Mt. Bross Trip Report 07/24/2016

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Mt. Bross - 14,178 feet Mt. Lincoln - 14,293 feet Mt. Cameron - 14,248 feet
Date Posted	07/24/2016
Modified	07/25/2016
Date Climbed	07/24/2016
Author	MtnLover

Bro-Li-Ca
This is my first trip report and I know there are numerous reports out there, but this was my first solo climb so I wanted to write about it. If you are looking for technical info this probably isn't the report for you. However, if you like reading about other people's experiences you might want to read on Yesterday I set out to climb Bross-Lincoln-Cameron-Democrat in that order. This was a big goal for me this summer. Well I had planned on getting started at 4 am so I got up at 3 to get ready, but there was some light rain, some thunder and some lightning going on so I decided to climb back into my tent, get some more sleep and see if it was going to blow over. Well once I was back in my tent, the sky opened up and it rained hard with huge cracks of thunder and big bolts of lightning so I began to wonder if I was going to have to wait and reschedule for another day. But it only lasted for maybe 30 minutes then it was looking pretty good, other folks were starting out so I thought why not. I got started about 4:45 am up to Bross. Bross is no joke, it's not easy and was pretty challenging for me. Even though it was challenging I was enjoying the day so far. Then I got to the ridge of Bross and out of no where, snow and hail and then rain hit. There really wasn't anything to do but hunker down as I wasn't going to be able to get of Bross quickly. So I found a place with some cover, but I could hear the electricity in the air even though there wasn't any thunder or lighting and I though holy sh!t, what am I doing up here? I saw a couple of people just a little ways down the ridge from me so I decided to go join them, who wants to die alone right? They were actually a mother and daughter (Gin and Jenny - I think) who I had spoke to the night before so it was nice to see them again. After awhile I was feeling miserable and was ready to face going down Bross just to get out of the weather so I started down. After about 5-10 minutes everything stopped, the sky cleared and you could see the sun coming up. So I turned around and started back up because at least I was going towards the sun. I figured this whole episode probably set me back 45 minutes and since I stared 45 min late I was 90 minutes behind schedule. By the time I got to the top of Bross at 8:30 am, I was spent. I was chilly, my poor dog (Sadie) was also cold and shivering. Gin and Jenny were just leaving Bross when Sadie and I arrived. I knew I needed some recovery time so Sadie and I spent some time resting up there and then we continued on to Lincoln. On the the sun finally reached us and we had some blockage from the wind we started feeling better. Partway to Lincoln we caught up with Gin and Jenny and decided to hang with them for awhile, they were nice and friendly and went at a comfortable pace. We made it to Lincoln around 10 and I have to say the approach to Lincoln looked much worse than it was. The views from Lincoln were some of my favorite of the day and reminded me why I love climbing 14ers. Gin and Jenny were beginning to wonder if they were going to do Democrat or not, I wasn't thinking that far ahead yet. So we set out for Cameron. The walk from Lincoln to Cameron is pretty easy and there's not a lot to say about Cameron, we got to the top of Cameron at around 10:50 am. We were feeling pretty good after Lincoln and Cameron so we started really thinking that we were going to make it up Democrat after all. Then we started down Cameron and started talking to people who had done Democrat and how long it took them and we started reconsidering. At some point I realized it just wasn't going to happen for me. My legs were tired, my ankle was starting to hurt and I knew that even though I could push myself and get Democrat done, I wouldn't enjoy it and I would be spent and miserable by the time I was finished so I decided 3 out of 4 was good enough and I am proud of myself. Got back to my tent at around 1:20 pm. Doing my first solo climb was important to me because I wanted the opportunity to test myself in a different way. I know I can push my body and it will do anything I ask it to, but yesterday ended up being more about respecting my limits. If I had pushed to get Democrat done, I would have been not only exhausted physically, but defeated mentally due to the amount of additional time it would have taken me. I might even have started wondering why I do 14ers and I could have talked myself out of doing more. So I am glad that I listened to my body and knew when to call it a day. Democrat isn't going anywhere and I will go back and face it another day and have fun doing it. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Bro-Li-Ca

This is my first trip report and I know there are numerous reports out there, but this was my first solo climb so I wanted to write about it. If you are looking for technical info this probably isn't the report for you. However, if you like reading about other people's experiences you might want to read on

Yesterday I set out to climb Bross-Lincoln-Cameron-Democrat in that order. This was a big goal for me this summer. Well I had planned on getting started at 4 am so I got up at 3 to get ready, but there was some light rain, some thunder and some lightning going on so I decided to climb back into my tent, get some more sleep and see if it was going to blow over. Well once I was back in my tent, the sky opened up and it rained hard with huge cracks of thunder and big bolts of lightning so I began to wonder if I was going to have to wait and reschedule for another day. But it only lasted for maybe 30 minutes then it was looking pretty good, other folks were starting out so I thought why not. I got started about 4:45 am up to Bross.

