Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Jagged Mountain - 13,833 feet PT 12890 Leviathan Peak - 13,534 feet Vallecito Mountain - 13,440 feet
Date Posted	08/16/2012
Modified	08/17/2012
Date Climbed	07/31/2012
Author	Chicago Transplant
Additional Members	shanahan96, Floyd, Papillon, wooderson

Lost in The Weminuche Part 2: 99 Problems
Lost in the Weminuche Part II: I got 99 problems but Jagged ain't one! Prelude to Jagged: First, thanks Scot for the great write up of the first part of our journey! It was an interesting few days for sure, and it sure did feel good to ditch that 60 pound pack for a light day pack yesterday. Once back at camp that evening, Jamie on his way back from Vallecito and Leviathan finally met up with us and we were able to make plans for Tuesday to meet him on our way to Jagged. Even the prospect of carrying a rope all day for Jagged seemed to pale in comparison to 9 days worth of food and camping gear! Jagged was the #1 goal for us on this trip, and is arguably the hardest peak in the highest 100, and to the four of us who have done the "Big 3", it definitely tops our list. Dallas would be second, the tech pitch is short and not too difficult, but there are some class 3 and 4 ledges to get to it. Teakettle has a little longer technical section, but the approach is almost completely class 2 with basically one class 3 move. Jagged was a huge mental and physical challenge, once you engage the first crux you basically have to be "on" until you get off the mountain, the class 2+ and 3 ledges demanded more attention than expected, and the cruxes were sometimes wet, and oftentimes devoid of confident holds. It is a mountain that intimidates many who see it, in fact on the approach hike a lady on the Vallecito trail told Jamie not to climb it, her words were "You can't climb that, you'll die". Jagged Alpenglow on Approach If you're having peak problems, I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but Jagged ain't one. The year is twenty twelve, and packs are getting raw In our rearview mirror is a peak that most would awe. We had two choices y'all, climb to the summit or - Bounce back to camp afraid to climb it anymore... --Chicago Transplant parody of 99 Problems by Jay Z Day 4: Tuesday August 31, 2012 - Jagged Mountain and PT 12890 (maybe 3 miles, 3000' vertical) For the first time we were not awakened at 3am by rain on the tents, instead it was the typical "beep beep" of the 4am alarm that pulled us from our slumber. Encouraged by the dry night, we woke with excitement and of course butterflies in our stomachs for the climb that lay ahead. After not even 5 minutes on the use trail, we took off up steep slopes, our morning double of shot of espresso in hiking form. In the dark, this unfamiliar area was tricky to find the best way through as it is strewn with willows and hidden boulders. We crossed a creek and headed up the left side, but when we spotted Jamie's headlamp on the slopes above, we had to cross back. We made our way towards him where we found him sitting along side a use trail. Hopefully in daylight we would find that to make our travel easier in the future. Finally our full team was assembled, and we exchanged greetings and introductions. We charged on through the grass covered ledges and interlocking boulders towards Jagged. A fitting preview to our day! We reached a crescent shaped lake and morning alpenglow lit the way towards our very intimidating objective. As we traversed around the basin to get above some lower slabs, we tried to spy the route's start - at least we could make out some nice interlocking grass ledges above - so we aimed for the rocks below them. The route describes a class 2+/3 approach leading to a 10' high class 4 crack that is "usually wet". We found one and stashed the poles, but decided it was probably too close to the couloir to be the correct the start. Heading farther right, we found another candidate and Jamie and I shimmied up the indeed wet chimney. Once above, we didn't like what we saw. More wet rock. While our position seemed to correspond to the description, the wet slab to our left that would need to be crossed was looking mighty dangerous. Not wanting to put anyone at risk of slipping off the exposed slope, we descended back and began to weigh our options. Back to the crack at our pole stash we went. To the left, we found some nice broken ledges that led to the 10' high class 4 chimney we had spied earlier, was this the route? The more I look at other people's trip reports and photos, I am inclined to say "yes", as the rocks in their pictures matches those in mine. Above is supposed to be some class 3 terrain and then a left angling wet class 4 exposed ramp for 50 feet. From our low vantage point, this seemed to fit as far as the class 3, but we couldn't see a ramp. Thinking we found our route, we carefully ascended toward the wet chimney. Nobody really wanted to climb it, so we went up a stiff bulge on slabby rock just next to it. We used all manner of technique from hip scooting to panicked groping to claw through this initial bulge. We hoped that was the hardest move for this section, but we were wrong. Ascending wet class 3 ledges, we came to what we thought from below was going to be class 3 terrain, but with the nearest foothold being waist high, we quickly realized we were wrong. Stuck between a bulge we didn't want to descend, and a wall we didn't want to ascend unprotected, the mood changed and from this point on Jagged got into our heads. In retrospect, the very steep wet slab slightly to the left above us was probably the route, but it was less "ramp" than wall, and nobody in our party ever really gave it any consideration! We just figured we were off route, but actually in hindsight, we were in the right place, just that we went right on harder terrain to keep it dry. Confusing is a good adjective to describe the first crux, or at least how we all felt about it. I was towards the back of the group at this point, and I had the rope. I gingerly passed by the others to get to a spot I could flake out the rope and Jamie took the sharp end and started his way up. Unfortunately there was nothing for me to tie into as an anchor except for a shaky #1 cam placement that would likely have come out in a fall. Clinging to our uncomfortable positions, Jamie led the way through the initial 15-20 wall, placed a solid .5 cam, and ascended wet grassy ramps to reach an anchor point of 4 pieces of webbing and cordelette that turned out to be the rap anchor for this crux. We successfully avoided the wet slab, but were certainly glad to have the rope in order to make it work! One by one we tied figure eights on a bight and locked in to pull the 40 feet or so to the anchor. Following the moves were not too bad, you just had to commit and dive in. It was a big pull to get the first step, but if you trust the rope and just go for it, the