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Hiked the NW Ridge route with a coworker. Left the TH around 5:15AM . Before we started the steep gully at 11300' my partner was dealing with dizziness but no other ailments. We decided to take a few long breaks in the steep gully however his condition did not improve so upon talking it over (he felt just as bad about going down as I did about going up...) he headed back down to the large field below the steep gully to rest, eat, hydrate and enjoy the beautiful scenery and chirping birds. We parted company around 7:15 or so. I made my way up to the summit as fast as possible, reaching it at 8:45AM.
After staying 15 minutes at the summit (enough time to take a few pics & hydrate - awesome views BTW) I headed back down, picking my way through the boulders encountered until about 13500'. I then galloped (thank goodness for hiking poles) the remainder of the way back to meet my partner below the steep gully, arriving at 10:15AM.
He was in better condition but we took it pretty slow back to the TH (my legs were pretty dead from the run down the steep switchbacks), getting back to the car at 12:00 PM.
Overall a pretty good hike. Very good trail and great info from Bill's site.
Below are some pics of the trip:
South View of La Plata Gulch with cirque headwall
North View down La Plata Gulch with wildflowers & Mt. Elbert/Mt. Massive in background
Ellingwood Ridge closeup
Below steep gully at 11,300' looking at upper portion of route
Summit View looking south
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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