Climbing Mt. Yale...In Sun, Wind, Snow, & Hail

Yesterday I set out to climb my first 14er (peak of 14,000 feet or higher) of the year, my first of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range, and my 5th 14er.  There are 54 in Colorado.   This is my short version because I'm doing a longer version of the hike for my website Swept Away with Jennifer Broome.  Look for that soon.

According to 14ers.com Yale is 14,196' in elevation.  We were hiking the Southwest Trail that starts at 9,900' elevation.  That means a 9.5 mile round trip hike with a 4,296' elevation change.

The weather was looking iffy but we had a big group of some co-workers and friends and all wanted to give it a go.  So off we went at 7:22am - 14 of us and 3 dogs.  Within the the first 15 minutes our big group split as Amanda (the only other girl), Pete, Josh, and two dogs were hiking at a slower pace.  

That meant I was trying to hang with a group of 10 guys.  There were two 14er first timers in my group.  There were also several very seasoned hikers/climbers:  Chris leading the group, Sean who was the first cancer survivor to summit Everest, Sean's buddy Ryan, and Scott who hikes a lot.  This is my second 14er with Chris (did first 14er of Quandary with him) and third 14er with Scott (did Grays and Torreys with him).  We were going at a pretty good pace up the first big incline that you hit right off the bat, winding through the trees, tromping through snow, traversing logs across streams, and climbing higher and higher with sunshine changing to intermittent light snow showers.

As we started hiking out of the trees, getting above treeline, I started getting behind the guys by a few minutes because I was taking video (of course!).  I felt that if I could keep the guys in sight then I'd be okay.  I caught up to them as they were gearing up with additional winter gear because the wind and snow started picking up.  I'd been fine without gloves to that point but my hands were getting cold so put on my glove liners along with fleece pullover and wind shell.  As I was gearing up at 9:35am, the guys started to hike again.  My friends Jeremy and Jeremy offered to wait but I said go on because they had already been sitting and getting cold.  After gearing up myself and eating a GU packet, I started hiking again but went about 10 minutes and realized I needed my heavier gloves.  

So I trudged along, hoping the guys slow down some so I can catch up, and I got deep conversation with God about please just let me make it and really telling myself if the trail and weather got to treacherous then I would be smart, stop, and wait for the guys to come back down.  That's about the point when I looked up and saw my friend Sean running back to me.  He wanted to make sure I was okay and didn't want me hiking the rocky trail that was getting steeper by myself given the wintry conditions.  It took three times of Sean asking me to take my pack and I finally gave in.  That meant he was carrying mine and his....I justified it in my head that it was okay because he's training to take a group of cancer survivors up Kilimanjaro in July with Cancer Climber Association.  As we climbed another group coming down said we were about 15 minutes behind the group of guys.  As we're hiking I start noticing that my brain is working but as I'm talking either the words just don't come out or it sounded like I'd had a few too many.  That's altitude.  It also affected my stomach and the desire for any food went out the window.  That's definitely not good on a climb.  There were also plenty of moments of feeling like your heart is pumping up in your throat or going to burst as you gasp for air with less and less oxygen.

The guys going for Yale summit.

As Sean and I got to ridge line at 13,900' we had sunshine....but not for long.  

Sean took me around the side to ascend high.  But it meant I had to hug a rock and climb up through a crevasse with nothing but snow covered rocks extending below.  I have a fear of highs and this was incredibly tough for me.  I did it but but as we were making our way higher on the ridge line toward the final summit, the snow squall hit.  At this point, very shaken and extremely cold, I had what I'll just call my freak out on the mountain.  I was literally trembling out of fear and cold.  I made a decision I didn't want to have to make.  I was over 14,000' but with the near whiteout conditions my summit window to go the approximate last 150 feet or little less up had closed.  So Sean and I hiked back just a little bit so I could be in a semi-sheltered spot and he went forward to meet the other guys.  As he started solo, we saw the group getting closer to us.  There was no more waiting, it was time to go down and down in a hurry. 

The guys hiking back from summit in near whiteout conditions.

Smiling in the blowing snow...shortly after my freak out moment. 

My friend Scott helped me down as Sean and his friend Ryan had to get Sean's dog Maya down one area that was a little too sketchy for her.  As we climbed back to about 13,500' feet, we had a small break in the snow.  I took that as moment to re-center and get a Zen moment on a boulder.  We were there no more than 5 minutes before we had to move again as the next squall was moving in.  

As we got back to about 12,500' we saw the other three and two dogs.  They were doing great just going slow.  They were going to try to make an attempt at the top.  As we got back to about 11,200' we had hail - just another weather element to throw into the mix!

In total it took the first group about 9 hours to do the hike with the weather conditions.  For the second group it was even longer.  But finishing it made the challenge worth it.  I'm certainly thankful to have friend to help get me through even in the worst weather conditions.