La Plata Peak Trip Report 05/26/2009

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	La Plata Peak - 14,344 feet Mt. Massive - 14,427 feet
Date Posted	05/26/2009
Date Climbed	05/23/2009
Author	Perea

1 out of 2 this weekend.
Day 1 La Plata We camped right above the town of Winfield Friday night. There was light rain all night but the new tent from steep n cheap held up well. Jay drove up to the trailhead from Winfield. The pace we had was very fast and we made great time. Unfortunately the views once on the ridge disappeared as we were in the clouds. Route finding was easy as it is a ridge the whole way after about 12,500 ft. We reached the first steep talus field about 9 am. and thought we were getting close. It was hard to tell which was the true summit because of the low visibility. We climbed about 5 false summits until finally we reached the top. We were all relieved and I was getting ready to break out the sign for a summit shot when someone said where is the register? We asked is this really it there was no registar everyone looked around and we all tried to make excuses that is it. One person said 'it is buried under the snow" another said "this is definitely it" I sat down and said I don't care if this is it or not for me this is it. We sat for about 5 minutes and there was a break in the clouds and the true summit showed herself to us. We regrouped got up and set out for the final push to the real summit. We got there and met up with some others who were coming up some of whom were going to ski down. After some summit pics and some snacks we started down. There were no views until we got back to ridge then the clouds started to break up. Below are some pics of the day on La Plata. Day 2 Massive After getting down from La Plata I parted way with group as they were doing Huron on Sunday. Since I had already done that one I met Lost Sheep in Leadville and headed for the N Halfmoon TH. My SUV made it to within a mile of the trailhead before the road gets nasty. We parked there and set up our tents and built a campfire. I took some lessons from 14 year old Lost Sheep on rope knots and self arrest. The kid knows his mountaineering and will be one of the youngest to complete all the 14ers later this year. It was light rain most of the night and the creek was raging all night. We got a 4:30 am start and walked through the muddy trail. It was very humid and I was soaked by 7 am. I knew as we got higher and the temperature dropped this may pose a problem. We got past tree line and I think since we were making such great time became complacent by getting off route and climbing some steep snow fields for practice. I stayed on the 35 degree slope until it reached 40 then I didn't feel comfortable anymore so decided to stay to the left and was met with an even harder challenge a class 3/4 section about 100 yards. I had never done anything above class 2 up until this point but it was fun. I kicked a few rock down and was glad no one was behind me. Once I got to the top of that slope I looked down at Lost Sheep coming up and he said the angle reached 48 Degrees at the top. All this while the clouds thickened similar to the day before on La Plata but today the clouds seemed to have a lot more moisture content and were darker. I had an uneasy feeling that something was telling me to get off the mountain. I had never felt this before it was not like the usual why am I doing this, I'm too tired to continue, I could be home sleeping in feelings. It was a gut feeling of danger(weird). I looked over at Lost Sheep and saw a similar look on his face and asked what he was thinking. He kind of shrugged his shoulders and after a short discussion decided to call it a day even though we both had the energy and time to summit. Heading down we saw some skiers coming up and the clouds cleared somewhat. I seriously 2nd guessed our decision. Knowing that Massive was right there for the taking. I can say the decision was very conservative and I guess we will never know what might have gone wrong had we continued maybe nothing but I pray before every climb and this could of been my higher power guiding our steps. As we got to the car and drove back to Leadville the skies opened up and it poured but I'm not sure if it ever did on Mt Massive. I'm kind of curious to see if it did or not so whoever was up there that day let me know. I'll bag it next time! More pics from Lost Sheep to come tonight. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

1 out of 2 this weekend.

Day 1 La Plata
We camped right above the town of Winfield Friday night. There was light rain all night but the new tent from steep n cheap held up well. Jay drove up to the trailhead from Winfield. The pace we had was very fast and we made great time. Unfortunately the views once on the ridge disappeared as we were in the clouds. Route finding was easy as it is a ridge the whole way after about 12,500 ft. We reached the first steep talus field about 9 am. and thought we were getting close. It was hard to tell which was the true summit because of the low visibility. We climbed about 5 false summits until finally we reached the top. We were all relieved and I was getting ready to break out the sign for a summit shot when someone said where is the register? We asked is this really it there was no registar everyone looked around and we all tried to make excuses that is it. One person said 'it is buried under the snow" another said "this is definitely it" I sat down and said I don't care if this is it or not for me this is it. We sat for about 5 minutes and there was a break in the clouds and the true summit showed herself to us. We regrouped got up and set out for the final push to the real summit. We got there and met up with some others who were coming up some of whom were going to ski down. After some summit pics and some snacks we started down. There were no views until we got back to ridge then the clouds started to break up. Below are some pics of the day on La Plata.

Day 2 Massive
After getting down from La Plata I parted way with group as they were doing Huron on Sunday. Since I had already done that one I met Lost Sheep in Leadville and headed for the N Halfmoon TH. My SUV made it to within a mile of the trailhead before the road gets nasty. We parked there and set up our tents and built a campfire. I took some lessons from 14 year old Lost Sheep on rope knots and self arrest. The kid knows his mountaineering and will be one of the youngest to complete all the 14ers later this year.

It was light rain most of the night and the creek was raging all night. We got a 4:30 am start and walked through the muddy trail. It was very humid and I was soaked by 7 am. I knew as we got higher and the temperature dropped this may pose a problem. We got past tree line and I think since we were making such great time became complacent by getting off route and climbing some steep snow fields for practice.
I stayed on the 35 degree slope until it reached 40 then I didn't feel comfortable anymore so decided to stay to the left and was met with an even harder challenge a class 3/4 section about 100 yards. I had never done anything above class 2 up until this point but it was fun. I kicked a few rock down and was glad no one was behind me. Once I got to the top of that slope I looked down at Lost Sheep coming up and he said the angle reached 48 Degrees at the top. All this while the clouds thickened similar to the day before on La Plata but today the clouds seemed to have a lot more moisture content and were darker. I had an uneasy feeling that something was telling me to get off the mountain. I had never felt this before it was not like the usual why am I doing this, I'm too tired to continue, I could be home sleeping in feelings. It was a gut feeling of danger(weird). I looked over at Lost Sheep and saw a similar look on his face and asked what he was thinking. He kind of shrugged his shoulders and after a short discussion decided to call it a day even though we both had the energy and time to summit. Heading down we saw some skiers coming up and the clouds cleared somewhat. I seriously 2nd guessed our decision. Knowing that Massive was right there for the taking. I can say the decision was very conservative and I guess we will never know what might have gone wrong had we continued maybe nothing but I pray before every climb and this could of been my higher power guiding our steps. As we got to the car and drove back to Leadville the skies opened up and it poured but I'm not sure if it ever did on Mt Massive. I'm kind of curious to see if it did or not so whoever was up there that day let me know. I'll bag it next time!

More pics from Lost Sheep to come tonight.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

James Scott	massive? 5/27/2009 4:30am So how high did you get on Massive? Was it completely snow covered at the top? I‘m thinking of a Friday attempt, but I don‘t have crampons or snowshoes. Would you suggest I wait, or give it a shot?
Perea	Massive South West Slopes 4/18/2014 7:27pm Give it a shot it is really not a hard climb just encountered bad weather. There is continuous snow to the top just to the side of the trail but it is too soft to climb so just stay on the trail. You will not need snowshoes or crampons. Good Luck!

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