Pear Peak Trip Report 08/27/2022

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	"Pear Peak" - 13,459 feet Unnamed 13513 - 13,513 feet Unnamed 13486 - 13,486 feet
Date Posted	08/27/2022
Date Climbed	08/18/2022
Author	Mtnman200
Additional Members	RandyMack

Leave It To Beaver
Thursday, August 18, 2022. "Look, Wally, if your dumb brother's gonna tag along to the movies with us, I'm gonna... Oh, hello, Mrs. Cleaver. My, that's a lovely dress. I was just telling Wallace how nice it would be for Theodore to accompany us to the theater." Oops, wrong Beaver. But The Beaver's at it again. Forest Road 381 ascends from Rockdale to Clohesy Lake, and an industrious beaver constructed a dam in the middle of the road Randy and I had just finished a successful climbing trip to Clohesy Lake and had driven most of the way back to County Road 390 when we were faced with beaver handiwork in our way. Right in the middle of the road, in fact, and this time I didn't have the patience to dismantle the dam and instead simply drove right through/over the roadblock. This was not our debut encounter with The Beaver. Two days earlier... Tuesday, August 16, 2022. We were driving FR 381 to Clohesy Lake with plans to climb "Pear Peak" (13,462'), Unnamed (UN) 13517A (LIDAR: 13,513'), and UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13,486'). LIDAR promoted the latter peak from a soft-ranked summit to a separate summit, which made it one of Colorado's new tricentennial (300 highest) peaks. On 9/22/2016, I'd done a solo climb of Pear Peak and UN 13517A (LIDAR: 13,513'), but UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13,486') would be new for both Randy and me. I didn't find a trip report that combined these three summits in a single ridge run, so we hope to provide some useful beta on how to include UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13,486') with the least amount of elevation loss/gain possible. The start of FR 381 at Rockdale goes past an old cabin that belongs to the Forest Service... ...and is quite a fixer-upper. The previous tenant isn't getting the security deposit back We didn't get far up FR 381 before a beaver dam blocked the road, with the water fairly deep as a result. After spending over 30 minutes removing the dam material and getting my right shoe wet in the process, the water level was low enough that we felt confident in driving over the remains of the dam. What we didn't realize at the time was that an aspen branch from the beaver dam had gotten stuck in our front suspension like a medieval knight carrying a jousting lance. Our 4Runner carried its jousting lance three miles up FR 381 to our campsite below Clohesy Lake We enjoyed plenty of late afternoon and evening rain and, given tomorrow's poor weather forecast, decided to postpone our climbing day until Thursday. We entertained ourselves on Wednesday by building a campfire in the rain from soaking wet wood and then keeping the fire going until dinnertime. Thursday, August 18, 2022. Skies were clear when we got up, and we were convinced we'd made the right decision to climb today rather than yesterday. From where the road is closed at 10,900', it's about 1000' to the first of two critical trail intersections. Turn left at the cairn (lat. 38.950213; long. -106.407545; UTM 378030 Easting; 4312194 Northing [UTM Zone 13S]) The next critical intersection is where the Missouri Mountain trail (#1459) and the Pear Pass trail (#1461) split. Unless you want to go to Missouri Mtn., turn right here and continue toward Pear Pass (Note: The previous two photos were taken in the afternoon as we hiked out. Photo credit: all photos by Randy Mack) We left the Pear Pass Trail at about 12,160' (where the trail makes an abrupt curve from SE to NE) and headed south toward Pear Peak's east ridge. The east ridge of Pear Peak from where we left the Pear Pass Trail We scrambled up the rib to the right The slope increased as we neared Pear Peak's east ridge, with the final section being on somewhat exposed Class 3 terrain Looking east at Pear Peak's east ridge from where we reached the ridge; Pear Lake is hidden behind the 12,818' ridge bump (center) Once on the ridge, we headed west toward the summit of Pear Peak (left) and were glad the rock (and lichen) weren't wet There was no summit register on Pear Peak, so we left one. Low-lying clouds were visible from Pear Peak's summit This view from Pear Peak's summit shows the long (about 1.75 mile) ridge to UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513). Apostle North and Ice Mtn. are on the left, with Huron Peak on the right. In some places, we bypassed ridge difficulties on the west (left) side of the ridge Looking back toward Pear Peak A ridge bump we bypassed Bypassing a ridge bump on the west (left) side of the ridge Looking back toward Pear Peak Typical terrain along the ridge The summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) is in the center, just left of an apparent notch that is not an issue (and not really a notch) Looking back toward Pear Peak, which is starting to look rather far away Not coincidentally, the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) (left) is getting closer From here to the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513), it's best to stay on the ridge as much as possible. Almost there: the summit block of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) From here, it's just a few minutes to the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513). There was no summit register, but there were nice views of the surrounding mountains. The view north from the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513). Huron Peak is on the left, with UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) to its right While eating lunch, we observed that the ridge to UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) looked rugged. To avoid the ridge difficulties, we knew one could drop 800' in elevation and then contour north at about 12,600' below/past a prominent rib before climbing back to the ridge. However, we didn't really want to regain 800' of elevation and decided we were up for the no-beta challenge of following the ridge to UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486). The great weather made this decision easier. Apostle North from the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) The ridge wasn't too difficult at first We contoured to the right around this bump Soon, we found a grassy ledge at 13,100' on the east (right) side of the ridge The grassy ledge was narrow and exposed, making good weather and dry conditions imperative We contoured to the lower of the two V-shaped notches and then turned left, climbing up the rib Another option is to turn left and ascend a couloir just before (south of) the rib. Others had clearly done this. Looking back toward UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) Once we reached the rib, the terrain was much less exposed and we could easily scramble up the rib Looking up the prominent rib Once we climbed back to the ridge, the summit of UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) was not very far away Alyson Kirk had left a register on the summit of UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486). We took a much-needed and well-deserved break on the summit and enjoyed the views and some snacks to energize us for the descent. UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) easily could be combined with Huron Peak (left) View of The Apostles to the southwest View to the northwest from the summit of UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) Looking back to the south toward Pear Peak and UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) Our descent route generally headed toward the obvious bowl seen below, staying on grass the few times we could A marshy area we passed by on our descent Once we reached the Pear Pass Trail, the hike back to the trailhead went quickly. The only real entertainment after we reached the trailhead was our second encounter with the beaver dam that I described at the start of this report. All in all, it was a fun day and a memorable climb. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Leave It To Beaver

