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Well, I imagine that's a good question. By the time I climbed this mountain, over time I had completed a fair number of other challenging high mountain routes, so going into this I had at least some confidence that I could do it without major difficulty. But of course, confidence is no guarantee, even when based on experience. And yes, descending a mountain like this is arguably harder and more hazardous mechanically than ascending it, but in doing so there is the advantage of having already completed the path in one direction. Anyway, thanks for watching this!

class 3

@CentennialTreks nice

Indeed - thanks for catching this one!

Thanks for saying so! - I hope you enjoy more.

I appreciate that. I'm definitely glad if they can be of as much practical use as they are rich in scenery.

Thanks so much - good to hear it!

Thank you - honestly, I think it did most of the work for me!

Thanks so much for saying so - I'm glad you enjoyed this. Maybe I could do variations on these descriptions, like 'discernibly precarious,' or something. I imagine you would enjoy Mt. Wilson - not overly long or too much elevation gain, but plenty of engaging climbing in a spectacular setting.

Ah, the memories....Even back then a popular mountain. And yes, water would make this a slippery slide to hell.

Thank you for saying so - I'm glad you enjoyed this.

I haven't done that route, but I believe it is harder, at least in terms of the climbing difficulty and endurance stats. But I would actually welcome that if it means you only have to go along that awful scree slope on the south slopes route once rather than twice, or not at all. And the Blue Lakes route has got to be very scenic. It is on my to do list for next year.

Thank you - I'm glad if this footage could present the reality and not a distortion. On wide-angled lens footage, often the edges of the image will curve away abruptly and make the terrain look much steeper. Having the camera tilted from horizontal can do this too. Really, as a rough guess I would say this stretch is no steeper than about 30 degrees, but that's actually pretty steep in the visual field and for climbing. People usually overestimate the steepness of slopes.

🤣 Well, I could imagine the miners who named the mountain having possibly been short on teeth, even if not on shoes. As for me, though I am from Colorado, my entire family is from east Kansas, and Missouri if you go back far enough, so at the very least maybe I could get a banjo from them to bring up there, that would be kind of neat. I don't know if that would give me climb credit though!

I think it might be kind of exhilarating, even if hazardous. And yes, the beginning of this path is on Chaffee county road 162, at the end of which is St. Elmo. Thanks for watching!

They are indeed Gray's and Torrey's!

Thanks for watching....I've been to those towns a couple times for my Crestones climbs - nice quiet places. Horn Peak looks like a nice climb - I bet there are great vistas from its summit too.

For sure, besides being a memorable attraction on its own, this place has the additional quality of being remote enough to see the night sky without much light pollution. I imagine the clearer the night sky, the closer you are to where a human ought to be, and the farther from where one shouldn't be.

@@CentennialTreks 🙌

That's great - it sounds like you've gotten to some great places and climbs lately. I find the Crestones area to be one of the most notably striking groups of mountains, and yes, the Sangre to be in itself a notable range, with the unique confluence of environments and terrains all right next to each other. It was definitely awesome to look up at those heights and get the reversed perspective. Later.

It is said that one should climb mountains with a companion or group, and that is advice I would get behind. But in my case, the proposition almost always amounts to going alone or not at all. So I go. Plus, I don't like the idea of encumbering someone else with having to hear my real-time narration and with being in a video. Thanks for watching!

@@CentennialTreks gotcha…..right on if you must wait on someone else, it may not happen, so, ya gotta move on….thx👍

Well, I'm a bit of a history geek, and have been roaming these lands longer than I want to acknowledge, so it adds up I guess. Most 14er climbs begin well below timberline, and so involve a lengthy forest trek. It is good to get an early start, because in high summer there tend to be thunderstorms in the high mtns in the early afternoon. As you say, you don't want to get caught in bad weather up high. About 8 years ago I was at 13,000 feet on Mt. Princeton when there was lightning up higher. We started back down, and got drenched in the ensuing rain. This summer I got caught in cold rain on top of Mt. Democrat, and experienced some temperature loss. Mostly I rely on monitoring the forecast and only climbing on days projected to have good weather. Also, one must be willing to turn back at key junctures if conditions look uncertain. Plus, wet rocks are much more slippery. I have actually never encountered a bear or cougar in the course of mtn climbing, but I do carry spray. I have seen plenty of pika, marmots, deer, foxes, mtn goats, and others. Thanks for the questions and for watching again!

This was one of the toughest mtns I have climbed, largely because of the looseness on certain stretches, especially the lower gully, which was even more treacherous going down. I believe I actually did slip once or twice going down that, but didn't get it on camera.

Thanks for your kind assessment. The mountains of this range (the Elk range) are especially rugged. Other mountain ranges in the state are characterized by peaks that are smoother and not so jagged, like the gentle, high giants of the Sawatch range in central CO.

That was kind of my thought process. The more I pondered it and came up with reasons, the more I realized there is still that un-named something.