move was not too bad and had decent enough holds. It probably went 5.4 for us in this section, but felt better than that wet slab would have. No pictures of us climbing this section, I guess we were too focused on the task at hand to take any! We regrouped at the anchor and began up the interlocking grass ledges. Grassy Ledges More Grassy Ledges The rating of class 2+ with an occasional class 3 move is accurate, but the ledges are a mix of wet grass, mud, loose kitty litter, and no-joke exposure that keeps you on your toes constantly. We moved through this section with intent and focus, but the climbing is surprisingly easy from a technical standpoint and the elevation racked up quickly. The exposure demanding the attention here over the technical difficulty Exposed Ledge (photo by Sarah) We consulted our copy of Roach's description from his book, and recognized the big boulder wall from the photo. It could mean only one thing: It was time to get on crux number 2. First we had to downclimb slightly and then go back up some exposed kitty litter ledges to a fairly nice gathering place against the wall where we could weigh our options. We checked out a bulge to the left with a chockstone, that we ended up writing off, but later in reading the summitpost description found out was the way that the author of that page went. It might be easier? Certainly less exposed than our way. Contemplating the Second Crux We went right up a grass to dirt to rock slope that ended with a bulge that though technically easy (class 4), was made unnerving by a lack of holds and some serious exposure. There were two big steps and the exposure was a little nerve wracking to say the least. The hand hold at the top consisted of wet grass, not the most confident thing to mantle up to! Kevin gave Jamie an extra foothold with a hand boost, and Jamie dropped some webbing people could use as a handline to follow for a little extra comfort if they wanted. Second Crux Ascent (photo by Scot) Two cruxes down, and the technically hardest advertised one (5.2 in the guidebooks) to go. So far the first 2 seemed harder than expected, would we find similar results here?. The third crux has 2 ways to go, the book describes the harder of the two as being "easier to protect", a leader's favorite words, and we found our way through the interlocking grass ledges (now very familiar!) to the base of this surprisingly short wall. More Ledges Betweeen Cruxes It's only about a 20' pitch. Once again there was no where for me to anchor to, a serious problem on this mountain. At least this pitch was dry, which made a huge difference in the comfort level. Halfway up Jamie found a rock "tunnel" he could thread a sling through - with enough cordelette one could probably make this an anchor for their belayer - and we were in business. He popped over it, set a tri-cam, and followed more of the class 2+ grass ledge system to the anchor and brought the rest of us up. Surprisingly, this crux felt the easiest - maybe it was the more bountiful holds or the dry rock! Jamie Starting up Third Crux (photo by Scot) We left the rope in place, threatening the curious marmot that he would become on the receiving end of a gold medal worthy "punt" if he dared to touch it, and stepped through the generous notch. Now on the south side, it was time to find the ledge and finish our climb before any clouds got too excited. We thought we would be on easy street, but Jagged has no easy street. The Backside Ledges First, we found out that to get to the ledge we had to ascend a 10 foot class 3 slab that was, you guessed it, exposed and lacking in holds. This was the first of at least 5 "mini-cruxes" that make up the back side. Now on the ledge, there were two exposed step-around moves. The first gap could be bypassed by downclimbing a wet chimney and back up around the other side of a large rock. This looked sketchy to me, but to my 4 companions, they felt it worked best. After watching 4 people squeeze through, I decided to just do the step around and found a good hold on the back side of a rock that I could leverage myself with - dry rock over wet grass/mud for me any day, but I guess I was alone in that thought today. Tight Corners on the Backside The second step around was more awkward, and had a large bulging rock above. This rock was hard to step around, but we all managed to do so - except for Scot, who at 6'-5" was too tall to find a good center of gravity. He ended up having to crawl under it! Just what you want to do on an exposed class 3 ledge, right? Tight Squeeze (Photo by Sarah) From here the ledge widened and we easily walked to a sandy bench next to a large wall with a sort of stacked triangle rock pile. We turned to our left and saw something we recognized from Cooper's book and some previous trip reports - the final class 3 chimney. It looked steep, but was better protected than most of the other moves and we felt less exposed for once. The exit at the top felt stiffer than class 3 though, we all thought class 4. We pulled out of the gully and were relieved to see the summit! Climbing the Summit Chimney (Photo by Sarah) Not out of the woods yet, the 5th mini-crux awaited us on the final climb. While mostly class 3 and fairly straightforward by Jagged standards, there was one last trick up this mountain's sleeve. A final exposed step around move on slabby rock. There are good hand holds (see Jamie's hands on image 13 below), but it's a bit of a stretch to reach your foot to safer ground. There was a possible intermediate foot hold, but it's thin and down sloping. Use with caution! Final Exposed Step-around Finally we reached the top. My 99th, Kevin and Sarah's 98th. RGP, our intended finisher in about a month, peered out in the distance and it started to set in that this goal we had set of climbing Colorado's Highest 100 peaks, was about to become a reality. Summit Views! (Photo by Scot) Jagged's summit was wide and felt like the safest place on the entire mountain. It was an enjoyable place to lounge, snack and reflect. A hard earned but well earned summit and I think we all appreciated the great company of our solid group. A special thanks to Jamie for the lead! We peered over the 165' rap slings at our earlier grass ledges, however, and were brought back to reality. Somehow we still had to get down... Headed Back Down (Photo by Sarah) We retraced the 5 mini-cruxes of the back side and were back at the rope where the marmot had wisely left it alone. No punting today. We replaced the anchor and then each rappelled our way over this short crux, and headed to set up a second rap. The anchor was good so we left it in place. The third rap had 4 pieces of webbing and cord, at least 2 of which were good so we left them in place. This rap came straight down along our ascent path, and as I cleared the large boulders I landed squarely on the wet slabs (the ones that are probably the route) and