After driving around with a nail in my tire, a new friend I met on 14ers.com offered to take my sons and I, along with her 11 year old to summit Yale. According to NOAA, Mountain Forecast and the Weather app, we were about to have a nice, sunny day, with blue skies and warm weather. We were all very excited to spend a beautiful day on the mountain.

In true Mother Nature fashion, the weather had other plans. Our morning started out with cloudy skies and nearly freezing temperatures. This made for beautiful nature photos, and it was a fairly accurate predictor of what we were about to face. As we were ascending in the cold, on one of the most beautiful trails I had even been on, we met several hikers that had turned out before submitting, due to high winds at the top. My older son, who is 12, with two prior 14ers under his belt, and who is also extremely competitive, stated “let’s summit it anyway.”

As we were ascending, there were several stream and creek crossings, but they were all manageable. We were in the trees for quite a while, before reaching the tree line. By this time, we were all wearing our winter jackets and gloves. A couple met us just as we were exiting the tree line, and the gentleman excitedly informed us that he had summited. This gave us hope to continue on our ascent.

The wind became relentless on the exposed terrain. There were still plenty of clouds surrounding us, but it was evident that these weren’t storm clouds. They were the type of clouds that are only meant to annoy hikers by creating cold and shade. My friend and her son made the decision to turn around, because her child was really struggling. Still, they made it to 13,500 ft, which was an amazing accomplishment, especially for an 11 year old, considering the harsh winds. My friend graciously offered to wait in the car for us, since she knew their descend would likely take a while. My children and I continued on, especially since I promised they would get not one, but two days of video game time. Who could decline such an offer?

Three quarters of a mile or so before the summit, there’s an incredibly steep incline, with a well marked trail. At this point, the trail is still a Class 1 hike, so if the wind hadn’t been so strong, we would’ve had a much easier time climbing it. At the end of the climb, we were rewarded with a flat area on the saddle, with stunning views and wind that felt like it was trying to pull the skin off our faces. We only had about a quarter mile to go, but this was the infamous Class 2/low Class 3 scramble. I was worried, because we didn’t have microspikes or crampons, but we did have trail shoes, so after a quick “three point contact at all times, look for cairns and foot steps and check the rocks before you put your weight on them” lecture, off we went into the face-ripping winds, towards the summit. I was pleasantly surprised by my children’s climbing and route finding skills, especially since my 10 year old hadn’t been bouldering before. We reached the summit a lot quicker from this point than I had anticipated. Mother Nature also decided our faces had enough punishment, and the winds died down significantly.

Mount Yale summit views didn’t disappoint. Various other peaks surrounded us, such as Princeton, Oxford, Harvard, Belford, Elbert, and even our beloved Pikes Peak in the distance. After having our obligatory sandwiches at the summit, we descended on a slightly different route on the boulders, which gave my sons more experience finding the route and descending safely on boulder fields.

We made our way back to the car a lot quicker than we ascended, but we still took plenty of breaks to hydrate. My friend only had to wait an hour for us, which gave her and her son the ability to take a well-deserved nap. I am very happy to report that we didn’t experience any altitude related discomfort, and I believe this is because we stopped every 15-20 minutes to refuel and hydrate. If summit Mt Yale (or any other 14er) in September, I strongly recommend bringing warm gloves, hats, layers and a warm jacket. I really believe that the reason we were able to make it was the fact that we had the appropriate clothing. Next time, we’re bringing microspikes.

Despite the awful wind, Mt Yale was a very successful ascent. Not only were we able to overcome the cold and windy conditions, but my younger kid developed a love for bouldering. I am very proud of my boys for overcoming challenges and accomplishing feats that I hope will continue to fuel their interest in the outdoors.