Sherman (or other class 2) saturday 3-5?

[Jay521 Profile 14er Peak List (38) 14ers in Winter (9)13er Peak List (84)Trip Reports]

Strong congratulations on getting Sheridan in these conditions, Jay. Kudos!!

Did you see the fiasco a little further up the road toward Leavick? I wondered about that truck that was stuck, with a couple more cars past it, and how they were going to get out. On our way back out we saw the tow truck. The tow truck had a flat. Poor guy was definitely having a bad day. They got it fixed, though, and everyone got out ok.

I did see a Jeep Wagoneer that was stuck. The tow truck was just starting to try and get him out when I went by him (about 2PM) Didn't see any others trying to get by it. I parked back where most people did, I think - mine was the FJ with Vietnam Vet tags. I learned a long time ago that the extra half mile you drive can add hours to your exit. Had to spend the night in my truck once because someone abandoned their vehicle blocking the exit. Won't make that mistake again.

PS - I just emailed you a few pics I took of Sherman while I was on Sheridan. Feel free to use them in any trip report you write and I don't need any credit. Actually, next you your pics, I don't want any credit!!!

[lydiah Profile 14er Peak List (5) Trip Reports]

I attempted to go up St. Mary's to James Peak and only made it to the top of the glacier. The winds were just unreal... congrats to those who made a summit in that!!

[moon stalker Profile 14er Peak List (58) 14ers in Winter (16)13er Peak List (113)Trip Reports]

I thought those two skiers with the stuck ?blazer? with wisconsin plates made it to the top of Sherman? Maybe they didn't make it all the way, I lost sight of them in the whiteout. I made it over to White Ridge. Like Jay, I was crawling at times on that ridge, really bad winds. On the way out there I didn't attempt to get any measurements, I had to focus on staying upright. Fortunately on the way back, the winds seemed to lighten up a bit. I got a max of 49 mph, not too bad. But that wasn't the worst for sure. I'm quite sure there were longer gusts in the 50s when I had to stop hiking and brace against the wind. Even the max of 49 I measured didn't make me stop hiking, albeit I was walking sideways.
Yeah, the wind sucked. Oh well.

[Dancesatmoonrise Profile 14er Peak List (58) 14ers in Winter (43)Trip Reports]

Jay, thanks.

Lydiah, true! And congrats again to Boggy B, fepic 1, and Jay521 for successful summits yesterday despite adverse conditions.

Moon stalker, thanks for the measurements. We wished we had an anemometer up there. It would have been interesting to see what they were in the saddle between White and Sherman. If one has ever ridden a motorcycle on a highway, it gives some sense of what various wind speeds feel like (at lower altitude.) I believe it takes higher wind speeds to do the same at higher altitude b/c the air is thinner. But it gives one a rough approximation. I would not be surprised to learn maximum wind speeds at the White/Sherman saddle reached in excess of 75 mph yesterday.

[mountainjam Profile 14er Peak List (58) 14ers in Winter (2)13er Peak List (63)Trip Reports]

Many thanks to Brian, Joe, Nick, Matt, and Dwight for the great company, and a good trip in challenging conditions.

It was nice meeting you guys yesterday. It's a bummer that you couldn't summit but the conditions up high looked awful. When I turned around you could barely see Sherman - whiteout conditions up there. Let's get together for another hike sometime, next time I won't have any time restraints.

Nick

[devo Profile 14er Peak List (57) 14ers in Winter (1)13er Peak List (13)]

We were in the same neighborhood yesterday. Our group of Alby, Baumgara, myself and one more made it up Silverheels yesterday. It was pretty brutal but we got up and down with only a little frostbite.

Heading up to the ridge of Silverheels around 12,800

silverheels.jpg (22.55 KiB) Viewed 802 times

[moon stalker Profile 14er Peak List (58) 14ers in Winter (16)13er Peak List (113)Trip Reports]

It would have been interesting to see what they were in the saddle between White and Sherman.
I would not be surprised to learn maximum wind speeds at the White/Sherman saddle reached in excess of 75 mph yesterday.

I'm confused. I was on the saddle between White and Sherman, after having gone over that long freakin ridge to White and back, with my meter out measuring. Max was 49. Qualitatively, the wind was not as bad between noon and one coming back off White compared to before noon when I went out there and I had to brace against the wind several times. I think I saw you and another person going up the saddle to Sherman just as I came down the saddle. I don't think winds where I was, even on the long ridge with no protection, were too much over 60. I just had to brace against the wind, none really pushed me over like I've had before in 70 mph (measured) winds (except for right near the summit where I had to practically crawl).

[reff1198 Profile 14er Peak List (16)]

I was the "second person" with Jim trying to get to Sherman....I am not sure on the exact mph but I am 6 foot 3...185 and I was getting thrown around. There were atleast 3 times where I got knocked off my feet.

BTW, there was a group of 4-6 people that started at 8 am...did anyone summit?

[mrickers Profile 14er Peak List (25) 14ers in Winter (3)13er Peak List (26)]

George and I made it to roughly 300 feet from the summit by the standard southwest ridge. The winds were absolutely fierce....at some points we had to drop and wait for the gusts to pass. Needless to say it wouldn't have been a great idea to continue on so we turned around.

[jagiammaria Profile 14er Peak List (23) 14ers in Winter (2)]

I had a blast climbing with you guys. If I meet up with any of you again I'll try and get more than 4 hours of sleep before so I can try and pretend like I'm keeping up. Didn't get many chances to take pictures, but here's a few. The first and second really show how the visibility up top changed.

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[Dancesatmoonrise Profile 14er Peak List (58) 14ers in Winter (43)Trip Reports]

After Saturday, I said to heck with the precip forecast and decided to look strictly at winds on the GFS/ETA 500mb plots - and behold, Monday (today) looked like low winds. I figured, never mind the snow; I'll deal with a few inches of new on the car.

Turns out this was the teensiest winter weather window - hit it this morning with Dave Cooper - we had a gorgeous morning; sunny, warm, calm, beautiful. By the time we were headed off the summit it was white-out. We had just talked about GPS being superior to map/compass/altimeter in such conditions - maybe. Then found Dave's GPS dead. (I'm a map/compass kind of guy myself.) It was a tad disorienting, but we got south out of the White/Sherman saddle, where it was more clear, and mostly booted it through fresh snow back to the cars, where it was snowing lightly. The only casualty of the day was sunburn. My face is trashed. Dave was in a T-shirt this morning at 13,500. What a difference 48 hours makes.

[moon stalker Profile 14er Peak List (58) 14ers in Winter (16)13er Peak List (113)Trip Reports]

The only casualty of the day was sunburn. My face is trashed. Dave was in a T-shirt this morning at 13,500. What a difference 48 hours makes.

Oh that's just not fair! I declare if you're wearing a t-shirt, it can't be an official winter summit.
j/k. Good job. Wish we had a day like that on Sat.