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My brother came up from New Mexico, so we decided that spending some time in the mountains would be a good time. Since I had five other 14ers before I thought bagging a few more in the snow would be a good adventure. After we had gone to REI and gotten all the bells and whistles for our planned snow ascents we headed west towards Fairplay. The directions we had were spot on and led up right to the trailhead that is marked clearly. A couple of men waiting for someone to come down told us about an alternate route that we decided to try.
We hiked around the west side of Lincoln/Bross and proceeded towards Democrat. Our plan was to go up the valley displayed in the topography map provided by 14ers.com then ascend Democrat in the morning followed by the other three 14ers in the area. We hiked for about two hours and set up camp at around 430. The weather was starting to decline and clouds were moving in so we decided to set up shop for the night at the base of Lincoln.
We got settled in our tent and sleeping bags and sat around and talked about random things until we both fell asleep. During the night we both woke up to the sound of three to six inches of snow getting dumped on our tent. In the morning we woke up around 0600 and took a peek outside the tent.
We set out toward the end of the valley and the dream of topping Democrat. Me and my brother snapped on the snow shoes and headed out. The morning sun greeted us as we started shedding layers because of the heat.
Before we left I had warned by brother that if his boots were to get wet we would not be out in the mountains very long unless he brought extras. Even with my advice, my brother refused to pack more than one pair of boots so in the morning his wet boots became more like icicles. My brother became very irritated at his freezing feet and started freaking out. At this point my mini-vacation became a baby sitting time. I had no other choice but to turn around. He lives in New Mexico at an altitude of about 5,000 feet ASL so its not like he was coming from sea level. I love my brother to death but he just was not ready to handle what is required to top a 14er. Here is a picture of what most of the morning ascent looked like.
After a night camped out in the mountains and a failed morning ascent in snowshoes, we trudged our way back to my car and drove back to the Springs. Here is a picture of me so mad that we didn't even get one peak.
For all those curious about the peak conditions, snow shoes were definitely enough to reach the peak had we gotten that far. We did get some nice views and good brother time, so not all was lost.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Ah...sorry that you weren't able to summit. I have to say though that your trip report was thoroughly entertaining. I'm sure your brother will be better prepared next time....if there is one.
thanks for the report and pics (and the laughs). You did the right thing by not forcing him to carry on; even if that does suck. Headed up to Quandary this weekend so I appreciate seeing what the nearby conditions are.
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