felt my feet slip but recovered and finished the rap. It certainly reinforced the decision to skip any wet slabs on the way up though! Mike and Scot on Rap (Photos by Kevin, Photoshop by Mike) I think we all said the same thing as we came off that last rap - we climbed up this? Yes, yes we did, and we managed to touch down safely at its base and despite earlier warnings, did not die. Pitch One From Bottom of Rap (Photo by Sarah) Our day was not yet done though! The weather was looking decent enough to take a run up neighboring peak 12890. Lo and behold, more interlocking grass ledges! Somewhere in the dictionary there must be an alternate definition for Sunlight that is "a basin surrounded by interlocking grass ledges". This place is like a maze of them. Heading to PT 12890 We made its summit, admired Jagged's slender E-W profile, and started to descend to our camp. Jagged from 12890 Dinner tasted a little finer that evening, the views of Jagged a little sweeter. A nice evening of hanging around camp soaking it all in (some of which was done in the creek and nearby waterfall - which we affectionately called the "ice bath") and it was off to bed to do it all again the next day. Back to Camp - Notice Kevin/Sarah's Yellow Tent? (Photo by Kevin) Day 6: August 1, 2012 - Leviathan and Vallecito (Probably 4 miles 3000 vertical) "Beep, beep", ah must be 4am again. Man, sleeping in next week when I am back at work is going to feel kind of good. We started out on the same path and soon were slogging up "double shot hill" towards the willows. We learned one thing yesterday in the daylight, to stay a little farther to the right and to not cross the creek. We picked up the use trail from yesterday and headed towards our old friend the interlocking grass ledge system. Again, we chose to stay farther right and were able to hit the low point of the Jagged-12890 saddle perfectly. Leviathan and Vallecito from PT 12890 Somehow in our AM stupor the drop to the basin on the other side seemed really far, so we contoured around to the left and picked up steep slopes up Leviathan at a high point between two lakes. This ascent went pretty good and afforded some great early morning alpenglow shots of Jagged! Leviathan is a prize if for its views of Jagged alone. Jagged Alpenglow from Leviathan We reached the ridge crest at the base of a steep step, thinking the ridge was supposed to be class 2 (and wanting to avoid a notch higher up) we decided we were supposed to go around. This is wrong, just go up it. The ridge crest is wide and gentle, the backside, a chossy mess. Sarah, Kevin and I waited out a barrage of loose rock that Scot was sending down the back face. He wasn't cleaning the route either, it was just that loose that he couldn't help it. One rock the size of my oven came tumbling down, hit another rock and bounced 200' before a few more bounces landed it in a remaining snowfield. I watched its whole path and could go there right now and pick out the exact boulder. After rounding a corner, the loose crap transitioned to a more stable talus field but we were still on guard. At least progress was smooth at this point, although it was disappointing to look back at the ridge and realize we should have just stayed on it! Ascending Leviathan The notch was easy to clear, and was cairned. Across the notch the ridge got rough again, but was in a quartzite rock that reminded me of the Grenadiers and was delightful to climb. The broken class 2+/3 ridge made for a nice finish and we soon found ourselves lounging on the summit basking in the glory of Jagged across the way. We took some zoom shots of our route from the day before, and enjoyed the rich blue of Leviathan Lake below us to the north. We actually saw a tent at the lake, I bet the oven sized rock from before caught their attention, but luckily it was nowhere near their tent. Loose Trace of Jagged's Route from Leviathan We retraced to the notch because we have heard some stories about staying directly on the ridge crest to Vallecito that made us not want to deal with it. Solid, it could be fun, but we heard it was "very very sketchy". Two "verys" on the sketchy scale? Not today. We'd rather munch on a Bhut Jolokia pepper with no milk to chase it. Our downclimb of the south gully from the notch started out a little loose, but if you hug the edge of the massive slabs that make up the south face, it's not too bad and goes pretty smoothly. Soon we reached a long upward trending grass ramp that hits the ridge crest just above the saddle with Vallecito and we were on our way. Scot decided not to lose 15 feet of elevation and followed a crack in the face that nearly cliffed him out but he was able to downclimb onto the ramp overcoming a short class 4 headwall. Leviathan's Ramp Scot's Detour (Photo by Kevin) The ridge up Vallecito was mostly a class 2 talus romp, and the easier terrain went quickly if not even a little mundane. Vallecito's Ridge The summit was another winner, however - I mean, it's the Weminuche, is there a bad view? Not likely. Vallecito Summit View Towards Grenadiers (Photo by Scot) For the descent we retraced the ridge until we found what looked like a fairly grassy slope to descend back to the lake below our earlier pass from this morning. It was looser than expected, but went quick. We hung out at the lake for awhile snacking and taking in the view of Jagged once more. Our conversation turned to if we would ever want to repeat it, at the time I said no, but now with 2 weeks of reflection, I think maybe I would given the right conditions (translation: Dry!). Jagged from our Rest Tarn We made our way back through the interlocking grass ledges and the willows and the double-shot of espresso hill we had come over the last two mornings. Back at camp it was a bittersweet afternoon and evening. We were moving on from Sunlight Basin in the morning. I guess we weren't the only ones upset that we were leaving as the skies gave us a shower of their tears that evening. Enough to make sure we packed up a wet camp in the morning and had to bushwhack through wet willows and grasses. Joy. At least we had 5 days less food to pack over. So far we hadn't got on each others nerves too much, half the trip down, and so far it was a success! Jagged? Check... (Photo by Kevin) Again, big thanks to my partners and to the guidebook authors and forum members that helped us with our planning efforts. To all those who aspire to Jagged in the future, good luck with your climbs, this is a great mountain and a highly rewarding experience. My partners will take you through the finish of our journey on Part 3, until then, thanks for reading... Floyd's write up for Part 1 here: Lost in The Weminuche Part 1: Sunlight Basin Papillon's write up for Part 3 here: Lost in The Weminuche Part 3: Bringing it all Back Home Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Lost in The Weminuche Part 2: 99 Problems

