54/14

After 49 years I finally summit all the fourteeners with Little Bear.

September 9/8/13

 On a beautiful fall day we drive to the SW corner of the Colorado Sangre de Cristo mountain range, crawl up a couple of miles of jeep road filled with baby head, river rocks and start our tromp up the Holbrook Creek jeep road 5 miles to Lake Como.

 We hike past the infamous Jaws I, II and etc.

Jaws II is most famous, having a memorial plaque for a 4-wheeler who went the wrong direction at a critical point.

 After a couple of hours, Little Bear, on the left, comes into view.

 Our route is up and over the saddle on the right then just under the ridge and a scramble up to the summit.

We set up the trusty 2-man on gently sloping ground.

A plaque, close to our camp, for a 10 year old who died 25 years ago--?

I take an evening stroll to the base of the scree/talus/boulder field that will take us to the saddle predawn tomorrow morning.

Also, home to about the fattest marmot I've ever seen.

An evening t-storm brings this double rainbow with the lower arc seeming to terminate in the side of Little Bear--has got to be a good omen.

Bear bag in hunter safety orange.

5:45AM on the boulder field approach to the scree gully.

Dawn, past the top of the saddle.

The start of the traverse to below the summit in the center.

And up we go through the Hour Glass aka the Bowling Alley.  Fun class 4 scrambling on good rock.

Above the Hour Glass with an infinite selection of bowling balls.

Class 3 to the summit.

I just drank the bubbles.

Happy climbers.

Sand dunes and Sangres to the north.

The problem with the Hour Glass.  Here we waited for nearly 45 minutes for those coming up behind us so as not to possibly bombard them.  

 A beautiful, windless day near the summit of a 14er--can't really whine.

 

 This rappel rope helps hasten passage through the Hour Glass since we now have climbers above us.

 These tie-offs, for rock hits, make a body repel less than smooth.

 Shane, Craig and Beth starting off the saddle down the scree gully.

The long, long road back to the SUV.

Drinking the stuff around the bubbles.