Bighorn Mountain in the winter.

Due to the milder and less snowy winter, I have yet to really experience what I would call a 'true' winter hike this year- unbroken trail, windy, cold, plowing through knee deep or more snow.  This week brought me the full value winter hike I've been wanting.  

I left the truck at the Lawn Lake TH at 640 on March 5.  The going was pretty easy at first.

Horseshoe Park in the early morning.  The wind was already ripping.  I could see footprints and tell that someone or someones else had been up this way recently, but when, hard to say.

I did come across these very recent deer or elk footprints quite early on, always the reminder that this is their home and we just share it.  

Longs Peak and friends in the morning.

Mummy range peaks, note the blown snow in the air above them.
As instructed in the book, I took the trail until I met the sign for the Cutbank campsite.  From here, the directions say to head directly southeast to avoid the steepest cliffs of the west face of Bighorn.  Looking at the topo, this didn't sound quite right.  It looked like heading SE from the campsite would take me directly up the steepest faces of the mountain.  But what the hell, I went for it.

Suggested route in red, my suggested route in blue.
My instincts were correct, as most of the way up I was on stuff that was at an inclination of at least 30 degrees, at up to 45 at times.  Of course, in the summer this would be no big deal, but in the winter with snow it became a bit... sketchy. 

Breaking trail on the way up.  The snow was at least knee deep at all times, up to waist deep.  Which means that forward progress slowed to a crawl.  At times I was taking four inch steps forward. 

And more up.  Last year I bought Atlas 1230 snowshoes, and I am glad I had them for this hike.  Snow conditions worsened the higher I got.  I could feel my hiking poles hit the thin frozen crust of the top layer of snow, followed by six or so inches of powder, then another thicker and harder crust with tons of powder underneath.  It was extremely disconcerting to see slabs forming in front of me at I worked my way up.  Fortunately, nothing fell.  After what felt like a long time, and alot of worry about the snow, I started to see the krumholtz that mark treeline, and soon after was on snow free tundra.  I was overjoyed to be out of the danger zone, but still knew I had to get back down and would not be going the way I came up. 

Summit?  It took me five hours and twenty minutes to get here.  I am told the northern most point is the true high point and the wind was so strong I didn't even dare climb on top of it.  I was having a hard enough time standing upright and moving forward. 

I found a windbreak and was able to get a few pictures of the Mummy range.  I am looking forward to Mummy Kill at some point this summer with Dan.

More Mummy.

The end of the Mummy Range.
To get back down, I basically followed the blue trail above.  I tried to descend into the pass between Bighorn and Tileston, and then just head westish to get back to the trail.  I was very worried about the snow, and kept a vigilant eye on things above and around me.  Slowly I worked my way down.  The terrain became less steep, and I was able to stop and have a snack.

Yumyums on the mountain in the middle of nowhere.
I happened upon the trail, but didn't realize it at first and was about to head down farther, when I stopped to take a look and realized, "Hey, I'm in an area that is four to five feet wide and goes in a straight line up and down."  The trail.
I headed down and did note that someone had been up this way before.  With the wind it was hard to tell if they had been up as far as when I joined the trail, but I could see snowshoe prints.

 

Back on the trail and thankfully headed down.

I came upon this interesting part of the trail where ice had flown over it under the snow. 

And finally back at the sign for Cutbank.  My tracks up on the right, and back on the left.
I kept my snowshoes on for a bit before removing.  I noticed that there seemed to be significant melt on my way back, and though I know we are not out of the woods yet, it may be an early spring season this year. 

 Longs as seen from the trail.

 Looking down the Roaring River, with damage caused by the collapse of the Lawn Lake Dam in 1982.  It's pretty mind boggling to see how much earth was moved by this flood. 

Back up.

Forty to fifty feet gouged away in minutes.  

Back to Horseshoe Park in the afternoon.
After nine long hours I made it back to the truck.   I was happy to be back!  I had originally planned for Mount Tileston as well, but since it took me so long to get Bighorn and snow conditions were not good, I decided to save it for another day.  Actually, this is one I'd like to do in the summer to see how long it takes.  My bet is that I could be on top of Bighorn within three hours and have both summits within five.
That said, at this time of year, this is a very challenging hike.  Plowing through the snow was a workout and a half!
Bighorn Mountain in winter:
Bighorn Mountain: 3.9 miles one way, 2923 foot gain (8540-11463).  Strenuous in winter conditions.

Emerald Mountain, Thunder Peak, Lightning Peak in the winter.

Dan and I met up early on Tuesday, February 19 to go for some of the outlying and unofficial peaks on the eastern side of the park.  After arriving in Estes, we continued for 3 miles on CO 66 to arrive at the East Portal trail head.  After parking on the shoulder, we set off for Emerald Mountain. 

We were atop within forty minutes or so, and were greeted by a great view of the Central peaks - Flattop, Hallett, Otis and more all visible. 

The clouds to the east of us prevented sun from hitting any of the peaks this early.

Thunder and Lightning Peaks as seen from Emerald Mountain.