Lost in the Weminuche Part II: I got 99 problems but Jagged ain't one!

Prelude to Jagged:

First, thanks Scot for the great write up of the first part of our journey! It was an interesting few days for sure, and it sure did feel good to ditch that 60 pound pack for a light day pack yesterday. Once back at camp that evening, Jamie on his way back from Vallecito and Leviathan finally met up with us and we were able to make plans for Tuesday to meet him on our way to Jagged. Even the prospect of carrying a rope all day for Jagged seemed to pale in comparison to 9 days worth of food and camping gear!

Jagged was the #1 goal for us on this trip, and is arguably the hardest peak in the highest 100, and to the four of us who have done the "Big 3", it definitely tops our list. Dallas would be second, the tech pitch is short and not too difficult, but there are some class 3 and 4 ledges to get to it. Teakettle has a little longer technical section, but the approach is almost completely class 2 with basically one class 3 move. Jagged was a huge mental and physical challenge, once you engage the first crux you basically have to be "on" until you get off the mountain, the class 2+ and 3 ledges demanded more attention than expected, and the cruxes were sometimes wet, and oftentimes devoid of confident holds. It is a mountain that intimidates many who see it, in fact on the approach hike a lady on the Vallecito trail told Jamie not to climb it, her words were "You can't climb that, you'll die".

If you're having peak problems, I feel bad for you son,
I got 99 problems but Jagged ain't one.

The year is twenty twelve, and packs are getting raw
In our rearview mirror is a peak that most would awe.
We had two choices y'all, climb to the summit or -
Bounce back to camp afraid to climb it anymore...
--Chicago Transplant parody of 99 Problems by Jay Z

Day 4: Tuesday August 31, 2012 - Jagged Mountain and PT 12890 (maybe 3 miles, 3000' vertical)

For the first time we were not awakened at 3am by rain on the tents, instead it was the typical "beep beep" of the 4am alarm that pulled us from our slumber. Encouraged by the dry night, we woke with excitement and of course butterflies in our stomachs for the climb that lay ahead. After not even 5 minutes on the use trail, we took off up steep slopes, our morning double of shot of espresso in hiking form. In the dark, this unfamiliar area was tricky to find the best way through as it is strewn with willows and hidden boulders. We crossed a creek and headed up the left side, but when we spotted Jamie's headlamp on the slopes above, we had to cross back. We made our way towards him where we found him sitting along side a use trail. Hopefully in daylight we would find that to make our travel easier in the future. Finally our full team was assembled, and we exchanged greetings and introductions. We charged on through the grass covered ledges and interlocking boulders towards Jagged. A fitting preview to our day!