Thursday, August 18, 2022.

"Look, Wally, if your dumb brother's gonna tag along to the movies with us, I'm gonna... Oh, hello, Mrs. Cleaver. My, that's a lovely dress. I was just telling Wallace how nice it would be for Theodore to accompany us to the theater."

Oops, wrong Beaver. But The Beaver's at it again.

21858_01 — Forest Road 381 ascends from Rockdale to Clohesy Lake, and an industrious beaver constructed a dam in the middle of the road

Randy and I had just finished a successful climbing trip to Clohesy Lake and had driven most of the way back to County Road 390 when we were faced with beaver handiwork in our way. Right in the middle of the road, in fact, and this time I didn't have the patience to dismantle the dam and instead simply drove right through/over the roadblock. This was not our debut encounter with The Beaver. Two days earlier...

Tuesday, August 16, 2022. We were driving FR 381 to Clohesy Lake with plans to climb "Pear Peak" (13,462'), Unnamed (UN) 13517A (LIDAR: 13,513'), and UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13,486'). LIDAR promoted the latter peak from a soft-ranked summit to a separate summit, which made it one of Colorado's new tricentennial (300 highest) peaks.

On 9/22/2016, I'd done a solo climb of Pear Peak and UN 13517A (LIDAR: 13,513'), but UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13,486') would be new for both Randy and me. I didn't find a trip report that combined these three summits in a single ridge run, so we hope to provide some useful beta on how to include UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13,486') with the least amount of elevation loss/gain possible.

21858_02 — The start of FR 381 at Rockdale goes past an old cabin that belongs to the Forest Service...

21858_03 — ...and is quite a fixer-upper. The previous tenant isn't getting the security deposit back

We didn't get far up FR 381 before a beaver dam blocked the road, with the water fairly deep as a result. After spending over 30 minutes removing the dam material and getting my right shoe wet in the process, the water level was low enough that we felt confident in driving over the remains of the dam.

What we didn't realize at the time was that an aspen branch from the beaver dam had gotten stuck in our front suspension like a medieval knight carrying a jousting lance.

21858_04 — Our 4Runner carried its jousting lance three miles up FR 381 to our campsite below Clohesy Lake

We enjoyed plenty of late afternoon and evening rain and, given tomorrow's poor weather forecast, decided to postpone our climbing day until Thursday. We entertained ourselves on Wednesday by building a campfire in the rain from soaking wet wood and then keeping the fire going until dinnertime.

Thursday, August 18, 2022. Skies were clear when we got up, and we were convinced we'd made the right decision to climb today rather than yesterday. From where the road is closed at 10,900', it's about 1000' to the first of two critical trail intersections.

