Mt. Elbert Trip Report 09/25/2017

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Mt. Elbert - 14,438 feet
Date Posted	09/25/2017
Date Climbed	09/20/2017
Author	RUN_IT

Elbert Northeast Ridge, fall colors galore
To put the hike in contextâ¦ My wife and I are flatlanders living at 1300ft in Kansas. We have done quite a lot of hiking at elevation in Colorado, California, Canada, South America, among other places. This would be our first 14er. As far as fitness goes, we hadn't done much specific training for this hike, but we are generally fit people who exercise regularly. I have run half marathons and am currently training for a marathon. After looking into several of the typical âentry levelâ 14ers, we decided on Elbert. I would say our research gave mixed opinions on whether this was a good beginner 14er or not. We drove out from Kansas on a Sunday and did some warm-up hikes around the Maroon Bells/Aspen area. We felt that acclimating for 3 days before our Elbert attempt was key for us. On Wednesday, September 20th, we left Frisco at 5:30am and arrived at the North Mount Elbert Trailhead around 6:30am. With stable weather over the past few days and a good forecast for the day, we didn't feel the need to get started any earlier than first light. There were probably 10 other cars in the parking lot when we arrived. After having a quick bite to eat in our vehicle and readying our gear, it was close to 7am when we started up the trail. There is a T-junction not far from the trailhead that isn't mentioned in many other reports, but it is fairly obvious that left is the way to go. The climb starts out pretty flat but within a few minutes you're already gaining quite a lot. Most of the early hiking isn't too taxing. We made it to the junction with the Colorado trail at 1.2 miles in about 50 minutes including a few 2-3 minute rest breaks. Colorado Trail junction Between the Colorado trail junction and treeline, there were a few moderately steep sections but nothing too crazy. The trail was great and easy to follow. We made it to tree line after about 2 hours and in good spirits. It felt like crossing a mental barrier to get out of the trees and have a bit of a change of scenery (despite only being able to see our first false summit). Turning around and facing where we came from, views of Leadville and Turquoise lake are absolutely beautiful and only improve as you ascend. Views towards Leadville and Turquoise Lake just above timberline The next section consisted of several long switchbacks before reaching the steepest part of the entire climb around 13,250 near the base of the first false summit. This climb looked a bit daunting from below. We took it slow as we were really feeling the altitude at this point. After making âgoodâ time below treeline, we were slowing quite a lot now. We trudged on and took 1 minute breaks every 5-10 minutes. We shot a few Gu's as we went to keep our energy up. This section was pretty grueling and was made more difficult by the snow from 2 nights prior that had turned to ice. Nothing requiring micro spikes in my opinion but we had to be very careful in a few spots between 13,500 and 13,800. Ice/snow near 13,800 At about 13,900, we had crested this steep section and we could finally feel the anticipation for making the summit, although at this point you still cannot see the true summit. The 2nd false summit is relatively easy compared to the first. Views from atop the first false summit After about 14,100, the climb flattens out and is pretty easy from here to the summit, which is finally in view. We saw a guy on his way down who we had met earlier as he passed us on the ascent. He gave us a few words of encouragement and said âYou're there, you got itâ, and this was when it really hit us that we were about to summit. A few minutes later we were finally there. Feelings of excitement, relief, and accomplishment hit us. It was about 12:30pm when we reached the summit. We cracked open and enjoyed an Avery Brewing Chai High on the summit and chatted with a few who had sumitted from various other routes up the mountain. There were 5 other people on the summit when we made it there, and a few more reached in the 20 minutes that we stayed before heading down. One guy had came up the Black Cloud trail and several others from the south trail. We recalled earlier seeing the silhouette of the guy who took the Black Cloud trail as he climbed the east ridge, once we had gained the northeast ridge. From the summit, the views of La Plata, Massive, and the Collegiate peaks were outstanding. On this clear, bluebird day, we could look west and see all the way to the Elks, most notably Snowmass mountain and Capitol Peak. View from the summit looking south towards La Plata View from the summit looking west towards the Elks Garmin data just before leaving the summit After our obligatory summit photos, we began our descent, which was more tiresome than expected and took about 3 hours, bringing our round trip to around 8.5 hours. This hike was a great experience and definitely got us hooked on 14ers, and we will be back for more. I would say it was a challenging hike for us, mostly due to the altitude, but definitely doable for any person in decent shape and with a determined mindset. We got really lucky to have a great weather day and wonderful timing for viewing the fall colors, as the aspens around Twin Lakes and the surrounding areas were near peak colors. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Elbert Northeast Ridge, fall colors galore