We reached a crescent shaped lake and morning alpenglow lit the way towards our very intimidating objective. As we traversed around the basin to get above some lower slabs, we tried to spy the route's start - at least we could make out some nice interlocking grass ledges above - so we aimed for the rocks below them. The route describes a class 2+/3 approach leading to a 10' high class 4 crack that is "usually wet". We found one and stashed the poles, but decided it was probably too close to the couloir to be the correct the start. Heading farther right, we found another candidate and Jamie and I shimmied up the indeed wet chimney. Once above, we didn't like what we saw. More wet rock. While our position seemed to correspond to the description, the wet slab to our left that would need to be crossed was looking mighty dangerous. Not wanting to put anyone at risk of slipping off the exposed slope, we descended back and began to weigh our options.

Back to the crack at our pole stash we went. To the left, we found some nice broken ledges that led to the 10' high class 4 chimney we had spied earlier, was this the route? The more I look at other people's trip reports and photos, I am inclined to say "yes", as the rocks in their pictures matches those in mine. Above is supposed to be some class 3 terrain and then a left angling wet class 4 exposed ramp for 50 feet. From our low vantage point, this seemed to fit as far as the class 3, but we couldn't see a ramp. Thinking we found our route, we carefully ascended toward the wet chimney. Nobody really wanted to climb it, so we went up a stiff bulge on slabby rock just next to it. We used all manner of technique from hip scooting to panicked groping to claw through this initial bulge. We hoped that was the hardest move for this section, but we were wrong.

Ascending wet class 3 ledges, we came to what we thought from below was going to be class 3 terrain, but with the nearest foothold being waist high, we quickly realized we were wrong. Stuck between a bulge we didn't want to descend, and a wall we didn't want to ascend unprotected, the mood changed and from this point on Jagged got into our heads. In retrospect, the very steep wet slab slightly to the left above us was probably the route, but it was less "ramp" than wall, and nobody in our party ever really gave it any consideration! We just figured we were off route, but actually in hindsight, we were in the right place, just that we went right on harder terrain to keep it dry. Confusing is a good adjective to describe the first crux, or at least how we all felt about it.

I was towards the back of the group at this point, and I had the rope. I gingerly passed by the others to get to a spot I could flake out the rope and Jamie took the sharp end and started his way up. Unfortunately there was nothing for me to tie into as an anchor except for a shaky #1 cam placement that would likely have come out in a fall. Clinging to our uncomfortable positions, Jamie led the way through the initial 15-20 wall, placed a solid .5 cam, and ascended wet grassy ramps to reach an anchor point of 4 pieces of webbing and cordelette that turned out to be the rap anchor for this crux. We successfully avoided the wet slab, but were certainly glad to have the rope in order to make it work!

One by one we tied figure eights on a bight and locked in to pull the 40 feet or so to the anchor. Following the moves were not too bad, you just had to commit and dive in. It was a big pull to get the first step, but if you trust the rope and just go for it, the move was not too bad and had decent enough holds. It probably went 5.4 for us in this section, but felt better than that wet slab would have. No pictures of us climbing this section, I guess we were too focused on the task at hand to take any! We regrouped at the anchor and began up the interlocking grass ledges.

The rating of class 2+ with an occasional class 3 move is accurate, but the ledges are a mix of wet grass, mud, loose kitty litter, and no-joke exposure that keeps you on your toes constantly. We moved through this section with intent and focus, but the climbing is surprisingly easy from a technical standpoint and the elevation racked up quickly. The exposure demanding the attention here over the technical difficulty

We consulted our copy of Roach's description from his book, and recognized the big boulder wall from the photo. It could mean only one thing: It was time to get on crux number 2. First we had to downclimb slightly and then go back up some exposed kitty litter ledges to a fairly nice gathering place against the wall where we could weigh our options. We checked out a bulge to the left with a chockstone, that we ended up writing off, but later in reading the summitpost description found out was the way that the author of that page went. It might be easier? Certainly less exposed than our way.

We went right up a grass to dirt to rock slope that ended with a bulge that though technically easy (class 4), was made unnerving by a lack of holds and some serious exposure. There were two big steps and the exposure was a little nerve wracking to say the least. The hand hold at the top consisted of wet grass, not the most confident thing to mantle up to! Kevin gave Jamie an extra foothold with a hand boost, and Jamie dropped some webbing people could use as a handline to follow for a little extra comfort if they wanted.

Two cruxes down, and the technically hardest advertised one (5.2 in the guidebooks) to go. So far the first 2 seemed harder than expected, would we find similar results here?. The third crux has 2 ways to go, the book describes the harder of the two as being "easier to protect", a leader's favorite words, and we found our way through the interlocking grass ledges (now very familiar!) to the base of this surprisingly short wall.

