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After climbing Little Bear a few weeks ago in amazing weather I was pretty excited to get up some more 14ers this summer. My buddy and I decided that the state high point would be a cool peak to climb so we went with Elbert. To make the trip even more fun we chose the lesser used Southeast Ridge route so we could tag South Elbert as well.
We left from Longmont around 5:45 after waiting for another delinquent friend of ours who ended up being a no-show and drove to the trailhead. The Black Cloud Trailhead is pretty hard to find, especially at night. It is marked with a sign, but the sign is parallel to the road so it's pretty hard to see. We ended driving past it twice and then attempting to pull into two private roads before we found it. If I remember right, the trailhead is pretty close to Mile 75 on Colorado 82. Beyond that I would advise anyone trying to find this trailhead to drive very slow when they think they're getting close.
Got up the next day at 4:30 and got hiking around 5:15. We started early because we were worried that the weather might be pretty bad because the forecast predicted snow and rain. Fortunately there was no precipitation, and we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the clouds filling the valley below us when we reached South Elbert's ridge.
Me
La Plata
Up until the top of the ridge this trail is pretty much 100% snow free. After the ridge, there was a decent amount of snow the rest of the way up. Gaitors were somewhat useful, but the snow was pretty hard and windblown. We had ice axes, which made me feel comfortable, but I don't think they were necessary. We didn't use crampons either.
South Elbert from the ridge
South Elbert rewarded us with some beautiful views of La Plata and much of the southern Sawatch. The wind started blowing pretty hard at this point, so we didn't stay long.
The ridge over to Elbert
We were still a little worried about precipitation and the snow turning soft, so we powered our way over to Elbert as quickly as we could. We got to the top of Elbert around 10, and saw a bunch of people in jeans, shorts, and tennis shoes.
Maroon Bells close up
South Elbert
We ate some lunch and took some pictures and made our way back. We took Roach's alternate route "3V1" in hopes of doing a little bit of glissading, but the conditions weren't that great for it.
Alternate Route from the top of Elbert
We were still able to get two short glissades in though. There is no established trail that we could find back to the main trail, but just by mostly staying just above tree line and avoiding talus, we were able to reconnect exactly where Roach's route reconnects. The reconnection point is the ruins of a small cabin, and an obvious outhouse that is still holding up rather well.
We got back to the trailhead at 2, which made for a good 9 hours of hiking. This trail is very well established and is very easy to follow. I haven't gone up the standard route before, but this seems like a great alternative route that isn't as heavily traveled, plus you get the bonus peak of South Elbert. In fact, I think the hardest part might have been finding the turn off of Colorado 82!
By the way, this is my first TR, so hopefully it's not too confusing.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Good job Android. I love the picture of the low clouds. I got some good ones like that of the Fall Creek drainage below the Halo Ridge route of Holy Cross once.
Email me the link to the rest of the pix!
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