21858_05 — Turn left at the cairn (lat. 38.950213; long. -106.407545; UTM 378030 Easting; 4312194 Northing [UTM Zone 13S])

The next critical intersection is where the Missouri Mountain trail (#1459) and the Pear Pass trail (#1461) split.

21858_06 — Unless you want to go to Missouri Mtn., turn right here and continue toward Pear Pass

(Note: The previous two photos were taken in the afternoon as we hiked out. Photo credit: all photos by Randy Mack)

We left the Pear Pass Trail at about 12,160' (where the trail makes an abrupt curve from SE to NE) and headed south toward Pear Peak's east ridge.

21858_51 — The east ridge of Pear Peak from where we left the Pear Pass Trail

21858_52 — We scrambled up the rib to the right

21858_53 — The slope increased as we neared Pear Peak's east ridge, with the final section being on somewhat exposed Class 3 terrain

21858_54 — Looking east at Pear Peak's east ridge from where we reached the ridge; Pear Lake is hidden behind the 12,818' ridge bump (center)

21858_55 — Once on the ridge, we headed west toward the summit of Pear Peak (left) and were glad the rock (and lichen) weren't wet

There was no summit register on Pear Peak, so we left one.

21858_56 — Low-lying clouds were visible from Pear Peak's summit

21858_57 — This view from Pear Peak's summit shows the long (about 1.75 mile) ridge to UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513). Apostle North and Ice Mtn. are on the left, with Huron Peak on the right.

21858_58 — In some places, we bypassed ridge difficulties on the west (left) side of the ridge

21858_59 — Looking back toward Pear Peak

21858_61 — Bypassing a ridge bump on the west (left) side of the ridge

21858_62 — Looking back toward Pear Peak

21858_63 — Typical terrain along the ridge

21858_64 — The summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) is in the center, just left of an apparent notch that is not an issue (and not really a notch)

21858_65 — Looking back toward Pear Peak, which is starting to look rather far away

21858_66 — Not coincidentally, the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513) (left) is getting closer

From here to the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513), it's best to stay on the ridge as much as possible.

21858_67 — Almost there: the summit block of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513)

From here, it's just a few minutes to the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513). There was no summit register, but there were nice views of the surrounding mountains.

21858_68 — The view north from the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513). Huron Peak is on the left, with UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) to its right

While eating lunch, we observed that the ridge to UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) looked rugged. To avoid the ridge difficulties, we knew one could drop 800' in elevation and then contour north at about 12,600' below/past a prominent rib before climbing back to the ridge.

However, we didn't really want to regain 800' of elevation and decided we were up for the no-beta challenge of following the ridge to UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486). The great weather made this decision easier.

21858_69 — Apostle North from the summit of UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513)

21858_71 — The ridge wasn't too difficult at first

21858_72 — We contoured to the right around this bump

21858_73 — Soon, we found a grassy ledge at 13,100' on the east (right) side of the ridge

21858_75 — The grassy ledge was narrow and exposed, making good weather and dry conditions imperative

21858_77 — We contoured to the lower of the two V-shaped notches and then turned left, climbing up the rib

Another option is to turn left and ascend a couloir just before (south of) the rib. Others had clearly done this.

21858_78 — Looking back toward UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513)

21858_79 — Once we reached the rib, the terrain was much less exposed and we could easily scramble up the rib

21858_83 — Once we climbed back to the ridge, the summit of UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) was not very far away

Alyson Kirk had left a register on the summit of UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486). We took a much-needed and well-deserved break on the summit and enjoyed the views and some snacks to energize us for the descent.

21858_84 — UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486) easily could be combined with Huron Peak (left)

21858_85 — View of The Apostles to the southwest

21858_86 — View to the northwest from the summit of UN 13472B (LIDAR: 13486)

21858_89 — Looking back to the south toward Pear Peak and UN 13517 (LIDAR: 13513)

21858_87 — Our descent route generally headed toward the obvious bowl seen below, staying on grass the few times we could

21858_90 — A marshy area we passed by on our descent

Once we reached the Pear Pass Trail, the hike back to the trailhead went quickly. The only real entertainment after we reached the trailhead was our second encounter with the beaver dam that I described at the start of this report. All in all, it was a fun day and a memorable climb.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

greenonion	Great Photos 8/27/2022 9:17am ...which caused sweaty palms here. Oh that ledge! Looks like an epic day.
Mtnman200	Thanks, Stu 9/5/2022 8:48pm Randy gets credit for all the photos. This was a fun loop -- probably my favorite day in the mountains this year.

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