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Bierstadt and other considerations |
What happens when you get a New England winter mountaineer and his son on top of a 14er for the first time together ? This trip report.
The report is is less about what we encountered for conditions (they've changed by now) and more about my "Justin" observations. afer 6 decades of climbing mountains (later)
We saw a lot of very happy people on Bierstadt and well they should be. Heck the sun was arcing in a cloudless sky, the temps between 30 and 50 and visibility extended into several other area codes.
Except for a "little" mud on the way out (like the "little" iceberg the Titanic hit) the trip was idyllic. 80 percent of the vertical was on snow, making us feel right at home. You could route find your way pretty much unimpeded right to the summit. Stop, look and go get it!!!
I'm convinced God created Colorado after he practiced getting it right in the rest of the world.
Which brings me to the hikers/climbers we met. Maybe a hundred or so really social folks.
Several were so social that in many cases they would need the help of others if anything happened to them.
Ill prepared for a trip even to a rock concert, these hikers were in sneakers, cotton socks and no gaiters, 1 liter of water ( a good way to experience a high altitude close encounter with God's image or listening to a rap song backwards) and probably ,I‘m guessing here, no med kit.
I always said you can tell the real ourdoors folks from the newbees by the condition of their gaiters. Check it out .
These must be the experienced hikers because they know that the overcautious ones bring plenty of hydration , a med kit with sun block, wear boots, have gaiters to keep scree and snow and mud off their wool socks, carry a small repair kit for snowshoes/poles/sunglasses.
Yup us "Justins" carry this just in case we have problems or we encounter Fastpack Freddie with his/her Dasante water bottle in one hand and cell phone in the other.
Which bring me to cell phones. (We forgot both of ours in the parking lot,
a real no no in this climbing business) The debate as to whether to carry a cell phone has been pretty much resolved in the eastern winter climbing community.
If you have a cell you bring it. Why some ask? "Im out there for the pristine, natural, flannel silence of the mountains !"
Ya ok fine. But, if you get injured, all that wilderness turns into a very dangerous environment both for you and your rescue party unless of course you have no friends to begin with.
I carry a cell for 2 reasons. 1.To possibly save my life and that of members of a rescue party who will have some idea where to look for me.
2. To report in to our "safety net" person back in the flats that we will calling in later than we wrote in our trip plans.
Having said this, don't call anyone in earshot of other climbers unless they are in your group . Hike with the phone shut off and with a spare fully charged Lithium 1700 milliamp battery.
Having said all this thanks to the great crew on the summit who joined us in our zany glissade down the snowfields !
Onward and upward.
The Climbing Stallion/BMT
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