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"...
Mt Toll (Indian Peaks)
Trailhead: Mitchell Lake (~0.3 miles away - gate is closed to upper trailheads)
Mileage: ~10
Elevation Gain: ~2,500'
Start: 7am Summit: 12pm End: 3:45
Didn't quite get the alpine start I wanted, but with the Brainard Lake lower gate open, I didn't need to bike into the trailhead. They still have the gate closed to the Mitchell and Long Lake trailheads, though the snow is melting fast, and should be open soon.
View from Brainard Lake
Close up of Mt Toll
The first section of trail is well compacted, so I left the skis on my back. After a while the trail diversifies into many boot paths going all over, and becomes difficult to follow, so I gave up and went my own way.
An opening in the trees allowed a nice view of the destination
A few times I found a nice snow field and put my skis with skins on, but soon the snow petered out and I had to give up. A lot of time was wasted putting on and taking off the skis (along with bushwacking to find snow to ski on), so it probably would have taken less time to just boot up most of the way.
One of the few snow fields found on the way up, with Mt Audubahn then Toll and Paiute Peak in the background:
Moonset behind Little Pawnee Peak:
A bit further up the valley, I got a nice view of the ski descent off of Mt Toll.
It wasn't until ~11,200 just east of Blue Lake that the snow is continuous and I could skin most of the way up Mt Toll.
Some climbers with skis going up the Crooked Couloir on Audubahn.
View from Blue Lake:
I decided to boot up the final pitch, as the section right after the lake had my AT bindings to the max. That and a guy who had just skied down Paiute and started a small avalanche, was cruising past my ski switchbacks a bit too fast
Approaching the summit.
Paiute from the summit:
Mt Audubahn:
Two skiers about to make the descent:
Navajo and Apache Peaks
The obligatory summit shot with my skis (the color coordination was a complete accident)
Looking for a way to ski down all the way, through all the melted out patches:
While resting on the summit, 2 guys come up from the CSU outing club, that I had gone skiing with yesterday in RMNP.
The initial descent of the peak was really fun, as I found a fresh section off to skiers right to track up. On the steep middle section, it was really slushy and rough from previous skiers and glissades, making skiing a bit difficult. On the second pitch down to the lake there were enough open areas to be really fun again. I guess I needed to get up earlier for the fresh tracks in the corn snow!
Why it sucks to be a snowboarder in the backcountry:
We crossed over Blue Lake initially, but there were cracks where we could see water (maybe just melt water?). After seeing the this, we went to the edge of the lake to be on the safe side.
Skiing and boarding on a lower slope:
We managed to find a convoluted snow path almost all the way down to the trailhead. It did involve skiing on dirt, grass, trees, streams and marshes (and a few rocks) to get all the way down, as there were many bare patches the lower we went. This was probably the last weekend that skiing all the way down could even be attempted.
Looking back up at an awesome, if a bit steep (for me with my mountaineering boot-AT setup) and slushy descent, off of the summit.
Red: up
Blue: down
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
A friend skied Toll this past weekend, and says there‘s more snow from the Saturday storm. I saw a bunch in the 10 mile too.
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.