Mt. Democrat Trip Report 11/09/2009

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Mt. Democrat - 14,154 feet
Date Posted	11/09/2009
Date Climbed	11/08/2009
Author	zoriloco

My 4th 14er
Our Trip planning started around Wednesday. Didnt really know where we were gonna go, we just knew we wanted to climb a 14er. I spoke with Brad and he mentioned him and his wife Andrea (Also from Guatemala) wanted to join us. By Thursday we or so we decided on Mt Democrat. Started checking the 14er forums, calling the Ranger‘s office and checking the weather conditions for that upcoming Sunday. Reports said we should expect snow/Ice on the road and also snowy conditions with high winds. To our surprise the day was the complete opposite of what the "experts" had predicted. Road was ice free and the weather was sunny with almost no wind. This made for a great day of hiking. On to the pics.... Like I said road was dry and passable. The team Starting from back to front (Brad, Liz, Andrea) Once we started hiking the sky cleared up very nice. So a couple of layers went back into the packs. Liz and I usually go alone on our hikes. So rarely do we get pics together. Looking back on the bottom right you can see Kite Lake. View of the False Summit Hey finally someone took a pic of me... hehehehe Views from the Sadle Having a little snack Last stretch to the false summit got really steep. There was a 2" crust on top of the snow and sometimes it would just give out. Making you fall into snow up to your knee in places. Last stretch to the summit and this is one of my favorite shots (taken by Liz) Liz and I at the top This time Andrea brought her big flag but i still wanted a pic with my little flag.... hehehe The girls In the center of the pic you can see the road we started hiking from More Views back to the bottom

My 4th 14er

Our Trip planning started around Wednesday. Didnt really know where we were gonna go, we just knew we wanted to climb a 14er.
I spoke with Brad and he mentioned him and his wife Andrea (Also from Guatemala) wanted to join us. By Thursday we or so we decided on Mt Democrat. Started checking the 14er forums, calling the Ranger‘s office and checking the weather conditions for that upcoming Sunday. Reports said we should expect snow/Ice on the road and also snowy conditions with high winds.

To our surprise the day was the complete opposite of what the "experts" had predicted. Road was ice free and the weather was sunny with almost no wind. This made for a great day of hiking.

On to the pics....

Like I said road was dry and passable.

The team Starting from back to front (Brad, Liz, Andrea)

Once we started hiking the sky cleared up very nice. So a couple of layers went back into the packs.

Liz and I usually go alone on our hikes. So rarely do we get pics together.

Looking back on the bottom right you can see Kite Lake.

View of the False Summit

Hey finally someone took a pic of me... hehehehe

Views from the Sadle

Having a little snack

Last stretch to the false summit got really steep.

There was a 2" crust on top of the snow and sometimes it would just give out. Making you fall into snow up to your knee in places.

Last stretch to the summit

and this is one of my favorite shots (taken by Liz)

Liz and I at the top

This time Andrea brought her big flag

but i still wanted a pic with my little flag.... hehehe

The girls

In the center of the pic you can see the road we started hiking from

More Views

back to the bottom

Comments or Questions

Yog	Good job 11/9/2009 11:49pm Great pictures! Interesting how far off the experts can be...but then right on the money at other times.
sunny1	Congrats! 11/10/2009 12:57am Nice TR - like your pics here and in the Gray‘s Peak TR you did recently. Notice you‘re still smiling on the summit! :D Isn‘t it great when things exceed expectations??? :D :D
zoriloco	Thanks 11/10/2009 5:52am After not being able to make it up Grays I was very very happy I made it to the top of Democrat. Ive been hitting the Gym a bit more often and hopefully I can summit Grays with in the next month or so.
pkpzp228	"and this is one of my favorite shots... " 11/10/2009 7:25am Awesome shot! Cheers
Dancesatmoonrise	Photography 11/10/2009 2:59pm Zoriloco, it is nice to see a climb so well documented photographically. The reader gets the sense of being there. It is not only beautiful, but also a very practical help to those considering the route in current conditions. Thanks for your enthusiasm and desire to share! BTW -- I agree on your favorite photo and worked it a little bit -- think you‘ll like it. Send me an email and I‘ll attach. --Jim
zoriloco	We try 11/10/2009 4:25pm Thanks Dances, I‘ll email the pic to you then. I just started hiking this summer so for me everything is new and very exciting. I really enjoy posting up TR too. hehehehe :D
Dancesatmoonrise	photo 11/11/2009 1:05am on its way...
fox_inthesnow	Cheers 11/11/2009 4:57am Go Guatemala! I was just there a couple weeks ago distributing wheelchairs....didn‘t get to climb but saw some great future climbs. Congrats on your summit!
zoriloco	Wheel Chairs Really?? 11/11/2009 6:49pm Thats Awesome!!! You its funny cause I never climbed nothing back home. Im planning on flying down there sometime after tax season to take my daughter to meet my parents. Im gonna give a couple of Volcanos a go. Most of them 13ers but it should be great.
dcbates80911	How did I miss this one? 12/4/2009 2:02am I usually pay attention to trip reports, but somehow missed this one. Very nice.

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