TR: La Plata Peak 7.7.04

TR: La Plata Peak 14,336’
7.7.04
Trailhead: South fork creek


Our Run:

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Blue Sky
Roller Coaster
Transcendence

“Every cloud has a SILVER lining” Yeah, lame quote, but read through and you’ll figure it out in the end…

You must be wondering, “What the hell does ‘blue sky’; roller coaster and ‘transcendence’ have to do with a skiing TR? Yeah, I wonder that too sometimes, but today was one of those days on the hill where there is a turn of the leaf around every corner. Lot’s of ups and downs; challenges that seemed impossible to overcome, and moments of satisfaction and accomplishment. Trips like these are what we remember most when looking back, they bring excitement and adventure. La Plata is one of the more technical, steeper, longer 14ers in Colorado. Its 4,200 vertical gain from the trailhead leaves one wondering why and the hell they decided to pick this peak out of the other 53 14ers in the state to climb and/or ski. I was definitely wondering that when we were about 1,000 feet from the summit and it seemed like the peak was moving away from us rather than closer.

View of La Plata from the trailhead:

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...10291/lpp1.jpg

It’s a slog. It’s steep. It’s covered with endless boulder fields and ridges that will make anybody quiver. It’s aesthetic. Its views and ski lines are worth the 4,200 feet and 9 miles of difficult climbing. It’s also the 5th highest peak in Colorado, which was apparent to my lungs for the last several hundred feet of the climb. La Plata lies on the southern end of the Sawatch Range about 25 miles outside of Aspen and another 20 or so miles from Leadville. It greets travelers as they begin their journey up Highway 82, or better known as Independence Pass. La Plata sits just east and south of the majestic North and South Maroons, Pyramid Peak, Castle Peak, Capitol Peak, etc. This area in Colorado is known for it’s richness in classic ski descents, climbs, sight-seeing, aspen groves, and rich people (pfffft, who needs ‘em). The aesthetics of the mountain are simply amazing. On the East Ridge is the Ellingwood ridge, known for its craggy spires that shoot up into the sky. To the west you have the aforementioned peaks. To the North lies the state’s tallest peak, Mt. Elbert. To the south are the multiple high peaks and 14ers of the collegiate range. Beautiful. Summer in this area is magical. Blue sky days, mixed in with numerous blooming wildflowers:

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warm southwest breezes, bright turquoise lakes, and a touch of paradise all make for a great atmosphere.

Blue sky.

"Walk along the river, sweet lullaby, it just keeps on flowing,
It don't worry 'bout where it's going, no, no.
Don't fly, mister blue bird, I'm just walking down the road,
Early morning sunshine tell me all I need to know

You're my blue sky, you're my sunny day.
Lord, you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way,
Turn your love my way, yeah."

Don’t know why, but this song was stuck in my head from the minute we left the trailhead. Of course, bluebird sky was dominating the world above us, but the lyrics to this song just flowed during our hike up through the lush forest and through the open meadows along the south fork river. Emotional state of happiness? Yes. Complete solitude and beauty surrounded us as we made our way up the valley and towards La Plata.

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Roller Coaster.

Yeah, another cheesy overused emotional statement people use to describe their state of emotions sometimes. The trek up La Plata was definitely a roller coaster of sorts. The trail begins pretty mellow through thick aspen groves and then snakes its way up a forested hillside along the river bank. The climbing got steep for a while and then mellowed out once we reached the open valley. Like I said before the day began perfectly…….Bluebird sky, cool breeze against the face, amazing surrounding peaks, water flowing swiftly down a valley with wildflowers blooming like no other, etc. It was great. We continued to climb up past the open valley and then the trail began to start climbing up the northwest ridge very steeply. The trail follows an avalanche path up to the crest of the ridge before continuing up to the summit. Even with the constant switchbacks going up the ridge, it was still difficult to climb. Climbing steep slopes in ski boots is not much fun. There’s not a whole lot of room to flex your ankles, so it takes more effort by using your hips and knees to push off and take the next step up. About half way up the avalanche path we stopped for a break and when Duph pulled out his water bottle it slipped and tumbled down the entire hillside. With the summit still a couple hours away and having no backup water, duph climbed back down the avalanche path and looked for his water bottle. After about 15 minutes of searching, he came back up empty handed.
As we approached the top of the ridge we got a better view of some of the lines off La Plata, or should I say, the lack thereof. There was a sudden let down in both of us as we gazed across the north face and saw minimal patches of snow, all unconnected and thin. This can’t be right I thought to myself. We noticed some nicely filled couloirs from the highway on the upper third of the mountain. Where are they? From our vantage point, there was nothing to ski. Huge letdown. I noticed a large ridge, or group of high jetting rocks coming down the middle of the peak. I thought and hoped there would be snow on the other side of that ridge.

