The Fourteeners: Mt. Humboldt (14, 067ft) and Crestone Needle (14, 167 ft)
Saturday morning we set out to hike Mt. Humboldt. When I say morning, I mean the wee hours of the dark before the sun came up. We set out at 5am which means it was still pitch black. I saw more shooting stars in those pre-dawn hours than I have ever seen in my entire life. It was incredible! This shot was taken just as the sun began to rise over the valley.
Alpen glow (morning sun) on Crestone Needle (left peak) and Crestone Peak (right peak)...pay close attention to the Needle...I climbed up that ridge line the following day...
This is the boulder field which lead to the false summit on Mt. Humboldt...notice that tiny little blue speck, that's me at 13,000 and some feet.
On top of Mt. Humboldt! We summited the mountain at 7:45am, the first hikers of the day and zero wind (which is very unusual on top of fourteeners). It was one of the most incredible hikes I have ever done, primarily because of the star lit "night hike".
Mandy and my trademark pose on top of fourteeners...without wind it is much easier! Check out that view!
Sunday we set out to climb Crestone Needle...a solid class 3 climb...you don't really get a good idea of what the climb was like in this picture. Basically we scaled couliers all the way up the mountain, it was very similar to rock climbing only without ropes! If you look at the mountain in the background, it gives you a good idea of what we climbed up. The last half of the climb (up and down) was all about hand holds and foot holds!
And I made it to the top! Complete with my helmet, which protected my head from sliding rock...which served it's purpose on my way down! By far, this was the most technical and gratifying climb of my life. It was awesome!
This is the crew that I summited with. Five of our group and a couple of guys we picked up along the way. The way down took the same amount of time as the way up because it was so steep and technical...basically I spent two hours slidding down step by step on my rear!
Saturday morning we set out to hike Mt. Humboldt. When I say morning, I mean the wee hours of the dark before the sun came up. We set out at 5am which means it was still pitch black. I saw more shooting stars in those pre-dawn hours than I have ever seen in my entire life. It was incredible! This shot was taken just as the sun began to rise over the valley.
Alpen glow (morning sun) on Crestone Needle (left peak) and Crestone Peak (right peak)...pay close attention to the Needle...I climbed up that ridge line the following day...
This is the boulder field which lead to the false summit on Mt. Humboldt...notice that tiny little blue speck, that's me at 13,000 and some feet.
On top of Mt. Humboldt! We summited the mountain at 7:45am, the first hikers of the day and zero wind (which is very unusual on top of fourteeners). It was one of the most incredible hikes I have ever done, primarily because of the star lit "night hike".
Mandy and my trademark pose on top of fourteeners...without wind it is much easier! Check out that view!
Sunday we set out to climb Crestone Needle...a solid class 3 climb...you don't really get a good idea of what the climb was like in this picture. Basically we scaled couliers all the way up the mountain, it was very similar to rock climbing only without ropes! If you look at the mountain in the background, it gives you a good idea of what we climbed up. The last half of the climb (up and down) was all about hand holds and foot holds!
And I made it to the top! Complete with my helmet, which protected my head from sliding rock...which served it's purpose on my way down! By far, this was the most technical and gratifying climb of my life. It was awesome!
This is the crew that I summited with. Five of our group and a couple of guys we picked up along the way. The way down took the same amount of time as the way up because it was so steep and technical...basically I spent two hours slidding down step by step on my rear!
posted by Kate Gracheck @ 5:18 PM
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