Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
After hiking the first third of the Nolan's route a few weeks ago (Fish-> Massive-> Elbert-> La Plata-> Winfield in 16 hours), we went back and hiked/ climbed the Huron, Missouri, Belford, Oxford, Harvard and Columbia.
Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone looking to link this route in the future. Gyro and I started at 4:05 am on Friday morning with a good forecast. The hike up Huron in the dark was easy, cold and crisp under a full moon. We took our time from the Winfield townsite and summitted in under two and half hours. The sun came up as we found the drainage to Cloyses Lake. The scree was frozen solid, so it was very slippery. Eventually, we made it to the avalanche gully and then the 4WD road. We popped out at exactly opposite the singletrack leading up to Missouri, which was a good sign.
The trail up Missouri is good, but steep. We topped out on a Missouri a little after 10:00. Wishing to avoid Missouri's East Ridge that I ascended last weekend while scouting, we dropped down towards the Iowa saddle and contoured over to Elkhead Pass. Belford and Oxford went in quick succession (11:35 and 12:25), but we were starting to slow down.
Descending off Oxford, we spied a trail that contoured west above the trees. We probably should have taken the trail, but it tended "up" and we wanted to go down. We ended up bushwhacking down some cliff bands slick with pine needles. This took a lot longer than it should have if we had found a better route. We ended up on some sketchy downclimbs.
After topping off with water at Pine Creek, we crossed Bedrock Falls, went right of some cliff bands navigating deadfall and found our lowest gear for the long slog up Harvard.
We topped out on Harvard at 16:11.
Finally, we limped over to Columbia by 18:42, bombed the scree field to a good trail and made the bridge over North Cottonwood Creek (where we'll begin the next leg up Yale) after 16 1/2 hours on our feet and to our car at the NCC TH in 17 total hours.
So... 32 1/2 hours on the course with 9 down and 5 to go. I will be content with "section hiking" Nolan's as I can't conceive of the effort it would take to enchain all 14 in one outing.
PS - the trip report only allows you to enter 5 peaks, so poor Columbia is left off the entry.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
When you come down Oxford, the trail to the right (just at treeline) is obvious. I'd recommend taking it to avoid the scruffy cliff bands above Pine Creek. I don't know where it goes, but it has to be better than what we went down.
Is awesome. I am also looking at linking this course together over 3 days. The guys who do this in one push astonish me. Nice work and nice write up! Cheers! Sam
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.