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Mt. Yale
Summit:14,196 feet
Route: Southwest Slopes
Total Gain: 4,300 feet
RT Length: 9.5 miles
Date: July 9, 2016
After having spent many years living on the planet Earth, I wanted to celebrate my birthday with some fond memories. Why not summiting another 14er? As you know, I had to wait until the last piece of snow melted. Then I got ready for another summer season of mountain climbing. The weather looked favorable for a 2-day window for the Buena Vista area. As my 76th birthday came around the corner, I grabbed the very first opportunity of a favorable weather and settled on Mt. Yale after having considered Mt. Belford as my first summer summit of 2016. And there I went. After arriving at the Denny Creek trailhead in the afternoon of July 8th, I spent a night in my vehicle and woke up around 1'clock on my birthday morning. One hour later, I hit a trail and hiked up to the first creek about one mile far away. Once I got there, I got a little confused after the trail disappeared. I thought of where the trail should go since I could not see the creek in total darkness. I saw two hikers coming up near the first creek crossing. Then I paused and watched them going forward. . I realized they crossed the creek and disappeared. That's where I missed. So I crossed the creek on a log bridge and continued a steep ascent to the tree line at about 12,000 feet. I arrived there at 10:30 and looked at the white clouds floating eastward for a while. I got a little worried about a possibility of an afternoon lightning while staying on top of Mt. Yale. So I decided to stop my trek and took a long nap under some trees. The nap lasted two hours. After waking up and feeling refreshed, I looked up at the same white clouds that still did not look ominous. I decided to continue my ascent to the summit at 1:00. While walking up, I found out that I did not bring enough water for the rest of the ascent and the return to the trailhead. So I decided to conserve as much water as I could. After a thousand feet altitude gain on a steep slope, I finally reached the summit around 6:30 o'clock which was pretty late. After a brief stay, I returned to the saddle in a hurry before the sunset. I was all solo and descended to the tree line with a headlight on. Since I became very tired and drank a little water, I decided to take a long break. I spent the whole night sleeping without a tent in the same warm spot where I napped earlier in the same afternoon. After a 6-hour sleep I woke up and felt better, but a little thirsty. I departed there on my way descending at 5:45 o'clock in the morning. While walking down, I met a couple of hikers who were ascending and asked them for some drinks. They were very kind enough to give me some water. At 10:30 o'clock, I finally returned to my vehicle very tired and thirsty.
Arrived there on the eve of my birthday
At the tree line
walking over the rocky hill
Some boulders with Mt. Yale in background
Getting ready to hike up a steep slope to a saddle leading to Mt. Yale summit
Looking down from the saddle
First bump on a ridge leading to the summit
Selfie at the summit all solo
Some 14ers ahead
14ers there?
more 14ers there?
Looking down at Buena Vista
That's where I slept all night under some trees
Second creek crossing
Sign post giving directions
First creek crossing
I am truly thankful that I suffered no harm even though I spent 33 hours in the wilderness. Indeed, I gained a lot of experience and learned some lessons. For future long hikes, make sure to bring enough water and a sleeping bag. My hike to Mt. Yale summit is the longest one I ever experienced. My previous longest round trip distance was 8.0 miles. Even at the age of 76, I still felt young, but was a little slower. Well, I could not complain about my slow pace as long as I enjoyed the wilderness. What a way to celebrate my birthday with some misjudgments!
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
way to go, brother! I did Wilson Peak on my 50th. Is extra fun standing on top of mountains on birthdays. looking forward to your 77th birthday story. Glad it is in July when you could find a comfy spot under the trees!
And happy late birthday! A suggestion for water would be to carry tablets or a filter, that way you can fill up from any source you happen to find out and about. I switched to the Sawyer mini filter this year, and really like that.
Terrific post! Having reached the 75 th milestone myself, you are an inspiration to us aging mountaineers. In the process of recovering from hip replacement surgery, your Mt.Yale adventure was a tonic. Thanks!👍
I admire your tenacity! Mountains do have a way of keeping us young, don't they? And I am a huge fan of spending one's b/day on top of a mountain. As others have written, I look forward to your 77th b/day climb!
You bet that I will continue climbing past age 77. I am only 3 short from my 20-summit goal. Once it is reached, I will most likely change my focus to 13ers. Strangely enough, at age 76 I have climbed more mountains than ever before. A wine gets older, it tastes better. More trip reports to come in days ahead.
Thanks for the inspiration. I hope to be active and climbing like you when I'm 76 ! Looking forward to your future trip reports and hope to run into you in the hills sometime.
Congratulations, rpdawes! You are an inspiration to me. Whenever I catch myself thinking 'but, I'll be too old for .......', I love to be reminded of folks like you. Keep up the good work, and thanks for your wonderful trip reports!
Oh yeah, I did, but did not make it to the top of Birthday Peak, a 12er, thanks to a heavily dense forest that blocked my off-trail path to the treeline. However, I am planning on summiting La Plata Peak and Mt. Columbia at my age of 80 this summer. I have not hung up my hiking shoes yet.
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