Mount Massive
Today was amazing. Mom and I climbed Mt. Massive, 14,421 ft., the 2nd tallest mountain in Colorado and 3rd tallest in the lower 48.
As I approached the summit ridge after an incredibly steep climb up the southwest slopes, I was completely overcome by beauty on all sides. I began uncontrollably laughing, then weeping. I remembered the man I met on Mt. Elbert last year, whose son and hiking partner had recently passed away. I thought of my loving family, and all they've sacrificed so I can pursue my dreams. I reflected on how amazing the past year has been for me.
And I was surrounded by all this:
As we drove up from Buena Vista earlier that morning, we got a good view of the peak in the alpenglow. I managed a shot from the passenger seat, which I’ve posted at the top of the page. We would attempt to drive up North Halfmoon Creek to the 4wd trailhead, which involved a couple of small creek crossings and some rough business toward the end. I’m pretty sure a good deal of our collective stress going into the hike involved just getting to the trailhead. Luckily, the crossings were low and Bob the Jeep handled the rocky business with ease. We were hiking by around 6:30.
In addition to being the shortest route to Massive’s summit, the southwest slopes route also offers sick views of the peaks on the other side of Halfmoon. French Mountain, Casco, of course Elbert, and eventually La Plata figure prominently in this hike. I hope to get up La Plata soon!
It’s a pretty steep slog up to the ridge, and I was obviously still getting my lungs used to the elevation. It took me just short of three hours to gain the ridge, averaging just over a whopping 1 mph. And while I was truly a delirious, blubbery mess by the time I got up the final switchbacks, I was a helluva lot better off physically than I was on Elbert last summer.
With Mom way down behind me on the slope, I was feeling the need for a bit of support. We have an arrangement: we each go our own speed. I ran into a couple other hikers on the ridge that were gregarious and didn’t seem to mind me tagging along. The conversation eventually gravitated toward the professional, and it turned out they were both doctoral piano students in Boulder! What are the odds?!? I couldn’t have been more at ease picking my way up the rocky ridge trail, and we were on the summit in no time. Woohoo! Thanks, Scott and Owen!
I had a nice long rest up top, and I learned some cool stuff from the revolving crew on the summit. Such as: how Snowmass got its name! The perpetually snow-packed eastern slopes of that peak were impossible to miss on the horizon. The skies became darker during my respite, and there was a bit of light sleet. No sign of anything more serious, though. Mom made it up before noon, and shortly thereafter we made our way down.
While descending the slope, the weather degraded very quickly. We started hearing some loud and seemingly nearby thunder and got a bit of rain. I urged Mom to move as quickly as she could, but our legs were pretty shot. Thankfully, we made it back to treeline. By the time we reached the Jeep, it was pouring!
But we had done it!
The stats
Mount Massive: 14,421 ft; #2 in CO
Distance: 8 miles
Gain: 3950 ft
My 2nd 14er
Update July 18, 2015: Heavy news. We heard today that a woman hiking Mt. Yale yesterday died from a lightning strike. It happened while we were descending Massive. I feel like we were so lucky and have a lot to learn.