Last Winter Sunset for 2021-22: Quandary

Chalk this up to a good lesson on “You don’t know, if you don’t go.”

Winter was coming to close for the 2021-2022 season. I thought about going for a new winter peak, but just didn’t feel I had the fitness or the desire to make a solid try for a summit. But I still wanted to get out. Checked the weather for the weekend.

I settled on Quandary. Settled being the important part. But, I didn’t want to just to another trip up. Too lazy for a sunrise. So about a sunset. If the weather forecast held, it would be doable.

I asked some folks to join. Got a few maybes and three solid yesses: Sheryl, Ian and Joel J.

Then Ryan sent me a video of the winds on Quandary that day. Much more than forecasted. In the 40-50 mph range. Yikes. Many people turned back that morning.

Well, to go or not to go?

What the hell...give it a try. Better than staying home and wondering what it was really like.

We met at the TH with hopes of a 3 p.m. start. A little early, for a 7:15 sunset. One of the guys in the party was fairly new to winter hikes. And Sheryl was in training for a 50-mile run, and she had already done Q this morning.

I was also thinking, we’d be turning around. But, spoke to several people in the parking lot and the winds had died down.

Up the trail we went. And of course, I met someone I know. Quandary was busy with familiar faces that day.

It was warm in the beginning. Didn’t add a layer until the 12,000-foot bump. Two of us left our snowshoes there. The wind was so much better than the forecast. Maybe Mother Nature blew it all out in the morning.

This also were we realized the sky cover of 50 percent in the forecast, was also wrong. Whatever had blown in, brought continuous clouds.

Would there be a sunset? Would there be any color?

At the cairns near 12,800-900, I added a wind layer and gloves. We took a break here.

Then took a second break before the upper ridge. We adjusted layers, pulled out the goggles and had snacks. We were doing great on time. But also knew we didn’t want to wait on the summit for an hour until sunset and get cold. Throughout the hike, we took more breaks than normal, but that was all good and worked with the timing.

On the ridge, were two people coming down. Must have been after 6 p.m. The guy was not wearing gloves. They had left their gear near 13,000, I guess in hopes of an easier hike. Two woman had told us about them and even tried to convince them to turn around. But I looks like they made it to the summit and back, surprisingly without SAR’s help.

We took our time, even had a short break out of the wind on the ridge. We made the summit about 6:45 p.m.

We were excited to see some color. There were high clouds and low clouds in the distance, with the sunlight breaking through in between.

We dropped packs and started adding layers. I put on two puffies. I had brought extra pants, but didn’t feel the need. We took photos. Drank hot beverages. Watched the sunset.

The sunset was not glorious, or amazing. We’ve all seen better.

But it was great to be on a 14er at sunset. There was enough of a light show to make it worth the hike. We had the peak to ourselves. And the wind… at times was completely absent.

We started to head down about 7:20-25. And this is where the wind sucked. It came up out of the Blue Lakes basin. Even though it was mostly to our backs, it brought tiny ice crystals and stung our faces. It was too dark for goggles to help protect our faces. We made quick work back to 13,000 and we were able to move away from the ridge a bit. We pulled out headlamps and took off some layers.

The lights from the houses were gorgeous at dusk as we could still see the forms or Bald, Hoosier Ridge and Silver Heels. We took some time to just be present in the moment. There is something special about being on a peak at night.

We had thoughts of not going, but it turned out to be a great evening hike. You don’t know, if you don’t go.

Helpful Hints for Sunset hikes:

1. Do a well-maintained and easy trail to navigate, or one you are familiar with. Beirstadt would be a good one, you can see the road and TH most of the hike.
2. Take a map and GPS unit just in case #1 doesn't work out.
3. Take two sources of light, (two headlamps with good batteries) just in case one goes bad.
4. Dress (or pack) for the cold, even in summer. Temps and wind at high altitude are chilly.
5. Take a hot drink, tea, coffee, coco, etc. And snacks. Maybe even a picnic. If the weather is good, bust out the Jetboil.
6. Go with a group, stick together so no one goes missing in the dark. (Especially coming down.)
7. Wildlife... like most times, just make noise. Though spotting big green glowing eyes in the dark is still startling even though you know they are mtn goats.
8. Weather 1: for summer sunsets, just have to pick a good weather day to avoid afternoon storms, or go after if there is time.
9. Weather 2: Check the hourly forecast on NOAA, just to know what is to be expected. The temps and windchill will feel much colder without the warmth of the sun.
10. Timing: How long will it take you and your group to reach the summit? You need to have a pretty good guess on this. Beginners and groups usually move slower. You want to be there early, but not too early. On good weather evenings, maybe 30-45 minutes early so you can watch the entire show.
11. Extras: a comfy seat, blanket, camera gear, tent or tarp to block the wind.