Disappointed, we continued up towards the summit and the climb continued to get steeper and steeper as well as the air was getting thinner and thinner. At around 13,400 feet I started to suck wind bad. Usually the altitude doesn’t affect me all that much, but today it was working me. Each step felt like slow motion. Every couple of minutes I would look up the patches of snow and see if the summit was getting closer, but instead it seemed like it was moving away from us. The trail quickly dissipated and we were left with a huge boulder field to maneuver through. There was an occasional cairn here and there, but for the most part it was a free for all. To our left there was a snowfield that led up to the summit. With only a few hundred vertical feet to go we thought climbing up the snowfield would be much easier. Nope. After several good steps, we began post holing up to our hips in sloppy mush. Each step more laboring than the other. In the short distance, dark clouds were hovering over the Maroon Bells area and were heading straight for us.
After what seemed like an eternity, we made it to the summit. Tired legs, labored breathing, and thunderheads looming directly above us. Scrambling around the summit we were able to find the lines we saw from the highway. There was a high ridge of rock that separated the ski lines from the face we were looking at. Phew, a sense of ease.

With nowhere to run or hide, we got very concerned about the upcoming potential weather. Our minds quickly changed from skiing/climbing to survival. We quickly searched for some spots to hide within the large boulders, but couldn’t find anything that would protect us from lightning. Right as we began talking about other options it began to snow hard on us. We waited for a crack of thunder, but it never did. It snowed for about 15 minutes, leaving a trace on the ground. The storm quickly passed by and we were back to blue sky and sunshine.

With what seemed to be like an open window of opportunity in the weather, we decided to get ready and make our ways down.

Duph making his first few turns from the summit:

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Coming over the first rollover:

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We were quickly transcended into another state after a few turns…:

Duph coming upon the first choke:

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After making several turns in soft snow, we faced another challenge of working through this line that didn’t go. There was a large cliff across the slope that dumped into a tighter and steeper slope below. We decided to down climb this section, as it looked somewhat easy to maneuver through. As I was making my way down the cliff, winter had found an alternative way down and was hanging out below us on the snow. As I went for a handhold, a keg-sized boulder slipped out from beneath me and began tumbling over the cliff and towards winter! Winter was sitting exactly in the path of any rock fall coming off that cliff and that large boulder was screaming at her. Duph yelled at her to get out of the way and at the last second the dog dodged the boulder and it made a crater only about 10 inches away from her. My heart was beating fast and was relieved the dog didn’t get hit.

Duph:

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...70/Cnv0316.jpg

Coming up on the next choke:

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...70/Cnv0325.jpg

Ellingwood Ridge in the background:

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...70/Cnv0326.jpg

Nearing the end:

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http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...291/lppdb4.jpg

Winter keeping up:

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After making our way down the cliff, we clicked back in and made turns all the way down to the valley floor. 1,750 total vertical.


Tired and thirsty, we began making our way back to the trailhead via the gulch route. Crossing several nasty boulder fields, a large meadow, and trudging through thick forest brought us back to the trailhead exhausted and thirsty for a beer.

Crossing the meadow after hiking up the first ridge:

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Looking to the North towards Mt. Elbert:

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On our way down we discovered a swimming hole in the river.

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Winter jumped right in, and I was real close to following her, but after feeling how cold the water was I just soaked my feet. Huge day with lot’s of ups, downs, and in-betweens. Satisfied? Absolutely. It seemed like every downer was followed by an uplifting turn. La Plata means “Silver” in spanish. Every cloud has a silver lining……

You really should leash your dog in public places.
























Just kidding. Nice shots once again. I feel like I am getting to know your lab through your kick ass, endless season TR's.

