The idea of Mt. Elbert was born after a coworker’s son showed me pictures of the majestic mountain after church. It turns out, Mt Elbert had a contested title of being the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, in competition with Mt. Whitney. A rivalry began between supporters of Mt. Whitney and Mt. Elbert on who could claim the tallest title, with supporters of each moving rocks and earth to make their prized mountain taller. This caught my interest. Naturally Mt. Whitney currently holds the title.
Mt. Elbert Stats:
Elevation: 14,440. ft (4,401 m)
Prominence: 9,093 ft (2,772 m)
Isolation: 670.56 mi (1,079.16 km)
Mt. Elbert Belt Notches:
Ultra prominent peak
Colorado fourteener
Colorado 4000 meter summits
Colorado range high points
Colorado county high points
U.S. state high points
Rocky Mountains Highest Peak
Mt Whitney Elevation: 14,505 Ft.
After multiple participants backing out, the decision was made to keep the trip simple, and go with only myself and my brother. We decided that since this was a relatively easy climb, we would keep the trip to 3 days and 2 nights. One night on the mountain, and one night in Denver. I decided to fly into Denver on Thursday, June 19th 2014 after work, and ate at a delicious Italian restaurant for dinner. I made friends with the bartender who turned out to be Cuban, and he discussed the recent merits and trends of Colorado’s marijuana legalization with me. I was also allowed to sample an 18 year scotch I have never had, but that was absolutely delicious, called Bunnahabhain. It was a fun night, but sufficed to say, we parted ways at the end of the night with the understanding that our life goals were different.
That morning around 10 AM Mark’s flight arrived, and I picked him up from the airport. We went straight to the grocery store and dramatically overbought food and snacks. Maybe the high altitude gives you the munchies? We decided to go the light weight and cheap route for food on the mountain, choosing Filet Mignon, caramelized fresh onions, and thick cut bacon for dinner, followed by steak and eggs for breakfast. I am still grateful we decided to go the responsible route :).
Leaving Denver the drive took approximately 3 hours to arrive in Leadville, CO, which holds the title as the highest elevation city in the US, at 10,152 Ft. The drive was mostly interstate, which weaved through the Rockies. We seized the opportunity to perform our final pack prep in Leadville, so we could buy anything we forgot in town.
The drive from Leadville to the trail head was short, and only took approximately 15 minutes. Half way to the trail head we saw our first view of My Elbert. Mt Elbert if viewed on the left, and Mt. Massive on the right.
The trail head road was gravel, but well groomed. Luckily my frequent car rentals gave me preferential vehicle choice. Naturally, I chose a 4×4 Jeep, which turned out to be complete overkill, but I stand by my decision.
We were at trail head before we knew it.
Day 1
Now, my confession. We didn’t have a trail map. We weren’t even sure which trail we planned on taking. So this trail head map was very helpful. I don’t recommend this level of laziness for you. But anyway, we went this way.
The day was warm and sunny, perfect temperature and weather. Approximately 70 degrees, dry, with a light breeze and sunshine. The trail started out with a slight incline. Early on during the hike there was a small creek crossing, which was easily crossed by rock hopping. The trail was dry, dusty and mostly packed dirt, with few rocks or steps to worry about.
We hiked approximately 5 miles on day 1, with the plan to set up base camp at the tree line. This hike is doable as a day hike, but we decided to enjoy a night on the mountain. The altitude didn’t affect me much during the hike, however it impacted my brother a little more. We both believe that spending an extra night in Denver helped me acclimate, because I definitely felt the altitude get to me in Denver the evening before. As we hiked longer, the trees got smaller, and the views went further.
Shortly after reaching snow, we arrived at the treeline. We arrived at roughly 5PM, and immediately began looking for a flat spot to sleep before it got dark. Given the views we arrived at, I believe pushing for the treeline was a good decision. The treeline location we chose also gave us good views of the first false summit, and the trail we would be walking on in the morning.
It began it get dark, as you can see in the shadows above. When the sun dropped, the temperature dropped fairly rapidly with it. We threw our jackets on and set to make dinner. I would recommend arriving 1 hour earlier, so you don’t have to cook in the cold. Remember the steak?
The sunset views were stunning. In addition, there was a thunderstorm behind Leadville, which provided a nice light show. It turns out the thunderstorm was over Denver, and we could see it all the way to Mt. Elbert. I treated myself to a base camp cigar, as we are VERY responsible hikers. A Padilla Miami if I recall. And Glenmorangie Scotch to compliment. Anything worth doing is worth doing right after-all.
The altitude and cold soon got to us around 11PM, and we hit the tents. I left the fly off to view the stars, which unfortunately were concealed behind clouds. The lights in the background are leadville in the distance, approximately 20 miles away. Shoes left out on the porch for Saint Nicholas, just in case.
