Mount Lady Washington Loop.

It's been a little while.  My shoulder has gone back toward better and then back toward worse.  It doesn't feel one hundred percent yet, but I think that is close.  With this in mind, great weather predicted, and calendar winter set to end in about a week and a half, I HAD to get out.
Of course, the problem is now that I have largely climbed out the east side of the park.  There are a few odds and ends here and there that I am either saving for later, or waiting for better conditions on.  In the meantime, I have been poking around on Lists of John looking for any destinations I may have missed.  And I discovered one- a small, unranked high point that Gerry Roach named Pine Ridge.  This is at the extreme northern end of the ridge that extends north east from Granite Pass, the large pile of rock that marks the intersection for the Longs Peak trail to turn up into the Boulder Field.
It seemed silly to go up just for this.  I thought it would take me no more than six hours.  As I left the house, I kept in mind the option of making a loop by adding on Mount Lady Washington.
The trail up was in pretty good shape.  I ended up taking the shorter winter trail, which basically heads straight uphill instead of switch backing.  This of course cuts some distance off, but is significantly steeper.

Soon enough I was approaching Chasm Junction and had some great views coming.  This was my first time since mid-November above treeline and I wondered how it would go.  I was feeling pretty great so I decided to go for Mount Lady Washington first, and then take the north ridge down to Granite Pass and head out to Pine Ridge.

The quality of the sights increased. 

I started up the east ridge of MLW.  Here you can see Mount Meeker, The Loft, and Ships Prow.  With mostly larger and stable talus, this route up to the summit is second class.  You pretty much go directly up the ridge, staying north of any steep stuff.  It's around 1700 feet of elevation gain and .8 mile from Chasm Junction to the summit.

Across the bowl of Jim's Grove, I got some views of the rest of the days destinations.

They are hard to pick out, so I labelled them here.

At first I thought I'd go all the way out to Pine Ridge and then back to Granite Pass to take the trail back down.  But I spied what looked like a good route heading down towards Jim's Grove. 

Here is the approximate route I took.  Nibbles?  We'll get to them later...

The summit of MLW provides some spectacular views of Longs.  Here is Lambs Slide.

And the North Face/Cables Route.

And of course the Diamond as a whole.  It is amazing how huge it looks from here.  It is truly astounding, certainly one of the best views in the whole of RMNP.

Mount Meekers' Iron Gates.  I had a quick snack.  I could not find the summit register.

Looking down the north ridge, which looks a whole lot like looking down the east ridge.  Again, larger and mostly stable talus.  I stayed to the west side to keep out of the drifted snow.  I rejoined the trail pretty close to Granite Pass, and then went around to the north side to ascend to the high point.

From here I could see out to my final goal. 

And had a good view of the peaks to the south. 

I had to marvel at the amount of snow on the mountains.  It is crazy that this will all be gone in a few months.
I've covered Battle Mountain before, but approach from the west side and then cross to the east of the high point for the easiest going.  From here just continue on to Pine Ridge.  There are two high points: it is the one on your left.

Not too amazing.

But with great views of Meeker, MLW, Longs, and Storm Peak.

I could see Twin Sisters across the way.  Note the landslide that resulted from the 2013 floods on the lower left.

These are the high points I labelled "The Nibbles" above.  I found them to be a good landmark, and since they are the only thing around, why not check them out?  All are short second class, and after a fair amount of elevation gain, provided just a small nibble.  According to my GPS, they are between 11600 and 11555 feet in elevation, and are at N 40 16.5541' W 105 35.4891', N 40 16.5425' W 105 35.4708', and N 40 16.5420' W 105 35.4545'.  Or you can just look for the three lonely high points on this ridge.
My descent plan worked out perfectly.  I stayed in the dirt/rock section for as long as possible, then passed through a short section of snow in the trees before popping out on the trail.  I took this back down.