I was kind of wondering when your next July TR was going to pop up.

Once again, nice work! How steep do you reckon most of these chutes are that you and Duph have been skiing?

nicely done again! Man you guys are killing it, keep at 'er!

How long did the total trip take? You and the dog must have been exhausted afterward. Nice work, as always.

Somebody spancer that dog.

man you guys just keep on keepin' on...great job!

don't you guys take shera along any more?

Quote:

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Originally posted by The AD
How long did the total trip take? You and the dog must have been exhausted afterward.

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RT took about 9 hours. We hung out at the summit for a little while and the downclimb over the cliff took a little extra time.

xboat, SheRa is still around. She busted up her arm pretty bad the other day on a rock at Galena while skiing with Billow.

Kept looking back at this one, great shot the background is amazing.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...70/Cnv0326.jpg

Killing it. Great write up, BC. As Roo said somebody get that dog a spancer, damn dog has had more decents this season than some in the last five. Great pics.

Aw Dave - tears, shivers, sheer joy in the pics of the descent. This story is so fine. Thanks.

When you get to be an old fart, you just got to write a book about all these adventures. For your grandchildren.

Hey xboat, Matt and Dave are so strong that they really need to be doing some of these trips without anybody holding them back. It's a good thing. The vert and sheer distance they went on this trip and the technicality of some of the lines they are doing, like the Grizzley couloir are letting them stretch their wings. It's a beautiful thing to see them on this journey.

As for me, I'm still skiing. No worries. I'm on a very interesting path myself. Going into the bc alone much more now, to the point where it feels like an integral part of my life. Learning a lot about routefinding and taking care of myself. I'm growing as a skier too and having a great time.

Check the sig.

Hey iskibc, great job man, the north face of la plata is my 2nd favorite climb/ski thus far. Curious as to why didn't you guys climb that north face, that's one of the best snow climbs in the state? There are a few chutes that dead end and you really can't get a good view of that face from the standard trail. How did you guys recon that route or did you just drop in blindly, pray and hope for the best!!

Quote:

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Originally posted by SheRa
...life is good

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glad to hear it!

iskibc,

the words you just put up are priceless. Thank you once again.

Roller coaster is right.

-Jerking my head up from Independance Pass, seeing that north face and salivating - psyched!

-Losing that water bottle, searching in vain, thirsty. Not psyched.

-That random hiker who came down and gave me his extra water(wasn't much, but it was a godsend)

-Getting that first close-ish view after 3 miles of hiking, no continous lines to ski, heart-sinking

-The closer we got, the further we had to go, over what I thought was the boulderfield from hell

-Post holing waist deep felt like torture

-Getting to the top, seeing the lines indeed looked amazing - psyched!

-Ugly, ugly clouds overhead. Paranoia, nervous - we gotta get out of here!

-the calming voice of reason, setting my tired mind at ease: "Matt, look - there's blue sky behind these clouds"

-the huge rock tumbling, slow motion, I felt helpless, I honestly thought my dog was going to die.

-she barely dodged it at the last possible moment - so relieved

-the joy of picking ways down that maze -"this way looks awesome, but so does that, and that, and that!

-discovering the real mother of all boulderfields - at least a mile of slow going, slipping on teetering rocks, tired, clumsy, weary

-navigating all that deadfall in the forest, banging skis all over the place, falling down, up and down little hills, spurts of ultra clumsy tired dis-array. Then coming onto another boulderfield in those trees. AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

-Finding the trail, finally coming down to the river to the stashed beers, sitting, resting, going over all the input received throughout the day. A sense of accomplishment. Winter swimming joyously instead of resting flattened in a snowy grave. The beer tastes unusually good. Sore muscles numbed, so, so satisfied. Such a huge day.:)

^bizzump for the here and now^

Nice shots of La Plata! A classic for sure. Did it back in '85 on skinny straight sticks. Remember those. We hiked part way in the night before, and got on the summit early. Were hanging on the summit till weather started to threaten. I stode up and felt like there was a bee in my hair and was slapping at it. Then I looked at my bros who were all pie eyed starring at me. I guess my "bee" was actually some blue arc of electricity on my head. Needless to say we got the fuck out of there. What a perfect couloir off the top.