To put the hike in contextâ¦
My wife and I are flatlanders living at 1300ft in Kansas. We have done quite a lot of hiking at elevation in Colorado, California, Canada, South America, among other places. This would be our first 14er. As far as fitness goes, we hadn't done much specific training for this hike, but we are generally fit people who exercise regularly. I have run half marathons and am currently training for a marathon. After looking into several of the typical âentry levelâ 14ers, we decided on Elbert. I would say our research gave mixed opinions on whether this was a good beginner 14er or not.

We drove out from Kansas on a Sunday and did some warm-up hikes around the Maroon Bells/Aspen area. We felt that acclimating for 3 days before our Elbert attempt was key for us. On Wednesday, September 20th, we left Frisco at 5:30am and arrived at the North Mount Elbert Trailhead around 6:30am. With stable weather over the past few days and a good forecast for the day, we didn't feel the need to get started any earlier than first light. There were probably 10 other cars in the parking lot when we arrived.

After having a quick bite to eat in our vehicle and readying our gear, it was close to 7am when we started up the trail. There is a T-junction not far from the trailhead that isn't mentioned in many other reports, but it is fairly obvious that left is the way to go. The climb starts out pretty flat but within a few minutes you're already gaining quite a lot. Most of the early hiking isn't too taxing. We made it to the junction with the Colorado trail at 1.2 miles in about 50 minutes including a few 2-3 minute rest breaks.

Between the Colorado trail junction and treeline, there were a few moderately steep sections but nothing too crazy. The trail was great and easy to follow.
We made it to tree line after about 2 hours and in good spirits. It felt like crossing a mental barrier to get out of the trees and have a bit of a change of scenery (despite only being able to see our first false summit). Turning around and facing where we came from, views of Leadville and Turquoise lake are absolutely beautiful and only improve as you ascend.

Views towards Leadville and Turquoise Lake just above timberline

The next section consisted of several long switchbacks before reaching the steepest part of the entire climb around 13,250 near the base of the first false summit. This climb looked a bit daunting from below. We took it slow as we were really feeling the altitude at this point. After making âgoodâ time below treeline, we were slowing quite a lot now. We trudged on and took 1 minute breaks every 5-10 minutes. We shot a few Gu's as we went to keep our energy up. This section was pretty grueling and was made more difficult by the snow from 2 nights prior that had turned to ice. Nothing requiring micro spikes in my opinion but we had to be very careful in a few spots between 13,500 and 13,800.

At about 13,900, we had crested this steep section and we could finally feel the anticipation for making the summit, although at this point you still cannot see the true summit. The 2nd false summit is relatively easy compared to the first.

After about 14,100, the climb flattens out and is pretty easy from here to the summit, which is finally in view. We saw a guy on his way down who we had met earlier as he passed us on the ascent. He gave us a few words of encouragement and said âYou're there, you got itâ, and this was when it really hit us that we were about to summit. A few minutes later we were finally there. Feelings of excitement, relief, and accomplishment hit us. It was about 12:30pm when we reached the summit.

We cracked open and enjoyed an Avery Brewing Chai High on the summit and chatted with a few who had sumitted from various other routes up the mountain. There were 5 other people on the summit when we made it there, and a few more reached in the 20 minutes that we stayed before heading down. One guy had came up the Black Cloud trail and several others from the south trail. We recalled earlier seeing the silhouette of the guy who took the Black Cloud trail as he climbed the east ridge, once we had gained the northeast ridge.

From the summit, the views of La Plata, Massive, and the Collegiate peaks were outstanding. On this clear, bluebird day, we could look west and see all the way to the Elks, most notably Snowmass mountain and Capitol Peak.

View from the summit looking south towards La Plata

View from the summit looking west towards the Elks

Garmin data just before leaving the summit

After our obligatory summit photos, we began our descent, which was more tiresome than expected and took about 3 hours, bringing our round trip to around 8.5 hours.

This hike was a great experience and definitely got us hooked on 14ers, and we will be back for more. I would say it was a challenging hike for us, mostly due to the altitude, but definitely doable for any person in decent shape and with a determined mindset. We got really lucky to have a great weather day and wonderful timing for viewing the fall colors, as the aspens around Twin Lakes and the surrounding areas were near peak colors.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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