It's only about a 20' pitch. Once again there was no where for me to anchor to, a serious problem on this mountain. At least this pitch was dry, which made a huge difference in the comfort level. Halfway up Jamie found a rock "tunnel" he could thread a sling through - with enough cordelette one could probably make this an anchor for their belayer - and we were in business. He popped over it, set a tri-cam, and followed more of the class 2+ grass ledge system to the anchor and brought the rest of us up. Surprisingly, this crux felt the easiest - maybe it was the more bountiful holds or the dry rock!

Jamie Starting up Third Crux (photo by Scot)

We left the rope in place, threatening the curious marmot that he would become on the receiving end of a gold medal worthy "punt" if he dared to touch it, and stepped through the generous notch. Now on the south side, it was time to find the ledge and finish our climb before any clouds got too excited. We thought we would be on easy street, but Jagged has no easy street.

First, we found out that to get to the ledge we had to ascend a 10 foot class 3 slab that was, you guessed it, exposed and lacking in holds. This was the first of at least 5 "mini-cruxes" that make up the back side. Now on the ledge, there were two exposed step-around moves. The first gap could be bypassed by downclimbing a wet chimney and back up around the other side of a large rock. This looked sketchy to me, but to my 4 companions, they felt it worked best. After watching 4 people squeeze through, I decided to just do the step around and found a good hold on the back side of a rock that I could leverage myself with - dry rock over wet grass/mud for me any day, but I guess I was alone in that thought today.

The second step around was more awkward, and had a large bulging rock above. This rock was hard to step around, but we all managed to do so - except for Scot, who at 6'-5" was too tall to find a good center of gravity. He ended up having to crawl under it! Just what you want to do on an exposed class 3 ledge, right?

From here the ledge widened and we easily walked to a sandy bench next to a large wall with a sort of stacked triangle rock pile. We turned to our left and saw something we recognized from Cooper's book and some previous trip reports - the final class 3 chimney. It looked steep, but was better protected than most of the other moves and we felt less exposed for once. The exit at the top felt stiffer than class 3 though, we all thought class 4. We pulled out of the gully and were relieved to see the summit!

Climbing the Summit Chimney (Photo by Sarah)

Not out of the woods yet, the 5th mini-crux awaited us on the final climb. While mostly class 3 and fairly straightforward by Jagged standards, there was one last trick up this mountain's sleeve. A final exposed step around move on slabby rock. There are good hand holds (see Jamie's hands on image 13 below), but it's a bit of a stretch to reach your foot to safer ground. There was a possible intermediate foot hold, but it's thin and down sloping. Use with caution!

Finally we reached the top. My 99th, Kevin and Sarah's 98th. RGP, our intended finisher in about a month, peered out in the distance and it started to set in that this goal we had set of climbing Colorado's Highest 100 peaks, was about to become a reality.

Jagged's summit was wide and felt like the safest place on the entire mountain. It was an enjoyable place to lounge, snack and reflect. A hard earned but well earned summit and I think we all appreciated the great company of our solid group. A special thanks to Jamie for the lead! We peered over the 165' rap slings at our earlier grass ledges, however, and were brought back to reality. Somehow we still had to get down...

We retraced the 5 mini-cruxes of the back side and were back at the rope where the marmot had wisely left it alone. No punting today. We replaced the anchor and then each rappelled our way over this short crux, and headed to set up a second rap. The anchor was good so we left it in place. The third rap had 4 pieces of webbing and cord, at least 2 of which were good so we left them in place. This rap came straight down along our ascent path, and as I cleared the large boulders I landed squarely on the wet slabs (the ones that are probably the route) and felt my feet slip but recovered and finished the rap. It certainly reinforced the decision to skip any wet slabs on the way up though!

Mike and Scot on Rap (Photos by Kevin, Photoshop by Mike)

I think we all said the same thing as we came off that last rap - we climbed up this? Yes, yes we did, and we managed to touch down safely at its base and despite earlier warnings, did not die.

Pitch One From Bottom of Rap (Photo by Sarah)

Our day was not yet done though! The weather was looking decent enough to take a run up neighboring peak 12890. Lo and behold, more interlocking grass ledges! Somewhere in the dictionary there must be an alternate definition for Sunlight that is "a basin surrounded by interlocking grass ledges". This place is like a maze of them.

We made its summit, admired Jagged's slender E-W profile, and started to descend to our camp.

Dinner tasted a little finer that evening, the views of Jagged a little sweeter. A nice evening of hanging around camp soaking it all in (some of which was done in the creek and nearby waterfall - which we affectionately called the "ice bath") and it was off to bed to do it all again the next day.