Yeah I could imagine how it looks that way. It definitely had its irritating aspects, and was one of the most challenging and treacherous mtns I have climbed so far. I believe I have now managed to make it up 44 of the 14ers so far. Thanks for watching this!

Thanks for saying so! I definitely strive for that balance between thoroughness and non-triviality.

Thanks for watching again, and.....be ready for a long day! This is a spectacular place though. And let me know if you happen to see me - I believe I'm not really typing this message, but still walking down the Lake Como road. 🤣

@@CentennialTreks 😂😂😂 I’ll be looking for ya! 😂😂😂. We’ll actually be camping at Lake Como Friday night and attempting Blanca and Ellingwood both on Saturday. We shall see how that goes…. But I have to believe that it will help a great deal to camp.

Yes I imagine that is a wise move. I hope it goes well. I will have to check out your take on it. 👍

Yeah, for sure, descending can be trickier than going up, and it's often where people meet with trouble. The top is only half way, so in the interests of trying to be thorough, it is incumbent upon me to show some of the descent, at least on the more difficult peaks. Thanks - I'm glad to hear you appreciate this!

That makes me feel great to think you can achieve a level of living these places through these videos, so thank you. I usually try to start out in the morning as early as I can without having to do too much hiking in the dark. I tend to make pretty good time, so usually avoid the early afternoon thunderstorms, plus I monitor the forecasts. I've only had to turn back once due to the confluence of storms and a too-late start, which was when I was on Princeton maybe 8 years ago when we were at ~13,000 feet and saw lightning near the summit and turned back, and got drenched in the ensuing rain.

@@CentennialTreks thanks. I have climbed about 35 of the 14ers but have had back issues so can’t get out, also I have gotten quite a bit older. Maybe one day. Also never did bells or pyramid. They look tough. I think you do a good job monitoring the weather. It was usually my biggest concern. That lightening is crazy. Anyway will watch a.l your stuff. It really helps living thru you since I can’t get out now. You never know how what you do means so much to someone else. Again, thanks!.

The Maroon Peaks and Pyramid are indeed difficult mountains. The overall Elk Range, to me, has the hardest 14ers, at least so far. The San Juans and Sangre de Cristos have a few I haven't gotten to just yet. Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy these. Undoubtedly they will show some of the places you've been to before. Knowing these can inspire people helps me keep at it.

Yeah, certainly. Thanks!

Yeah for sure - I would have loved to be on that ride myself!

Definitely one of the hardest mtns I have ever climbed. Nasty could indeed characterize the terrain and much of the challenge. The mtn is quite steep, which only exacerbates the looseness. (Even though gopro footage often skews the image on the periphery to make the terrain appear even steeper. This also happens sometimes when the image is tilted relative to horizontal).

For sure, having reached the top of Bierstadt by way of a peaceful path, peering down at the prospect of this jaggedness is definitely an intense shift in flavor. The ledge is spooky, but exciting.

Thanks, I appreciate that....I do try to capture all the key moments in addition to the 'flavor' of the routes along each stretch of the way. That being the case, briefness is not my priority. In my experience, as far as high summer goes, July and August are more volatile and prone to storms than September, which could well be the best month for 14er climbs as long as snows haven't yet come. I find October often contains the cutoff time for winter conditions. Wetterhorn was actually the 1st class 3 14er I ever climbed. I found it quite enjoyable: not too long of an approach, not too much looseness, idyllic scenes, and fun, engaging climbing. Best of luck in your attempt!

Thanks - I'm glad you found this thorough and that it brought you back. These climbs stick in the memory. Wetterhorn is toward the top of my list of all-around great 14er experiences.

Yes, it's near the top of my list too.

Thanks, I'm glad you like these videos - that keeps me enthusiastic about making them. And even though I'm not the youngest anymore, I still plan on continuing with them for quite a while forward.

You're welcome - I appreciate you watching!

I enjoyed the solid rock of the Needle, but it was sunny and dry the day I went. Slickness would make it a different animal.

Yeah, that's what people have told me. Next time I'll go that way.

Danke mein gutes Herr!....Yeah, they would do a number on ya.

Thanks for watching! You expect some talus on most of these hikes, but still, wow. (And I don't imagine you'll be heading back for that half pole anytime soon!)

Excellent - that's a real tour-de-force. For me, no mtns necessarily exceed the splendor of the Crestone group. I myself still have yet to climb Humboldt. Maybe this year or next.

@@CentennialTreks Humboldt is pretty tame, the connecting ridge to Columbia is way more spicy

Thanks....I too enjoyed the engaging challenge of this one.

I love if these videos bring back fond memories for people and if they can sort of relive their own adventures. I have found the Elk range to have probably the most challenging climbs so far.

@@CentennialTreks that is correct; the Elks are the most challenging

These peaks are usually pretty exhausting in real time, so I imagine it's a good thing if something of that is conveyed vicariously through the footage, whether to your chair or to my couch!