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Route: Uncompahgre Peak from Nellie Creek 2wd trailhead Mileage: 16.5 miles RT Elevation Gain: 5,000' Duration: 14.5 hours Team: Brian (Coxie2210), Fred (Amosite), Garrett (brerrabbit), Brad (Mountain Ninja)
January 2nd had an excellent weather forecast, so we like-minded hikers grouped up for an adventure to the San Juans.
A perfect winter weather window.
Brian, Fred and I drove down New Year's Day. We easily reached the Nellie Creek trailhead (it's plowed to here). Even the road has a special beauty to it.
Driving on Henson Creek Road toward Nellie Creek
Not knowing what to expect for trail conditions, we strapped on our snowshoes for a little recon of our route up Nellie Creek for tomorrow.
Fred and Brian crossing a stream while exploring our route for tomorrow
We hiked up the trail for 2 hours, and to our surprise, the trail was packed pretty well from a previous hiker. SWEET! We were plenty thrilled about this fortuitous discovery, and excitedly returned back to Lake City and established "Basecamp Matterhorn" (the Matterhorn Motel). Garrett had arrived from Kansas and was pleased that his teammates had arrived to "basecamp" with good news. We crash around 8:00pm.
Basecamp Matterhorn
Even though the trail is pre-packed, this will be a solid trip for one day. We wanted as much chance for success as possible, so we awoke 5 minutes ahead of our scheduled 3:00am rise time (thanks again, Fred).
We arrived at the trailhead, strapped on the trusty snowshoes, and were en route by 4:20am. We made quick work of the packed trail, and made it a little over 4 miles to the summer trailhead by 7:00am. The packed trail disappeared at this point.
Unbroken trail at the summer TH
Fred did a fantastic job breaking trail, and before we knew it, our goal was in sight!
Uncompahgre in the morning
We got a little excited, and accidentally headed west a little too soon. This information was unbeknownst to us, and we plodded upward with zeal!
Garrett and Brian crankin' uphill
We were blessed with this sweet view from our little detour route
UN 13,106 lookin' gorgeous in the snow
As we climbed, we realized our slight blunder and threw around some ideas.
"Let's climb up over there, the snow doesn't look too steep!"
"Nah, that looks like it could slide. How about climbing some rock and steep snow up to the ridge right there?"
"Dude, that's nuts. How about cutting across that gully over there?"
"No way, that sure looks like it's gotta be sketchy."
Morale dropped.
But, the group was willing to explore a bit more...
Making our way around
YES! We found an easy way north to the summer trail, and made our way over.
Gettin' back on track
Game on!
Brian gaining the ridge
We eagerly hiked the standard route up to the ridge. Personally, I had been VERY excited to see Wetterhorn blanketed in snow with my own two eyes. This moment was definitely one of the highlights of my day.
Wetterhorn
Brian and I left our snowshoes behind at this point. Garrett and Fred opted to keep 'em handy for a bit longer. I'm still not sure which decision was the better one, as the following slope was a nice mix of knee-deep sugar and wind-blown bullet-proof snow. Garrett and Fred plowed upward like bulls on parade!
Fred and Garrett rockin' the slope
Brian topping out on the slope
Brian and I caught up to the other guys, and they wisely stashed their snowshoes here. And oh boy, the views opened up even more!
Unobstructed view of Wetterhorn. That snow looks as soft as a baby's bottom!
Redcliff and her Wedding Cake (aka Coxcomb). Congratulations, Redcliff!
I think we were all excited to use our hands, finally.
Minor scrambling.
Ahh, the summit was temporarily ours! A few moments of serenity made us forget about the 8+ miles it took to get here.
The summit is within reach!
Brian on top of the San Juans. Congrats on your first San Juan 14er... in winter!!
For the wife & boys
The hike out went smoothly...
Hiking back down
Uncompahgre
Uncompahgre
...all except for one small unexpected challenge: the trail seemed to disappear onto an unfriendly snow slope. But Brian saved the day and led us down a dry slope nearby. With snowshoes on, it was a little spicy and kinda woke me up from the usual "hiking out drone mode."
A minor hiccup
But the rest of the way out, we got to enjoy the peaceful San Juan sunset.
UN 13,106
Parting shot
As usual, the final half mile of road zombie-walking seemed to take forever. GPS's are a blessing and a curse: don't look at it when you know you're getting close to the car. It only makes your car get farther away, haha!
Final thoughts: Uncompahgre makes for an excellent vantage point of the gorgeous San Juans, and can be a great daytrip. I truly enjoy climbing peaks in the summer and then coming back for them in winter... it's like a whole new world!
Great trip, boys!
Brian, Fred, and Garrett (taken on the way up)
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
What perfect weather and conditions you guys had! Looked like it was a blast. If you actually did a hike outside of Colorado once in a while, you'd appreciate that sweet-ass view of the La Sal range in Utah (img #18) you had too! ;)
We'll see how it compares to my impending trip report of the fearsome winter drive-up of 306' Pine Hill, MA in chilling 55-degree temps and white-out conditions! ...or not.
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