Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
Shots in Huefano Valley!!!- Lindsay- close, but not quite!
So CRAZY night in Huerfano Valley!!! My husband and I had prior plans on Sat night and didn't leave Denver until 7pm to drive down to the "Orpahned Boy" Valley. We decided we would just camp out in the car -Tahoe, much easier and more comfy for us. As we drove up the road we found a pull off just below the TH and we're getting ready for bed. Just as I had jumped in the backseat to start getting stuff ready we hear a loud noise that I said was a gun shot and my husband says, "just fireworks", to make me feel better. At that very moment these 2 guys start walking towards the car with their flashlights. They ask if we need anything several times. Christian says we were fine and then they said "who's we". Christian says "me and my wife". Then they said they just wanted to let you know that they were f***ing crazy! And then proceeded to pull out and shoot a pistol in the air 2 times. We asked them to stop and they said it keeps the bears away and shot it again. I told them they were scaring me and they finally walked away. They said we could come down and have beer with them, but we obviously turned them down and once they left I told my husband to get the hell out of there. We went back down about 6-8 miles back past the ranch and got a little bit of sleep. We tried to get up early but once shooken up the night before by a gun it is really hard to get up to the alarm!!! Anyway we started the hike at 7am.
We headed up the hill and tried to follow Bill's route, but once we saw the Boulder Field we must have been magnatized to it. We started heading straight up along side the Boulder Field. We even saw another couple doing the same thing behind us. They ended up passing us and eventually getting back on track and we kept going up until we realized we were way off track! DON"T GO THIS WAY!!!
Anyway we finally found the trail and got over to it, but had wasted so much time doing it.
We headed up Bill's route the rest of the way and found a beautiful trail all the way up to the saddle between Iron Nipple and Lindsay. We looked at Linsay and with our rule of "off the top by 12 noon", we decided we weren't going to make it. It was 11 so we decided to go as far as we could and turn around at noon. That left us to climb up into the gully. We made it to the top of the gully and thought we had about 300 vertical feet left to climb. Seeing the storm clouds starting to build, we figured our rule was one to live by on this day. Here are photos of our day.
View over to Blanca
View of Lindsay's tip top peak from the Basin
Lindsay
view of the gully with the snowfield
Where we turned around for the sake of not wanting to get caught in a storm with lots of sketchy down climbing to do. This is Christian (Holy Schist) with the rest of Lindsay above him
an even better shot
looking back down on what we had come up
Coming down!
Looking back up the gully at what we had come down
What we climbed on- fun, little loose, but fun!
View from the basin looking towards Blanca
Me and hubby
Snowfield to play in!!
I can't wait to go back, take the correct trail and make it to the summit by 9:30 am and enjoy the day while on top of a gorgeous peak. The views of Blanca are amazing!!!!
Notes on the class 2plus:
I love climbing. If you enjoy rock climbing or climbing in the gym, this is an awesome climb through the gully and even though we didn't finish it, we hear that the rest of the climb is much like the gully. The gully on Lindsay's north face is very loose, but if you stay to the right of the snow field and do a zigzag movement through the rocks you will find the climb on Lindsay's North Face very fun, challenging, and rewarding. I had a little bit more trouble coming down. I had to sit a lot on my butt since the rocks were so loose and I know that isn''t recommended, but I felt safre that way. I also always looked for hand holds on the loose stuff in case my feet slip.
Either way it is a fun and challenging climb. I can't wait to go back and do the whole thing/
I saw the two of you just before the saddle with the group of 4 I joined up with to summit. Driving out at about 1, I was surprised to see no sign of that group. I would have expected them to have just been waking from their slumber of beer and Jagger! I did think they were shooting at me on the way to the trailhead at about 10:30 the night before, so I was glad to not see them on the way out!
The whole thing was freakin‘ scary!! 7/14/2008 5:25pm
I can‘t believe they were gone either, we heard their guns go off again at 8:30 when we were traversing that awful boulder field, how in the world they were able to get up after that is beyond me. I wish I could have gotten their license plates to have reported them. It was all just NOT RIGHT!!! Glad you summitted, can‘t wait to do it again- the gully was fun!
That was an insane story! My wife and I hiked it the day before you two, and I think we took the exact same trail up the boulder field, we set up a carin on our way down trying to direct the correct path, but maybe that sad little trail needs many carins. We even lost the trail later near the creek crossing! Oh well, very fun hike nonetheless!
This is felonious and reprehensible. You nor anyone should not tolerate this. Threatening people with a firearm is a felony and these people deserve prison time. The whole incident sickens me. You do not fire a gun in someone‘s presence and say that you are crazy. Call the police. I‘ve encountered weirdness there before and if the situation has come to this then the law needs to be involved.
Police would have arrested them on the spot. We should not have to put up with the toxic mix of idiots, alcohol and guns. Glad to hear that you moved and still put together a great trip, with a little more ”color” than desired.. Great job
Wow guys. Sorry that happened to you. Good for you for sticking to your guns (no pun intended) an staying around to hike. Your next esperience will be better.
...Not about the gun incident, but about the aborted climb. We tried the ridge route in late May, and also turned around a few hundred feet short of the summit simply for lack of time. And thanks for gully photos: that‘s probably what we‘ll try when we go back (can‘t happen too soon for my taste...). Email or PM is you‘re interested in getting together for this. (We climb on Tue-Wed-Thu this summer.)
I just got back from a week-long climbing trip in CO that started with Lindsey. The Saturday night gun shots pretty much put a damper on our whole week. Very scary.
We camped near the Lilly Lake TH. Around 11pm when we were in our tents trying to sleep, one of the culprits drove their ATV up where we were camping, parked about 20 feet away, then shot what sounded like a 44. I can‘t remember the last time I‘ve been that scared.
No cell service, about 30-40 mins to a paved road, and the only way out was to drive right by their camp. We did nothing and basically left our fate up to prayer and luck. I didn‘t fall asleep until 2am.
We called the sheriff a few days later to report the incident, but there wasn‘t much to report as we didn‘t get any of their information.
To make matters worse, a few nights later, near Mt. Princeton, we were back in our tents trying to sleep around 11pm and heard two close range gun shots again. WTF!!!
Honestly nothing against southern Colorado or Pueblo, but I guess I am not terribly suprised that happened down there in Huerfano Valley, but Princeton?????? Wow, did you have a bad experience! I have been camping all over Colorado for the last 8 years and never have I dealt with this kind of thing. They need more patrols in these campsite areas!!!
mattpayne11 was in the valley and may have experienced the same rowdies that you did. He has filed a report and got a picture of the vehicle and license. You may be able to corroborate your reports.
Heard about them though. Glad I missed out on that! I agree that the trail was hard to find near the boulderfield! Our group ascended the ridge and descended the gully. For me, the ridge was more enjoyable. Good report, thanks!
Guns belong in The Militias' Arsenal, not in the hands of unenlisted, non-serving civilians.
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
