Lessons Learned

[MNflatlanders02]

Just wanted to let others know near fatal mistakes can occur after hiking/climbing for decades. We'd decided to climb Challenger Point/Kit Carson on 7/22/09 and had researched the route, trip reports, etc. thoroughly - all went well. While in the area we decided to 'bag' Mt. Lindsey on 7/24/09, after years of procrastinating - unfortunately, we did not have access to the Internet at the time so we did not have the appropriate Beta...thought the trail/route would be obvious (mistake #1). Since it was a weekday and we had an early start there was no one to follow up or down. Made it up the gulley but found the steep and loose rock not to our liking. At the top of the gulley there was ice in the slot and many cow paths - went left and ran into really steep terrain and more loose rock (mistake #2). Decided to try a NW ridge descent, but it seemed to run into a drop off so we went left, again (mistake #3). Kept working our way down the west side of the mountain on tiny ledges, up and down loose gulleys, thinking we would eventually find a way out (mistake #4). After three exhausting hours we realized we had to re-ascend the mountain through terrain way over our abilities (Class 4/5). Amazing what one can do when there is a will to live and you are aided by physical strength/stamina. We regained the ridge and were able to follow it down - solid rock is your friend! Other mistakes made included: no notification of where we were going to others, no note on the dashboard of the vehicle (which was parked downhill from the trailhead), and no device to signal for help (cell phone, emergency locater, etc.). Thankfully, we kept our heads, but it was a close call. Swore off climbing 14er’s at the end of the day, but woke up with the resolve to do it again with much better preparation. Be careful out there!

[smaddogc]

Yep Lindsay is a sketchy one.....any one of these mountains can bite you in the ass if you are not careful. Everytime I get a little cocky and think I have climbing these mountains figured out, Mother Nature always finds a way of reminding me not to f**k around.

[bob863]

yep, learned my lesson last Sat. on Snowmass mountain...a rock rolled under my foot and tossed me into another rock...
luckily escaped with only 9 stitches in my shin....could have been much worse....learned I didn't have enough
supplies in my first aid kit....I do carry a SAM splint and had a SPOT Messenger with me....

I'm going to attempt Little Bear, Blanc & Ellie Point, and Lindsey next week......

You're soooo correct...you NEVER know what trail circumstances and Mother Nature are going to throw at you...
you have to be mentally prepared to be challenged and have the where-withall/knowledge/guts/will to overcome/survive..

[Zoomies2010]

Yep Lindsay is a sketchy one.....any one of these mountains can bite you in the ass if you are not careful. Everytime I get a little cocky and think I have climbing these mountains figured out, Mother Nature always finds a way of reminding me not to f**k around.

+1

[Wish I lived in CO]

Yep Lindsay is a sketchy one.....

Lindsey was my first 14er. Being my first 14er the gulley was more than I expected, but taking my time and staying on the right side of the gulley where there is some amount of more solid rock, I went up and down just fine, never was worried about my safety. There is minimal exposure - you'd likely slide a bit, rather than tumble down. The gulley is not overly long. The climbing above imo is only a little easier until you hit the ridge, but it goes quickly. Since then, I've failed to summit Whetterhorn, and Challenger twice. My point being, many people like the class 3/4 N. ridge and that's understandable (more solid I understand), but the gulley is not very technical as it was OK for me and I'm not a very technical climber.

[3rdwoozie]

I fall back on the words of Ed Viesturs, Summitting is optional, coming down is mandantory. The mountain will always be there. I too have been turned around after not just one, but a series of bad choices on route finding. Then to all be hit with storms. We've all read about even the most experienced having difficulties. But I do agree, a plan, as much info as possible, are always the best tools in your pack.

[MNflatlanders02]

By the way, we did summit Lindsey, but forgot to sign-in. We're 31 for 31 attempts (very lucky, so far). I like what 3rdwooozie quoted, "coming down is mandatory"...I think its also where you're more likely to get in trouble.

[paul109876]

The 1st time my wife and I summitted Elbert we were on cloud 9. Accomplishing this together was so special.
On the way down about 200 yards from tree line, cloud 9 decided to pour rain, thunder and lightening. My wife freaked, the route in the trees was muddy and slick, we both busted our butts a couple of times. The route looked different between traveling in the opposite direction and the blowing rain.

Once we made it to the Elbert sign I knew we were home free. This prompted me to buy a GPS, dump those cheap ass walmart poncho's and get real rain proof gear.

By the way, once we got to the 4wd road, the sun popped out.

[catbus-x]

Once climbing Elbert around 13K ft I've got a muscle cramp in my left leg, the pain was so hard I decided to rest (big mistake) and then the pain increases when I tryed to walk, so I have to go down. I felt very frustrated, but I was thinking to continue with the pain. At the end was a good choice to abort the summit.

[aerohr]

If you are concerned about cramping, you should carry salt and stay well hydrated (a good test for hydration is urine color - clear or nearly clear is good, the darker the color the worse it is. When you begin to notice you are thirsty, you are already below appropriate hydration levels... best to always drink more water than you think you need to). At the first sign of a cramp, eat some salt. There are a few options - 1.) just carry salt packets like you'd find at a restaurant - not tasty, but it works. 2.) salt tablets - just swallow them 3.) shot blocks (made by Clif Bar)... the margarita with salt flavor has 3x salt over the others - something like 18% of DV per packet. I've used these with great success at reducing cramps on bike rides. If you are really desperate and have no salt with you, its gross, but you can lick the salt off of your skin (such as your forearms) that you've sweated out. Finally, perhaps the easiest way is to just continually eat/drink salt as you hike. Gatorade, beef jerky, salted peanuts, etc. a 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon of salt added to a liter of Gatorade (or buying the 2x salt "Tiger" Gatorade) is also a good proactive measure.

[hornpeak]

Licking the salt off your skin???? Never heard that one before. or maybe licking it off your climbing partners skin