Hey guys, Skyler here. Ty is still adventuring at his job in a distant summer camp, probably with limited dial-up internet access. I think and hope we might hear from him soon.

Yesterday marked my one year anniversary of starting to climb Colorado 14ers (mountains in Colorado over 14,000 ft.). It was marked by my second successful summit of the breezy and easy Mt. Bierstadt, a popular climb amongst front-rangers, and the day I decided to give mountaineering a real shot. So, ten 14ers later, I made the impromptu decision at 9:29PM on June 23rd to pack my gear and try to wake up at 3:05 AM the following day to give DeCaLiBross a shot. DeCaLiBross is a combination of four 14ers, Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Lincoln, and Mt. Bross. I will note that Mt. Cameron is an un-ranked 14er due to its ridge not falling below three hundred feet of the nearby Mt. Lincoln. By 3:20 AM I was on the road, thinking about how it had been an entire six months since my last climb – that of Mt. Princeton in December. The day prior, I had started listening to Jon Krakauer’s, “Into Thin Air,” a book chronicling the author’s experience during the 1996 Mt. Everest tragedy. I brought the audiobook along with me for the nearly three hour drive to the trailhead from Denver. I will admit now, though it is a fantastic book, “Into Thin Air” is not a good pre-14er listen/read.

I drove up the almost completely dry road to Kite Lake, the start-point of the adventure. A few cars were parked at the trailhead, and I could see people bustling around tents, preparing for a day of climbing. Already packed and good to go, I grabbed my stuff and headed down the trail towards the first peak, Mt. Democrat, promptly at 5:40 AM. On the drive over I could tell there was going to be more snow on the mountains than I was accustomed to (I typically shoot for 14er climbs in July and August), but I had prepared by bringing my microspikes. I only used them a handful of times, and they probably were not crucial, but they were definitely nice to have on spots that were a bit steeper and covered in slush and ice.

The way up to the Democrat-Cameron ridge had a few snow/ice crossings, one of which I used my microspikes for. I watched the sunrise from that connecting saddle. I pushed on. Pushing through more snow, I found myself slipping quite a bit, crossing from rocky patches to snow/ice patches on steep-ish terrain. It was one of the least pleasing elements of the climb, and I noticed most people were not abiding directly by the route on 14ers.com, rather, going straight over the connecting “false summit” bump to the Southwest, instead of looping around it. At the top of the bump, the remainder of the route was covered in solid and decent snow, and ascent became incredibly easy.

I summited at 7:15 AM.

I spent no more than two minutes at the top (above, looking North) before I made my way towards Mt. Cameron. I, like most mountaineers, despise decent, especially when it involves loose scree, talus, and ice. Going down to the connecting saddle was surprisingly easy though. I was in such a rush because the night prior I had read that there was a high chance of thunderstorms around Fairplay (a nearby town) in the afternoon, a big red-flag for any mountaineering.

I used my microspikes for a section on the ridge past the saddle towards Mt. Cameron. I was wrong in thinking that the snow and ice would be the only challenge of the day. Around 8 AM, blustery winds began pounding the sides of the connecting ridge, and subsequently, began battering me. This continued all the way up the ridge to Mt. Cameron. There was a steep section of snow/ice towards the top that was easily negotiable without spikes, and I’d recommend not trying to veer around to another route.

With no wind shelter at the top, I spent maybe five seconds on the boring summit (above) of Mt. Cameron before pushing towards Mt. Lincoln. On my way over, I ran into two climbers I had seen earlier, and I asked them how Mt. Lincoln was. “Windy,” they replied. Fantastic, I thought. With the continued occasional ~35mph winds that kept blasting me, I found myself practically running towards the summit of Mt. Lincoln. The connecting ridge was nice, and very snow free. At the top of Mt. Lincoln (below), I spent a good amount of time tending to my feet; my toes had lost all feeling and had turned a ghostly white, with some blue splotches.

This was due to accumulated moisture in my shoes from the snow and ice, despite the fact that both my shoes and socks were supposedly “water resistant/proof.” I had a body warmer in my bag that I had tried to use on the ascent of Mt. Cameron, but it had exploded in my pocket once I had taken it out of the bag. Praying that I didn’t have frostbite to whatever angry deities were tormenting me with tempest-like wind, I busted out a pair of dry socks and continued towards Mt. Bross.

I heard ramblings that the summit of Mt. Bross was closed, but I had seen nothing indicating such on 14ers.com the night prior. I know previously, they had red text indicating that the Colorado 14ers Initiative was working with the land owners to try to make a deal or something, and to not climb it while this was happening, but I saw no such red text the night prior. I made my way along an initially pretty snow covered part of the ridge, following in the footsteps of the nice guys who had described Mt. Lincoln as “windy.” I was still being hammered by winds strong enough to knock me off my balance several times and make breathing a bit more difficult. Past the saddle on the Mt. Bross side, the snow had cleared, and it only took me until 10:26 AM to summit.

Again, I spent minimal time at the summit (above), partly now due to the fear I could get in trouble for trespassing. I made my way down. The way down from Mt. Bross, though loose in some sections was almost completely dry and clear.

Only after you turn South to cross the little valley was there any substantial slippery snow. Jogging at times after this, I made my way down, occasionally snapping pictures of wildflowers.

I made it back to Kite Lake by 11:37 AM. At the river by the lake, I noticed a previously unnoticed big sign that said “Mt. Bross Legally Closed.” Oops. I exchanged pleasantries with some guys I had met on Mt. Democrat and made my way out, waving a “see you later” to the mountains.