"Golden Bear Pk" (13,010')
 

 

INFO:

Date: 2/14/06

Range: Front

Rank: #633

Trailhead: Dry Gulch

Route: East Ridge

Mileage: 6.5

Elevation Gain: 2,500'

Time: 5 1/4 Hours

Participants: Forrest Thorniley

 

Given the "low" avalanche conditions forecasted for Tuesday, I decided to make a solo attempt at the Citadel, a 13er along the Continental Divide.  I attempted this peak last February, but was turned back at the summit pitch, which is a 3rd class scramble with an exciting finish.  It didn't take long for me to reconsider this plan.  I left my vehicle at the Loveland Pass exit at 8:30am to partly cloudy skies and light winds.  The route follows a road up Dry Gulch and into the valley just north of the Loveland Pass ski area.  I quickly skinned up the road as The Citadel came into view, and it was a startling site.  The pointed summit was being hammered by winds, sending spindrift 100' into the air.  I made a quick decision to abort the climb and go for my back up: "Golden Bear Peak".

 

Golden Bear Peak, is also a 13er on the Continental Divide, just south of  The Citadel and Hagar Mtn.  It is only a class 2 walk up, so it made for an easy choice.  Even though the avalanche forecast was low, I carefully navigated my way up into the valley, giving a wide berth to any obvious avalanche paths.  With skis and skins it was easy to get in a rhythm as I weaved my way through the trees.  Before exiting the trees at timberline, I took shelter and put on my windproof clothing.  Up until now I had worked up a pretty good sweat, but the temperature quickly dropped with the added wind chill.  I took stock of the various routes, and chose one with minimal exposure to avalanche hazard.  Extra care is needed when hiking in avalanche terrain alone.

 

 
Once I reached the rock band shown above, I removed my splitboard and lashed them on my pack.  Phew!  As if my pack wasn't heavy enough.  As anyone who has carried one of these, they are far from light.  I cant wait untill they make one out of  titanium! The ski's on my pack also added to my profile, as the winds often sent me stumbling.  Needless to say this slowed me down quite a bit.  Eventually I reached the summit around 12:30, and I switched the skii's into a board for the descent.  This would be my first attempt at snowboarding in plastic mountaineering boots.  I had worn them for what I thought was to be a couloir climb of the Citadel.  At the summit I decided on whether to return down my ascent route, or traverse across to the slopes of Loveland Ski Area.  I decided on the later, knowing that it would be a safe descent, with a more direct route to my vehicle.

 

 

The turns on the descent were difficult.  My mountaineering boots did not provide enough support even with special liners.  I managed to make it down to a groomed run, taking breaks every 5 minutes to relieve the cramping in my feet.  I hope adding some more padding around the shin will alleviate some of this.  Regardless of the uncomfortable riding, I did make it down from the summit to the highway in 30 minutes :).  From here it was a 15 minute walk along I-70 to my truck.  This was an unpleasant finish, but I was pleased with the time I saved.

Peak # 149/637

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