Bross is no joke, it's not easy and was pretty challenging for me. Even though it was challenging I was enjoying the day so far. Then I got to the ridge of Bross and out of no where, snow and hail and then rain hit. There really wasn't anything to do but hunker down as I wasn't going to be able to get of Bross quickly. So I found a place with some cover, but I could hear the electricity in the air even though there wasn't any thunder or lighting and I though holy sh!t, what am I doing up here? I saw a couple of people just a little ways down the ridge from me so I decided to go join them, who wants to die alone right? They were actually a mother and daughter (Gin and Jenny - I think) who I had spoke to the night before so it was nice to see them again. After awhile I was feeling miserable and was ready to face going down Bross just to get out of the weather so I started down. After about 5-10 minutes everything stopped, the sky cleared and you could see the sun coming up. So I turned around and started back up because at least I was going towards the sun. I figured this whole episode probably set me back 45 minutes and since I stared 45 min late I was 90 minutes behind schedule. By the time I got to the top of Bross at 8:30 am, I was spent. I was chilly, my poor dog (Sadie) was also cold and shivering. Gin and Jenny were just leaving Bross when Sadie and I arrived. I knew I needed some recovery time so Sadie and I spent some time resting up there and then we continued on to Lincoln.

On the the sun finally reached us and we had some blockage from the wind we started feeling better. Partway to Lincoln we caught up with Gin and Jenny and decided to hang with them for awhile, they were nice and friendly and went at a comfortable pace. We made it to Lincoln around 10 and I have to say the approach to Lincoln looked much worse than it was. The views from Lincoln were some of my favorite of the day and reminded me why I love climbing 14ers. Gin and Jenny were beginning to wonder if they were going to do Democrat or not, I wasn't thinking that far ahead yet. So we set out for Cameron. The walk from Lincoln to Cameron is pretty easy and there's not a lot to say about Cameron, we got to the top of Cameron at around 10:50 am. We were feeling pretty good after Lincoln and Cameron so we started really thinking that we were going to make it up Democrat after all.

Then we started down Cameron and started talking to people who had done Democrat and how long it took them and we started reconsidering. At some point I realized it just wasn't going to happen for me. My legs were tired, my ankle was starting to hurt and I knew that even though I could push myself and get Democrat done, I wouldn't enjoy it and I would be spent and miserable by the time I was finished so I decided 3 out of 4 was good enough and I am proud of myself. Got back to my tent at around 1:20 pm.

Doing my first solo climb was important to me because I wanted the opportunity to test myself in a different way. I know I can push my body and it will do anything I ask it to, but yesterday ended up being more about respecting my limits. If I had pushed to get Democrat done, I would have been not only exhausted physically, but defeated mentally due to the amount of additional time it would have taken me. I might even have started wondering why I do 14ers and I could have talked myself out of doing more. So I am glad that I listened to my body and knew when to call it a day.

Democrat isn't going anywhere and I will go back and face it another day and have fun doing it.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

rob runkle	Democrat 7/25/2016 10:38am You left the easiest single for another day. There is no problem with that... And, when you come back, if you feel like banging out 4, you have that choice also.
MtnLover	Thanks Rob 7/25/2016 2:06pm I was thinking along those lines myself. I won't rule out doing Bross again, but I do think it is unlikely that I will really want to do it again. However, sometimes I surprise myself.
paul109876	Congrads!!! 7/26/2016 7:26am I was out there in late June and did Demo 1st and left the other 3 for later. I will be back in late August and was wondering whether to go up the Demo/Cameron saddle and back down the same way. Or go up the Bross trail and down the Cameron saddle. I've read mixed reviews on going down the Bross trail because it is so loose. So thank you for your report.
MtnLover	Thanks Paul and you're welcome 7/26/2016 10:43am Even though going up Bross was challenging for me, I'm still glad I went up it. I can't imagine going down Bross even though I did see one guy running down Bross during the brief storm. Also keep in mind that I am 50 years old and this is only my second summer of climbing 14ers.
paul109876	Congrads!!! 7/26/2016 10:58am I live in Indiana and we travel to Co. a couple of times each year so I can try to knock off a 14er or two. Age is only a number. I'm 53. I've seen people older than me blow right past me on the trail. On the other hand, I've left a lot of youngsters in the dust that live in Co. It's your mind and will that make the difference. Knowing your limits and working with or around them to accomplish the goal at hand. You know all of this, you proved it. I look forward to more trip reports from you in the future.

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