Mt. Bierstadt - 14,060 ft
Location: Clear Creek County
Distance: 9.26 miles
Elevation: +4750/-4750
Difficulty: Beginner

Knowing the irony in what I'm about to write, I'm still going to write this month's Trail of the Month even though it wasn't on a trail at all. Why wasn't it on a trail, you ask? We'll, I'm sure there was a trail somewhere under the snow, but nothing that could be followed. So, my buddy Dwight and I trusted our map and instinct to find the quickest way to the top of Mt. Bierstadt, our first successful hike to the top of a 14er during the winter.

Mt. Bierstadt is located in Clear Creek County and accessible from Georgetown via Guanella Pass. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.

March 8, 2008 10:00 p.m. - I've known of my impending hike to the top of a Mt. Bierstadt with my friend Dwight for over a month. In typical fashion I've waited until now to pack my backpack and get my gear cleaned and ready for the following day's hike. I'm such an idiot. Why do I always do this to myself? I assure you, I won't learn from this.

March 8, 2008 10:30 p.m. - I have learned other lessons from failed attempts up 14ers during the winter such as; I tend to pack too heavy. The fact of the matter is that I need only the essentials for a day's hike. I tend to pack for worst case scenarios. This trip is going to be different. I've packed only a few extra layers, water, and a couple power bars. This lightened my pack a lot. The heaviest part of my pack is all the electronic equipment I bring (i.e. camera, GPS, music, etc.). It adds up quick. I double check everything to make sure it is fully charged and in the right place in my pack. I zip it up and call it a night. The plan is to meet Dwight at 6 a.m. to head towards the mountain.

March 9th, 2008 2:00 a.m. (3:00 a.m.) - Daylight Savings begins. Clocks jump ahead an Yes, I'm awake and there isn't much hope in going back to sleep. 3 hrs of sleep tonight.

March 9th, 2008 5:00 a.m. - I drag myself out of bed. I of course feel like going to sleep 10 min. before I am suppose to wake up. Oh well. I throw on what gear I can, grab my pack, and jump in the truck to meet Dwight.

March 9th, 2008 6:00 a.m. - I meet up with Dwight and we talk about our chances of making it to the top. If you are a person that looks for signs like I am, then you'll appreciate the signs we talked about. I told him that on the way over I was listening to the radio and the first three songs I heard were titled "Soul Free", "We Are The Champions", and "I Am A Rock." I told Dwight that based on those three songs we are destined for success. He quickly retorts with "I heard 'Highway To The Danger Zone'" He says that he takes it as a good sign cause Top Gun was cool. I have to reply "As long as I'm Maveric and you're Goose, cause it only ends up good for one of them."

March 9th, 2008 6:30 a.m. - We drive through the town of Georgetown. I've never actually visited the town. I usually drive past at 70 mph on the interstate. The town is actually quite nice. I remark that the only thing I've known about this town in the past is that a crazy stripper was elected mayor of the town. Probably not their finest moment in history. Beyond that, I like the town and the guys at the convenience store are nice as we make small talk while buying something to drink.

March 9th, 2008 6:45 a.m. - We put the truck in four wheel drive and start heading up a snow covered Guanella Pass. There was probably about six inches on the ground, but the truck was doing just fine and we were confident we would be able to make it to the trailhead. We then see a sign that states the pass is closed in eight miles. The trailhead is ten miles away.

March 9th, 2008 7:15 a.m. - We get to where the pass closes. There is no way we will be going any further up the pass. A mountain of snow at least 15 feet tall spans the width of the road. We park the truck and begin to get ready.

March 9th, 2008 7:30 a.m. - Packs are on our back, snow shoes on our feet, and we hike over the top of the snow heap blocking the road. It is obviouse that we are not the only ones who have hiked this. A nicely packed trail guides us along the pass. The view is amazing. The sun begins to crest over the mountain tops and the high peaks to the west become illuminated. The sun hasn't reached us in the valley yet and it is bitter cold.

March 9th, 2008 8:30 a.m. - We've reached a point on the pass where we are able to cut some time by heading into the valley. At this point we are walking on several feet of snow. As we walk into the valley we basically point our snow shoes in the direction of the peak and start walking. The walk across the valley floor is beautiful! We are not the only ones hiking the mountain today, but we are the first, which allows us the privilege of making first tracks. As we stand on the valley floor we are able to turn 360 degrees and see nothing but untouched snow, white peaks, and blue sky.

March 9th, 2008 9:30 a.m. - Our hike starts a radical change in elevation. We leave the valley floor and start heading straight up the mountain. At this point energy is still high and we start making quick work of the mountain. However, the peak looks deceivingly close. It is easy to forget the scale and we realize that even after a half hour of hiking the peak looks no closer than it was before. Along the way we learn that we should avoid walking where we see the tops of bushes poking through the snow. The snow pack in these areas are incredibly weak and we fall through. Avoiding these areas add a lot of hiking, but makes for a more enjoyable hike as we are able to stay on top of the snow.

March 9th, 2008 10:30 a.m. - Are we there yet? I'm following my friend Dwight as he takes the lead and blazes trail towards the summit. By this point my muscles are feeling every step and I'm looking forward to going downhill just so I can use a different set of muscles for a while. Soon a pattern begins: take 30 steps and resting for 30 seconds. This continues until we reach the rocky section of the peak. The hard part about this pattern is that during our rests we see a an ugly bunch of clouds heading our way. At approximately 13,000 feet we are starting to feel the altitude a bit, but finally begin to feel progress as we've made it above 13,000 feet.

March 9th, 2008 11:30 a.m. - We've made it to the rock garden portion of the climb and are able to see the trail cairns. I get a second wind at the sight of the cairns and start making my way towards the summit. As we climb, the ugly clouds that we were trying to stay ahead of have swollowed us and visibility becomes poor when the snow begins to fall. Weather can change very quickly at this altitude and at this point I'm unsure if we will have this weather the rest of the hike or if it will only be for a few minutes.

March 9th, 2008 11:45 a.m. - Fortunately the clouds that swallowed us have left as quickly as they came. We are still surrounded by clouds, but visibility increases and the snow has stopped.

March 9th, 2008 12:00 p.m. - We made the summit! We are standing on the top of Mt. Bierstadt, 14,060 feet.

As is the case with every hike; the moment you make it to your destination you are only half way done. Although the hike down was a relief as it started using different muscle groups, it was still a long haul. Out and back the hike totaled 9.26 miles with an elevation gain of +4750/-4750, and all of this with snow shoes strapped to our feet. It was exhausting and the last two miles were done on auto-pilot. I have never had it feel so good to sit down when we got back to the truck.

After the hike I was extremely proud to have hiked a winter 14er. However, in the back of my mind, I thought this may be my first and only winter 14er. I was exhausted to the point were I didn't want to eat, which is so unlike me. It took a lot of effort and a lot of energy and the thought of doing it again did not interest me in the least. However, a couple weeks have passed since this hike and I've already forgotten the feeling of exhaustion and I'm starting to think about which 14er my buddy and I will summit next winter.

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