From here, we went back the way we'd come, and caught the Wind River Trail for a brief time before turning off, crossing the frozen river, and starting the bushwhack uphill to Thunder Peak.  As far as bushwhacking goes, the ascent isn't too bad- most of it is through relatively open forest, with a little talus here and there.  But you do gain about 900 feet per mile, putting this in the pretty steep category.  

There are a few false summits, but the true high point comes soon enough, and offers great views.

Closer to the peaks, now hit by sunshine.

Longs just starting to stick its head out.

South to Lightning Peak and Longs Area.

Panorama from Thunder Peak.
A loss and regain of several hundred feet between the peaks is of course, something you can't avoid.  We simply chose a way down that looked less rocky and easier to hike.  We quickly arrived at the saddle between the two peaks, and after a change of clothing for me, started up the snow covered hillside of Lightning Peak.
The snow did complicate travel upward somewhat, adding in some slipping and sliding, but not enough that we used traction devices.  We arrived on the summit ridge somewhat northwest of the high point, and had to make our way over.  There was some second and third class along the way, but this could be avoided with a different route selection.
This little peak truly is a gem, offering a great and unique view of a good portion of the park. 

Longs Peak and area.

Otis, Hallett, Flattop.

Battle Mountain and Longs.

Estes Cone seen from Lighting Peak.

Awesome views!

Twin Sisters Peaks.

The way down was pretty fun hiking/sliding in the snow, through sometimes unique forest as pictured above, with thin but closely spaced trees.  Eventually we were able to pick up our footprints up and follow those down.
We made it back to the car in about seven hours, which does mean that our average speed was pretty low.  But of course factor in the off trail time (which is most of the hike), and lots of elevation gain and loss and there you go.  Lightning Peak was the highlight for me- a fair amount of difficulty in ascent rewarded with great views from the top.  Dan was even bold enough to proclaim it his new favorite 10er.  That's enough to make me want to get back!
Emerald Mountain, Thunder Peak, Lightning Peak from East Portal TH (all distances measured from TH):
Emerald Mountain: .8 miles one way, 977 foot gain.  Moderate.
Thunder Peak: 2 miles one way, 1874 foot gain.  Moderate+.
Lightning Peak: 2.3 miles one wat, 2307 foot gain.  Moderate+/Strenuous-.

Finch and Pear Lakes in the winter.

A week ago Dan and I met up in Lyons early one morning and made the drive up to Wild Basin.  We were going to try for Finch and Pear Lakes, something that I had set out to go for on my first ever snowshoe adventure last year.  At that time, I made it to the forest fire area, where I met with deep powder and lots of down trees.  Eventually I turned back, so I wanted to return this year.
We started from the Allenspark Trailhead this time, and it was quite pleasant.  This way will take about one mile each way off the journey to either, making it four miles to Finch Lake and six to Pear.  It also starts about 500 feet higher, so there is less total elevation gain.
Snow conditions were good- well packed trail with just a dusting of powder.  We both set out in our snowshoes, though in reality they were probably not needed until after Finch Lake.

Not much in the way of views to start, but this changes once you meet the Pear Lake trail and can see north.  Pictured above- Pagoda Mountain, Longs Peak, and Mount Meeker.  Dragons Egg Rock visible on Meeker.

Finch Lake was relatively easy to get to since the trail was already broken.  A far cry from last year!

About the most snow either of us had seen in the mountains this winter.

We also found ourselves fortunate that someone or someones had been from Finch to Pear Lake already, and the trail was relatively broken in.  I'd still take snowshoes for these two miles though. 

Elk Tooth and Copeland Mountain from Finch Lake.

Elk Tooth from Finch Lake.  I have very fond memories of climbing it last year. 

From farther out.

St. Vrain Mountain as seen from Finch Lake.  This peak actually lies on the same ridge as Elk Tooth and Ogalalla.  Click here for a similar view as seen in the summer.

Back from whence we came.

There wasn't much to see until we got to Pear Lake.  The light winds we had encountered at the lower elevations were ripping here, and we didn't stay long.  This is the sign that you go around to head to Hutcheson and Cony Lakes.  Buried.

Elk Tooth looking ever more impressive as we get closer to it. 

Elk Tooth and Copeland looking over Pear Lake.  Click here for a similar view shot in the summer.

Copeland in the winter.  Click here to see it in the summer.

Great views at Pear Lake.

A bit chilly in the wind, but loving it.  After not being able to make it to the lake last winter, it was a great feeling to have success this time.
We followed our prints back down and had a wind sheltered snack before heading back.  We both stopped in the forest fire area to remove our snow shoes. 

Giants.

Wild Basin, my home away from home.
I can of course only speak for myself here, but I had a great time doing this hike.  I have been to these lakes plenty of times in the past, and I will definitely visit them again in the future.  In fact, some of my fondest RMNP memories thus far are from this drainage.  If the trail is broken for you as it was for us, it should remain not that much more difficult than it is in the summer.  This is truly a wondrous place, and somewhere awesome and awe inspiring to visit any time of the year.
Finch and Pear Lakes in the winter via Allenspark TH:
Finch Lake: 4 miles one way, 977 foot gain. Moderate.
Pear Lake: 6 miles one way, 1647 foot gain.  Moderate +.