting Mt. Fletcher we headed towards the West Ridge. We followed the ridge with ease (class 2) until just above 14,000ft. The remainder of the hike is climbing over the first tower, going around the second tower on the north, and descending a loose gully to the south to bypass the remaining set of towers. Climbing back up the gully on the other side of the towers was a bit of a pain - one step up, half a step back, but completely manageable. After reaching the top of the gully its an easy walk to the summit - my 34th. We descended down Cristo couloir which is steep loose scree and talus. This descent isnt great for the knees but provides a fairly quick descent route to Blue Lakes TH. We had a great blue sky day with little wind and were glad to have fit in a hike before the snow starts really coming down in the mountains.

Heres a pic of the West Ridge from Fletcher.

(img:3e60d7d6b1)http://www.14ers.com/images/uploads/u00188_p13__Quandary_WRidge_1.jpg(/img:3e60d7d6b1)



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