Mid May trip questions

[anish]

Hi Ptglhs, OP here, thank you for your detailed response! Yup, our plans were definitely not the most well researched , but am trying to go through and find stuff to do now. Would you, or anyone else reading this, know from experience how the Buffalo peaks loop would be like around this time? I saw Alltrails had a shortened loop version that was only 12 miles long, and I was looking into possibly making it into a one night backpacking trip. However, I saw a review from last May that said there was a lot of snow in the middle, and he was postholing a lot. I don't really mind snow and getting snowshoes + microspikes, just don't really wanna do something super dangerous/be crazy out of our depth. I know conditions vary from year to year a lot, and things can change really quick, so sorry if that's a dumb question
Thanks!

[nyker]

Hi all!
Me and two other friends are planning a trip mid may to hike some 14ers. Our plan was originally to fly in on the 15th, hike Mt. Massive on the 16th, the Decalibron loop on the 17th, and then on the 18th backpack to Horn Fork Basin, camp overnight, and then summit Harvard and traverse to Columbia.
Us three are quite physically fit(have a good amount of hiking experience), but lack in experience when it comes to heavy snowy conditions.
I was wondering if anyone can give some wisdom/advice as to if we are out of our depth here and should change course? There doesn't seem to be much updates on the peak conditions section of this website for those couple of mountains, so was reaching out here to see if anyone had any thoughts. For extra information, our home base is going to be in Buena Vista.
Thanks!

If you're specifically planning a trip to climb 14ers, without knowing any of your specific experience and background, from your brief comments sounds like you'd be better off to push this trip off 6 weeks when most of the snow concerns should be mostly gone and those aforementioned peaks would be quite a bit more reliably climbed without much snow on main routes. As others have commented for next week, these will be snow climbs.

What would help for folks giving recommendations to you is to give a short summary of your experience, where you are coming from, any prior summit hiking above 12,000ft and specifically what hikes/climbs you have done and what time of year, etc.

If you are coming to Colorado anyway that weekend and just looking for something to do, then I'd target lower elevation hikes (though which also may have snow).

Another suggestion: if you do have ambitions to learn about snow travel and climb higher mountains in shoulder seasons (like now), you need to get those skills - then look into taking a mountaineering 101 / snow travel course with any of the local mountain guiding outfits:

something like this: They show availability on May 17th.

https://coloradomountainschool.com/cour ... aineering/

[Ptglhs]

Backpacking options:

Buffalo Peaks loop, if the road is open. Several of the forest service roads up there are closed until the 15th of June because the area is a moose breeding habitat. I believe County Road 5 would be open. If you're on the Northern side of the Peaks there's going to be more snow than if you're on the southern side. The trails that are from the West, BV side, require 4wd iirc.

Sand Dunes national park, can also hike over a pass from the east and see/enter the park for free, though it'd be a haul to get to the dunes from there.

A section of the Rainbow trail as a point to point. The whole thing is 100 miles, but you could do Lake creek to Hayden Creek (14 miles, 3300ft of gain) and stay between 7300 and 9300 ft of elevation. That would definitely be snow free and more chances to see wildflowers and trees leafed out. Above 10000ft the aspens are still dormant.

Loop in Lost creek wilderness. Gets up to 11.4, briefly. There'll be some snow for a short section on the Northern point of the loop, but it's manageable. I doubt you'd see another soul out there.

IMG_20250510_081121.jpg

[mtree]

I went snowboarding at Loveland ski area Saturday for their closing weekend. There's A LOT of snow up there! Might be easier to attempt more traveled peaks. Quandary, Bierstadt, Sherman, Grays and/or Torreys. Even the Snitkau to Cupid ridge is a good option. Although Grizzly may be a big bite without gear. If you attempt it stay away from the cornice route and take the class 3 scramble instead.

Enjoy the trip!

[Marmot72]

I’d change from a base at BV. Either center on Great Sand Dunes or go farther west to the SJs, which got pitiful snow amounts this year and have been melting.

From Great Sand Dunes, you could do Blanca and Ellingwood. That might be one long day or a pack on for one night. 13er Herard is another nearby outing. Further north, Owen is another decent destination. You have a lot of 13ers to choose from and the west side is drier.

For SJs, I’d camp outside Lake City. Uncompaghre abd Wetterhorn have seen ascents recently.

[anish]

OP here, posting an update midway through the trip so that hopefully people looking back at this can have some reference. For a better idea on our abilities, we have never been this high up before(prob max out at 9000 for me personally) as I mostly hike in Washington. The first day we were thinking of doing decalibron loop, but checked opensnow.com and saw that sustained wind would be 40 mph and gusts up to 70 mph so we decided to go to the sand dunes instead. We just decided to take it chill and did the Mosca pass trail which was nice. We then spent an hour or so sand boarding down the dunes, which was cool. In the night, we decided to switch from decalibron to quandary, again based on opensnow. We got up a bit late today and only got to the trailhead around 930. For reference, we brought poles and microspikes(which both are mandatory). We got up to 13250 feet, on that false summit right before the real summit, before heading back. The altitude was hitting some of us with headaches, and were overall pretty tired. We had a blast(probably the most fun hike I have done), though, and people on the trail were so nice so thank you for all the tips and advice if you are reading this! The way up, the snow was pretty firm, but on the way back down we started postholing a big, but it was largely ok. I kind of developed a headache while going down, though. I had a lot of fun, even though we didn't summit, and definitely want to return to finish it off. Tomorrow we are planning on going to backpack in lost creek wilderness, specifically on that route that was posted earlier. We might be flexible depending on the conditions, though. I'll update again after the backpacking trip, and will upload some pictures of our trip.