Back to Camp - Notice Kevin/Sarah's Yellow Tent? (Photo by Kevin)

Day 6: August 1, 2012 - Leviathan and Vallecito (Probably 4 miles 3000 vertical)

"Beep, beep", ah must be 4am again. Man, sleeping in next week when I am back at work is going to feel kind of good. We started out on the same path and soon were slogging up "double shot hill" towards the willows. We learned one thing yesterday in the daylight, to stay a little farther to the right and to not cross the creek. We picked up the use trail from yesterday and headed towards our old friend the interlocking grass ledge system. Again, we chose to stay farther right and were able to hit the low point of the Jagged-12890 saddle perfectly.

Somehow in our AM stupor the drop to the basin on the other side seemed really far, so we contoured around to the left and picked up steep slopes up Leviathan at a high point between two lakes. This ascent went pretty good and afforded some great early morning alpenglow shots of Jagged! Leviathan is a prize if for its views of Jagged alone.

We reached the ridge crest at the base of a steep step, thinking the ridge was supposed to be class 2 (and wanting to avoid a notch higher up) we decided we were supposed to go around. This is wrong, just go up it. The ridge crest is wide and gentle, the backside, a chossy mess. Sarah, Kevin and I waited out a barrage of loose rock that Scot was sending down the back face. He wasn't cleaning the route either, it was just that loose that he couldn't help it. One rock the size of my oven came tumbling down, hit another rock and bounced 200' before a few more bounces landed it in a remaining snowfield. I watched its whole path and could go there right now and pick out the exact boulder.

After rounding a corner, the loose crap transitioned to a more stable talus field but we were still on guard. At least progress was smooth at this point, although it was disappointing to look back at the ridge and realize we should have just stayed on it!

The notch was easy to clear, and was cairned. Across the notch the ridge got rough again, but was in a quartzite rock that reminded me of the Grenadiers and was delightful to climb. The broken class 2+/3 ridge made for a nice finish and we soon found ourselves lounging on the summit basking in the glory of Jagged across the way. We took some zoom shots of our route from the day before, and enjoyed the rich blue of Leviathan Lake below us to the north. We actually saw a tent at the lake, I bet the oven sized rock from before caught their attention, but luckily it was nowhere near their tent.

Loose Trace of Jagged's Route from Leviathan

We retraced to the notch because we have heard some stories about staying directly on the ridge crest to Vallecito that made us not want to deal with it. Solid, it could be fun, but we heard it was "very very sketchy". Two "verys" on the sketchy scale? Not today. We'd rather munch on a Bhut Jolokia pepper with no milk to chase it.

Our downclimb of the south gully from the notch started out a little loose, but if you hug the edge of the massive slabs that make up the south face, it's not too bad and goes pretty smoothly. Soon we reached a long upward trending grass ramp that hits the ridge crest just above the saddle with Vallecito and we were on our way. Scot decided not to lose 15 feet of elevation and followed a crack in the face that nearly cliffed him out but he was able to downclimb onto the ramp overcoming a short class 4 headwall.

The ridge up Vallecito was mostly a class 2 talus romp, and the easier terrain went quickly if not even a little mundane.

The summit was another winner, however - I mean, it's the Weminuche, is there a bad view? Not likely.

Vallecito Summit View Towards Grenadiers (Photo by Scot)

For the descent we retraced the ridge until we found what looked like a fairly grassy slope to descend back to the lake below our earlier pass from this morning. It was looser than expected, but went quick. We hung out at the lake for awhile snacking and taking in the view of Jagged once more. Our conversation turned to if we would ever want to repeat it, at the time I said no, but now with 2 weeks of reflection, I think maybe I would given the right conditions (translation: Dry!).

We made our way back through the interlocking grass ledges and the willows and the double-shot of espresso hill we had come over the last two mornings. Back at camp it was a bittersweet afternoon and evening. We were moving on from Sunlight Basin in the morning.

I guess we weren't the only ones upset that we were leaving as the skies gave us a shower of their tears that evening. Enough to make sure we packed up a wet camp in the morning and had to bushwhack through wet willows and grasses. Joy. At least we had 5 days less food to pack over. So far we hadn't got on each others nerves too much, half the trip down, and so far it was a success!

Again, big thanks to my partners and to the guidebook authors and forum members that helped us with our planning efforts. To all those who aspire to Jagged in the future, good luck with your climbs, this is a great mountain and a highly rewarding experience.

My partners will take you through the finish of our journey on Part 3, until then, thanks for reading...