Goodbye for now.
I have a tendency to get lost briefly up here in the winter.  I think this marked the first time I was able to find the trail easily and follow it down.  Again I took the winter short cuts, and arrived back at the car right before 2pm.
This was a fun loop, and a great way to get back into the mountains again.  Mount Lady Washington is a great peak to try as a warm up for Longs, or just for the views.  I am very much looking forward to the year ahead.  Unfortunately, I've got two plus months before Trail Ridge Road reopens.  I foresee alot of long drives in my future.
Link to Caltopo Map.
Mount Lady Washington Loop:

8.8 miles, 4026 feet gain.  Second class.  Strenuous-.
Including (all distances as part of the loop):
Mount Lady Washington, 13281 feet: 3.5 miles via east ridge and including winter short cuts, 3881 foot gain.  Second class.  Strenuous-.
Granite Pass, 12120+ feet: 4.3 miles, 2720 foot gain.  Second class.  Moderate+.
Battle Mountain, 12044 feet: 4.7 miles, 2644 foot gain.  Second class.  Moderate+.
Pine Ridge, 11909 feet: 5.3 miles, 2509 foot gain.  Moderate+.
"The Nibbles", 11555-11600 feet: 5.9 miles, 2200ish foot gain.  Second class.  Moderate+.

Chasm View, Chasm Lake, and Longs Peak area.

The last time around, I'd mentioned a few of my May weather related turn arounds.  This day was also attempted in May, just a few days after the large snow storm we'd received.  My thinking was that the Longs area tends to either melt out or have the snow blown away relatively quickly, so maybe it would be dried out somewhat.
The going was good until I hit tree line and the mashed in trail ended.  From there on up, it was post hole mania, the snow having drifted up to waist deep in places.  I'd planned to take the trail around Mount Lady Washington and then hit Chasm View, but as that didn't seem to be an option, I went directly up the east ridge of MLW.  I probably made it to around 12200 feet when I hit my hard turn around time.  So I turned back, but promised to return once the snow had melted out.
This was my first time up the Longs trail in a season other than winter.  It was weird to actually hike on dirt and rock for a little while.  Snow was hit before too long, which became solid snow up until tree line.  I didn't use traction devices at all, and made the first outing of the year in trail runners.
Above tree line and in the full eye of the sun, the weather warmed significantly.  I stopped to take off a layer, and was accosted by this little guy. 

S/he got about six inches away from me.  Obviously people are feeding the animals.

Pretty cute!

Looking east to Battle Mountain.

I stopped for a snack break at Granite Pass, and thought about the last time I was here.  It was zero degrees with a pretty stiff wind.  Very cold.  On this day it was quite pleasant.

Up to the Boulderfield.  I thought I'd add on Mount Lady Washington after ascending to Chasm View, but it looked so close I decided to just go for it from here. 

The views of Longs grew better and better of course.

The summit of Mount Lady Washington is unremarkable, though it does offer some great views, and can be a somewhat fun scramble on the way up.

The diamond grew ever more impressive and imposing. 

Since it looked like snow might still be a factor and I didn't bring crampons or an ice axe, I had to stay right next to the ridge between MLW and Longs to stay mostly on rock.  The drop off to the east isn't always as precipitous as you'd think, and this did offer some fun scrambling/route finding. 

Down one of the couloirs to Chasm Lake. 

I saw this person on the north face.
There was a little bit of snow to contend with before reaching Chasm View.  It was still frozen pretty hard and without proper tools, I really had to take my time moving up and across it. 

But I made it to the little window that is Chasm View, and what a great vantage point.  I have another photo of the opposite view shot from Chasm Lake that will come later. 

The steepness of the diamond.

Pretty cool to be this close up to it.

Storm Peak.

Mount Lady Washington on the descent.
I was able to glissade/ rock hop back down to the boulder field and start on my way back down.

Saw this runner hit the keyhole and turn back.
I made my way around MLW and got back to Chasm Junction in short time.  From here, I headed to Chasm Lake.  The snow along the trail has mostly melted out with one exception- the very long stretch over Columbine Falls.  However, the route is pretty well beat in and I felt fine crossing it in trail runners.

What a view at Chasm Lake!  If you follow the ridge that heads right from Longs here, you'll see it dip before rising slightly and dipping again.  That dip is Chasm View.

This photo shows Mount Meeker, The Loft, Ships Prow, Se Longs(aka The Beaver), and Longs true summit.

By now I was feeling a bit tired, but if I didn't go down to Peacock Pool, I'd just have to come back for it.  In reality, I think it only took me ten minutes or so down and slightly more back up.  I would stay in the rock before you hit Columbine Falls, but then make your way over to end up following the drainage from the falls down.  This seemed to keep the terrain pretty reasonable and avoid any bushwhacking.

Columbine Falls.

 

A pretty view up.

Looking east from the lake it looks like the world just ends.  I was very tempted to jump in.  The water was frigid.  But the sun, my constant companion of the day, now turned intermittent.  But soon enough I will be swimming in a lake.

Back on the trail I could see down to the plains below.  I noticed I could see Coffintop from up here.

