| Peak(s): |
Redcloud Peak - 14,037 feet Sunshine Peak - 14,004 feet |
| Date Posted: | 09/26/2008 |
| Date Climbed: | 09/20/2008 |
| Author: | epeffer |
| Peak(s): |
Redcloud Peak - 14,037 feet Sunshine Peak - 14,004 feet |
| Date Posted: | 09/26/2008 |
| Date Climbed: | 09/20/2008 |
| Author: | epeffer |
| Redcloud & Sunshine AKA Greycloud & Sunless |
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If you noticed the report name, Redcloud & Sunshine AKA Greycloud and Sunless - you‘ll probable guess how the weather conditions were on this day. This was my wife‘s first 14er(s), so I was pretty excited to get to the mountain and lead her up. We stayed in Silverton for the night and left at 5:30am to head to Cinnamon Pass road. I just got my new 2008 Jeep Cherokee Larado and was super excited to give it a shot on the pass - not nowing too much about it other than signs saying "4 wheel drive vehicle only". Let me "clarify" this sign for you.  "4 wheel drive vehicles only that are beat to hell and don‘t ming if they get a few scrapes. Don‘t drive if you have a Cadillac Escalade, Jeep Cherokee Larado, or anyother vehicle that may get dented, scraped, fall off a side of mountain, ect."  Yes, my Jeep made it fine, however, there are a few spots on the road that could have messed up the new Jeep; needless to say I took the long way home via Lake City. It was 41 degrees when we left Silverton and 41 when we started our climb at 7:30 am. The hike was neat going through the "enchanted forest" for my wife. As we climbed higher near tree line, there was a snowfield laying over the creek with TWO Carins marking the trailhead. The Carin on the right leads to the basin of Redcloud AND Sunshine that would take you to a Class 3 climb of a scree field (I know some books say it‘s a class 2, but it‘s steep and rocky - could take you a good hour to hour and a half to ascend.) The other Carin is the main trail leading you to Redcloud. At approximately 12,800 feet, the clouds began to get thicker and the wind picked up. I looked behind me and saw the not so unfamilure of SNOW coming my way. I told my wife not all mountains need to be climbed when you come out, but she said "the hell with it, I‘m going on." And so we went, through an hour snow fall, to the top of Redcloud at abot 28 degrees. We then traversed the saddle between Redcloud and Sunshine to Sunshine Peak and celebrated her voctory.  There was only two other people on that mountain that day and we all took the skree field down to the trailhead and back to the cars. All in all, took about 7 hours to summit and return - not too bad for my wife‘s first 14ers. I have been climbing since 1990 and I can honestly say the weather is changing sooner this year it seems. I think we might be in for an earlier winter. Have fun climbing, but be safe at the same time - and be ready for some cold ascents. 
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow): 
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