Something we wanted to ask: being from a relatively lower elevation state(Georgia), how do we ensure we don't feel the affects of altitude as much? Is it just practice?
Thanks!

[Ptglhs]

Tomorrow we are planning on going to backpack in lost creek wilderness, specifically on that route that was posted earlier. We might be flexible depending on the conditions, though. I'll update again after the backpacking trip, and will upload some pictures of our trip.

Something we wanted to ask: being from a relatively lower elevation state(Georgia), how do we ensure we don't feel the affects of altitude as much? Is it just practice?
Thanks!

1: I just did that Loop yesterday and today. There's some snow on the Northern highest point of the trail. If you bring microspikes and trekking poles you'll be fine. It's 300 vertical feet and maybe a half mile of some aggravation. The rest of the trail is pretty much snow free. 45 minutes of suck to enjoy some nice scenery is well worth it imo.

2. The majority of altitude sickness is dehydration. Drink plenty of water, mix in some electrolytes, abstain from alcohol if you can, and use Tylenol and ibuprofen. There's really no way to acclimate without being up at elevation, unless you want to spend several thousand dollars on a hyperbaric chamber.

[randalmartin]

Something we wanted to ask: being from a relatively lower elevation state(Georgia), how do we ensure we don't feel the affects of altitude as much? Is it just practice?
Thanks!

In the future, I would plan to arrive in Colorado a couple of days before doing bigger objectives. Maybe do a lower elevation (up to 9k-10k ft) hike on day 2 to acclimate a bit. Advice about hydration is massively important. Drink more than you would at home because your body loses water faster in the dry air.

[Ed_Groves]

The majority of altitude sickness is dehydration. Drink plenty of water, mix in some electrolytes, abstain from alcohol if you can, and use Tylenol and ibuprofen. There's really no way to acclimate without being up at elevation, unless you want to spend several thousand dollars on a hyperbaric chamber.

This is it in a nutshell. High elevations affect everyone differently but the vast majority of us who come from lower elevations will experience some mild symptoms of altitude sickness. I come from Missouri every year to hike in Colorado and, generally, I will have a headache the first two to three days I am out there. Also, I don't sleep as well and my resting heart rate rises 5 to 7 bpm. To deal with it, save the hikes and climbs requiring the most physical effort until later in the week. When climbing 14ers, they all require a good effort for me, so early in my trips I am feeling the elevation more but I am still able to complete my hikes. After three to five days, you should start to feel much better.

[nyker]

Something we wanted to ask: being from a relatively lower elevation state(Georgia), how do we ensure we don't feel the affects of altitude as much? Is it just practice?
Thanks!

Not really practice, but acclimatization, getting your routine down, getting your "mountain legs" and not rushing into it.
You mention you got a headache going down; I've found on many of my trips many folks remember well to practice proper breathing while ascending out of necessity, but many times, people forget to breathe properly on the descent contributing to headaches at altitude.

As randalmartin said, plan more time before heading up a 13er or 14er next time you come out. Coming from sea level your body will thank you. You'll read a lot of peoples climbing times and aggressively packed schedules of climbs in one-two days, but often what you won't realize, is some folks are able to be out at elevation once a month or even more frequently and are basically pre-acclimatized before starting, and many live above 5,000ft so have a built in buffer against the altitude. When I had more time and was able to climb roughly every 4-6 weeks for a few month block of time, by the 3rd trip, I was basically acclimatized and could climb the morning after flying in. Some will argue against that being the case, but there is a benefit I experienced that lingers from recent trips to altitude I found that lasts at least 2-3 weeks, making each successive trip more efficient and productive. You might experience this also.

Similar as from coming from NY, coming from GA (2hrs time difference), that time zone will make a difference also, at least initially. Ease into the early starts, if you normally going to bed at 11:30pm, then suddenly awakening at 2am to exert yourself will give your body fits. Figure out what works best with sleep timing and wake times. Your diet will/should likely be different above 10,000ft vs sea level which will impact performance, experiment with what works.

You said you were all "quite physically fit", so I'm assuming you have a solid aerobic base, but if not, then I'd work on that to help in the mountains on long days.

Good luck on future trips!

[mtree]

I have friends from sea level come out almost every year. Its the same ol same ol. Getting "acclimated" for a couple days at lower elevation never works. You just don't have enough time. (Sounds like you inadvertently did it anyway with Sand Dunes trip. So you learned its not effective.) I found the most effective method is hydration. LOTS of it!!! And not always water. Use electrolytes. Body Armor has a better amount that Gatorade, but you can also purchase powders that are even better. The usual advice of don't overdo the alcohol (beer preferred over anything else), get sleep/rest, and use ibuprofen if needed is all tried and true. Some days are better than others. The important thing is you had a good time!!!

Some folks swear by a couple cups of coffee (caffeine) in the morning. But that could just be the extra intake of hydration. Who knows. Can't hurt!

[astranko]

I have friends from sea level come out almost every year. Its the same ol same ol. Getting "acclimated" for a couple days at lower elevation never works. You just don't have enough time. (Sounds like you inadvertently did it anyway with Sand Dunes trip. So you learned its not effective.)

*buzzer noise*

Incorrect!

Every reputable source on high (or higher-than-average) altitude climbing recommends taking days at intermediate altitudes to acclimatize. It is the only reputable and established way to reduce the effects of altitude. The physiology of altitude and exercise is complicated, but the one true universal is that you do acclimatize, it takes time, and it can't be cheated.

There is a small amount of circumstantial evidence that for very highly trained athletes who cannot spend 2-3 days acclimatizing that arriving on location as close as possible to the event (<6hrs), doing the event, and then immediately leaving back to lower altitudes could be more beneficial than spending 12-24 hrs at altitude before an event.

https://www.uphillathlete.com/wp-conten ... itudes.pdf