This was the third of three weekend trips I took in 1990 to the Colorado Rockies. At the time I thought it possible for me to climb all the Colorado Fourteeners, given enough time in the area. To accomplish this, I would later take week-long vacations to Colorado in 1991 and 1992, and would eventually climb about half of the 53 fourteeners before moving back east in 1993.
I
made the Evans/Bierstadt trip with my friend Karl when we both worked for
Homestake Mining in the Black Hills. We drove down on Friday night to Bergan
Park, CO, where Karl’s parents had just moved into a new home. Normally Mt
Evans can be a very easy ascent, but the road (billed as the highest paved road
in North America) to the top was closed for the winter. Instead, we were
planning to tackle the infamous Guanella Pass route on the west side of Mt.
Bierstadt, and then follow the Sawtooth Ridge over to Mt Evans.
We
were up at 5:15 and took two hours to drive to Guanella Pass. There was no
formal trail from the Pass, instead hikers tried to follow any existing herd
paths down into, and up out of, a marshy stream valley covered with a dense
grove of brushy willows. The first mile through the willows was once one of the
most feared obstacles facing would-be fourteener climbers. Now, according to
the 14ers.com website, a trail with bridges has been constructed through the
marsh.
From
the trailhead we started down an old road that was soon lost in swamp of low
willows. I had expected a grove of trees, not shrubs and a bog. We battled the
brush for an hour trying to follow short lines through the willows, and
fighting unsuccessfully to keep our feet dry. Our hourlong battle only got us
to snow line (~12,000’) and about a mile in. We struggled through about 6” of
snow for another hour and two miles, before we got to the top of Bierstadt.
Most of the climb was on rounded slopes, but the top was steeper and would have
been tough skiing.
The
next challenge of the day was the Sawtooth Peak on the ridgeline between
Bierstadt and Evans. Our Boreneman guidebook described it ”Despite its fearsome
look, it is a relatively moderate scramble, if free of ice and snow”, and noted
that the ridge was a good warmup for the tougher 14er ridges. The descent off
Bierstadt was tough with loose rock and slippery snow. Luckily the snow was
softening from its early morning 25F powder to a slush that was walkable. It
took 45 minutes to reach the col. We sat there and argued about the route a bit,
and eventually traversed the right (east) side below the Sawtooth. I checked
out some cairns on the left (west) side, but didn’t find an easy route. So I
just followed Karl, not catching him until we reached the summit of Evans.
The
ridge traverse wasn’t bad, just slippery, and not as technical as the descent
to the col. The traverse led us to an easy chute which we used to get us back
on the ridge, where there were tracks from another hiker. The easy walking
proved short lived and soon we were back rock hopping and snow sliding up the
northwest ridge of Evans. By this time the altitude was starting to bother me,
and I was a little sick. The disappointment of reaching a 14,250’+ false peak
was tempered by the realization that this would be a really long day.
I
joined Karl for lunch at the summit but could only down a single fig newton. But
like our descent of Darton Peak in the Bighorns earlier in the month, we were
lucky to find a much easier descent route. Often it just is easier to spy a
route from above. On the return we scrambled around the false peak and then had
an easy walk down across the northeast shoulder of Evans. We were lucky that
there was an easy way into the gully due east of Guanella. We followed this
gully into a pretty little cirque with a level dry bottom and great views of
the Sawtooth. We rested there after about 75 minutes of descending. I was
feeling better with the altitude, but was tiring fast after buzzing along all
day. Karl again got out ahead of me and I ended up on a higher route,
eventually finding some paths that led to a good trail through the willows.
Karl stayed on route and found the main trail sooner than I. Apparently the
willow trails split apart to confuse outbound hikers, but merge together to
help returning hikers. Outbound the key would have been to start by a USFS sign
near the start of the parking lot, and then skirt the south shore of the lake east
of the pass. We would have avoided a half hour of thrashing had we found the
trail in the morning.
Our
weather that day was cool, clear, and crisp, but we saw no one else all day.
Our only problems were with the snowy footing which extended our expected 5
hour trip to 8 hours. I should have worn gaiters, and ended up with sunburn and
sore thighs. Once again I’d underestimated a big peak and paid the price. But I
was proud to have finished the hike, especially as I felt better at the end
than I had on top of Evans in the middle of the trip.
