Denver Seminary

from Robert Jones:

Well, it took a number of weeks to get the calendar and the weather to match, but it was worth the wait. The skies were going to be clear and the temps were going to be "moderate." I attempted to summit La Plata several weeks ago and was turned back at the base of the ridge because of deep snow, and I have been thinking about this mountain ever since. It was like being a kid at Christmas...I could hardly wait.

The hike began in earnest at 5:00 am. The temperature was a brisk zero degrees, the skies were clear, and it appeared as if you could simply reach up and pluck a star from the heavens. There was a remnant of a trail in the snow for the first 1.5 miles which made headlamp hiking through the snow a little easier.

This pic was taken of me bushwhacking through the woods to the ridge as the sun was coming up. There was a lot of snow loading on the standard route and we had to work our way through the heavily forested mountainside to avoid avalanche areas. Near the tree line there was an ocean of snow. There were waves of snow drifts 3 to 4 feet deep lined up every 15 - 20 feet as far as the eye could see. It was a beautiful sight, and it was physically demanding to cut a trail through all the snow.

Here I am standing on a drift of snow that is approximately 15 feet deep. You could build a serious snow cave in this drift. Or for the more entrepreneurial adventurist, you could build a whole snow cave apartment complex and charge rent.

Here is a view back down the ridge and La Plata valley. This part of the climb required crampons and an ice axe. Crampons are a series of spikes that strap to the bottom of your shoes and allow you to scale steep icy inclines. If you ever want to know what it feels like to be Spiderman, this is your ticket!

Here's the Wayward Bottle on the top of La Plata Peak at 14,336 feet. The 360-degree view was one of the most breath taking experiences I have had in some time. It appeared that you could see forever and the sights were simply an eyeful.

Total time on the trail was 12.5 hours, plus 6 hours of driving. I was utterly exhausted and utterly refreshed at the same time. This will be an experience that I will not soon forget.