And a last parting view up into Chasm Meadows, a spectacular place to be.
The Longs Peak cirque is certainly one of the most spectacular places in the park and one of the most traveled, particularly once non technical conditions come around on Longs.  And if you take the time to get to Chasm View, the scope of the scene at your feet is amazing and awe inspiring.  It offers a very unique perspective on Longs itself.  Chasm Lake is a must visit in my opinion.  With the altitude and exposure, it will be important to start early.  While you are there, I'd recommend to make the second class scramble down to Peacock Pool.  While I can't comment on the amount of middle of the summer visitation it gets, my general experience in RMNP leads me to say that if there isn't a trail directly to something, it won't be visited that much even if a popular trail goes right by it.  Take the time to get there and enjoy a peaceful lunch break, take in the views, listen to the waterfall.  Take the time to enjoy this wonderful and magical place.
Stuff near Longs Peak that mostly starts with the word Chasm:
Mount Lady Washington(13281 feet), west slope via the Boulderfield:
6.3 miles one way, 3881 foot gain.  Second class.  Strenuous-.
Chasm View (13500 feet):
6.3 miles one way, 4100 foot gain. Second class.  Strenuous-.
Chasm Meadows (11599 feet):
4 miles one way, 2199 foot gain.  Moderate+.
Chasm Lake (11780 feet):
4.2 miles one way, 2380 foot gain.  Moderate+.
Columbine Falls (11440 feet):
3.9 miles one way, 2040 foot gain.  Moderate+.
Peacock Pool (11300 feet):
3.9 miles one way, 1900 foot gain.  Moderate+.
By my estimate, this hike covered 14 miles with 5000 feet of gross elevation gain.  Strenuous.

The red dots mark the spot where the opposite photo was taken from...

Estes Cone.

While still enjoying some nicer weather, last week I set out for Estes Cone.  I arrived at the Longs Peak trail head around seven, and set out up the trail. 

On the way you pass Eugenia Mine, which as you can see, produced more dreams than gold.
I had read that one could follow the stream here up the hill to find the actual mine, now closed by the park.  I did find the rusting boiler used to drive machinery, and after wandering around in a good bit of avalanche dead fall and two or so feet of powder, I decided to head back down.
While I was walking down, I came upon a very odd looking erosion, and upon looking up the mine when I got home, discovered this was actually one of the abandoned shafts.  Of course there was not much to see, and I'll have to get back to it in the summer.

On the trail, which was mostly packed snow with a touch of ice and bare soil here and there.  I used traction devices on the way up, but nothing on the way back. 

After passing through Moore Park, the trail takes a hard left and starts heading up hill.  The total gain for the hike is around 1500 ft, with the vast majority of that gained near the end.

Battle Mountain.

You'll arrive at a junction with the trail from Glacier Basin.  A sign marks the way to the top of the cone.  You'll gain over 500 feet in the next .7 mile, so prepare!

It took me a few minutes to actually find the high point when I got the the top.  To save you some time, continue to head south.  The true summit is the southern most block of stone. 

If you click to embiggen, you can see the Longs Peak parking lot above the larger empty space in the middle. 

It wasn't too sunny, in fact I was in cloud cover most of the day.  These lower clouds were engulfing the high peaks of the park.

Zoomed out to see it all- Meeker, Longs, Mt. Lady Washington, Storm Peak, Battle Mountain. 

Looking north to some of the peaks in the park. 

Again, cool to see the low clouds playing with the summits.

Mummy range.

Twin Sisters as seen from Estes Cone.

Points east.

Clouds finally take Meeker and Longs away from us. 

Love you too Rocky Mountain National Park!

Well, above I'd captured the parking lot from Estes Cone, here is the opposite view.

And a little more zoom in.  The cliffs on the south and eastern faces sure look intimidating.  I was back to the truck in around four hours, which included the time spent wandering around looking for a mine.   No gold was found.
I thought this was a pretty mellow hike overall, something good for those who want to do something easier, shorter, or less technical and still get a good view from the top, as well as the feel the reward of summitting a pretty cool peak.
Estes Cone via Longs Peak TH:
3.3 miles one way, 1606 foot gain.  Second class.  Moderate.
Other destinations you'll encounter along the way:
Eugenia Mine:
1.4 miles one way, 508 foot gain.  Moderate-.
Moore Park:
1.8 miles each way, 360 foot gain.  As you can see, you do gain and then loose some elevation to get here.  Moderate-.