Floyd's write up for Part 1 here: Lost in The Weminuche Part 1: Sunlight Basin

Papillon's write up for Part 3 here: Lost in The Weminuche Part 3: Bringing it all Back Home

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Floyd	sorry double post 8/17/2012 1:42am site running slow
astrobassman	Congrats on #98 8/17/2012 2:09am Jagged sounds more intense than I thought. Good see you guys pulled it off.
Floyd	panicked groping 8/17/2012 2:58am Felt like high school all over again... (thanks for the spot, buddy) My take on Leviathan - Don't Trust Anything! And there was no way I was going to regain that 15 feet I worked for! "Bhut Jolokia pepper" - Classic Mike. Great write-up and looking back I think I would also give Jagged another run, but there are so many other options in front of it.
MtnHub	Wow! Amazing stuff! 8/17/2012 3:02am Super report on some amazing mountains, Mike! That profile shot of Jagged (image 19) is simply classic! What a fantastic mountain! I'll probably never get the chance to even see it in person, let alone climb it, so it's great to experience it from your photos and descriptions. Great job guys, and thanks for sharing!! :D
Monster5	Welp 8/17/2012 4:56am These guys just jumped to the top of next year's ”fun” list. Fine work done by all.
Matt	99 down, one to go 8/17/2012 12:36pm I really enjoyed this write up. I hope you enjoy RGP even more!
mtnfiend	Awesome adventure 8/17/2012 1:03pm and a solid week!! Well done.
djkest	Nice 8/17/2012 2:17pm I really like your photos and description of Jagged. That's a winner. And yes, hard to find a bad place in the Weimenuche.. I daresay impossible.
Papillon	And then there was 1... 8/17/2012 2:22pm Thanks for the writeup, Mike. I agree with you completely on repeating Jagged. Our troubles at the start definitely put me on my heels for the remainder of the day and kind of dictated everything. Still, an awesome mountain in an awesome location. And thanks for your help over the years. Sarah and I would not be chillin' on 99 if it wasn't for you. I'll see you in a few weeks.
Presto	Wow .. 8/17/2012 2:30pm 8) :D :!:
gdthomas	Nice Report Mike! 8/17/2012 3:19pm So RGP is your last? Not that you need it but I intended to post a trip report from our climb of RGP in June but never got around to it. It's a straightforward climb but if you need any beta, pm me. Greg
wooderson	the highlight 8/17/2012 3:27pm Great job documenting the highlight of the trip, Mike. Those ”mini-cruxes” sure were interesting! Funny how we now all seem to be in agreement that we'd do Jagged again in a heartbeat. Shaky starts have a way of making you say, ”Never again!” but that peak is too amazing to write off after just one climb. And not sure if he'll ever see this, but a big thanks to Jamie for leading!
tmathews	Sweet, Mike! 8/17/2012 4:10pm Look like a great trip with great company! Also -- I can't believe that someone actually liked a hipster trip report! :lol:
Ridge runner	Jagged 8/17/2012 5:37pm Great job on getting this centennial! There's something about getting a hard earned peak and then being able to sit back later in the day and just stare up at it.
Chicago Transplant	Thanks All! 8/17/2012 10:48pm Thanks for the kind words everyone, too many to respond to individually! -To my partners from this trip, thanks again for the great company, I would have gone crazy with nobody but myself to hang out with :lol: We might have driven each other a little nuts toward the end, but I trusted you all the whole trip to have my back and I of course had yours. Getting ”lost in the Weminuche” for 8 days you need to know you have a solid team, and this team was definitely solid. Thanks! -To those who aspire to climb Jagged, its a great mountain and a fun rewarding challenge. Just be prepared for it to be more complicated and allow yourselves plenty of time for route finding and rope work. You can't downclimb this one quickly in a storm with all those rappels to set up! -A few words on Leviathan for ozarkmac- the backside was a loose mess, but I think if you stay more to the ridge crest you will find the rock better. The upper ridge beyond the notch (picture 23) is more solid than it looks and is a lot of fun to climb. Go for it! The views are very good... -RGP here we come, its going to feel like the graduation party after that tough final exam (Jagged of course being that exam...)
kimo	All in the details... 8/18/2012 1:01am Jagged is a big day. Congratulations on the successful summit, along with Leviathan (a name like that just pulls me in) and Vallecito. Mike, you told the story well...and with all the detail to help it actually looks like something that I could pull off someday. And that makes this all very inspiring. Good work, mountaineers. Great series of reports and photos detailing what looks to be an unforgettable trip.
Summit Lounger	Jagged again 8/18/2012 3:12pm I would go back and do Jagged again anytime. It is one of my favorite peaks in CO. The remoteness and exposure is worth it. Nice job on everyone getting to the summit and back down safely.
sgladbach	Always a good sign........ 9/5/2012 3:19pm ....when you can say, ”we climbed up this? Yes, yes we did, and we managed to touch down safely at its base and despite earlier warnings, did not die.” Congratulations.
Kent McLemore	Great TR 1/24/2013 4:23pm Hell, Leviathan sounds more intense than I thought. I hope to be high in Noname Basin on Sun. with 6 days to explore. Jagged's out but I was looking forward to the view from Leviathan. Not so sure now. I'll definitely stay on the ridge if I get up there. Thanks for the great beta and photos.
12ersRule	Dang it! 7/29/2013 6:29pm I knew I'd get sucked into reading this TR this morning, even though I have a lot to do. Awesome report! Image 11 rocks.
mattpayne11	Nice write-up 9/5/2013 3:24pm Man, great write-up! Love the photos and they will certainly be helpful for me this coming week.

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Lost in the Weminuche Part II: I got 99 problems but Jagged ain't one!

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