BISON PEAK
12,431 ft.
January 28, 1997
By Tim Briese
Bison Peak stands tall as the highest peak in the Tarryall Range. Its summit lies a few hundred feet above timberline, just high enough to afford panoramic views to points far and near. It tends to receive much less snow than its taller cousins in the ranges further to the west, making it an easier goal to attempt in the winter than they. It seemed like a good place for my first serious venture into winter climbing.
I drove up the Tarryall Road northwest of Lake George to the Ute Creek Trailhead on a sunny morning in late January. A little after 8 a.m. I left the trailhead with my lab Sadie and walked across the fine bridge over the frozen Tarryall River and followed the Ute Trail southeast along the eastern side of the stream. After a half mile or so the trail turned to the northeast and followed a drainage up into the Lost Creek Wilderness.
The first two miles of the trail were rather pleasant with a moderate grade, as it climbed about a thousand feet or so, but at 9400 feet elevation the terrain steepened and the trail briskly climbed up a sunny southwest-facing ridge until it finally leveled off at about 11,200 feet. I was grateful that the route graciously provided an ample warm-up before the strenuous portion was engaged! The trail was virtually snow-free until I reached the upper portions of the ridge where I abruptly found myself wading through snow that was nearly knee-deep. The trail became difficult to follow in the snow but I followed the tracks of a few previous adventurers and plodded on.
At Bison Pass I came to a sign marking a trail junction and headed to the right in the direction the Brookside-McCurdy Trail was supposed to go. I completely lost the trail at this point because there were no longer any footprints to guide me. I proceeded to bushwhack up through the woods to the east toward a rocky ridge above. The soft snow was about three feet deep, which made for a very trying ascent, especially since I had no snowshoes along. I considered turning back but instead decided to doggedly press on. When I climbed out of the trees at timberline the depth of the snow decreased considerably, thanks to incessant winter winds that blew it away on those unprotected slopes.
I climbed directly up a rocky tundra slope until the terrain flattened out at about 11,800 feet. The summit of Bison lay about three-fourths of a mile to the northeast. This was an enchanting place, with gentle grassy slopes amid numerous rocky outcroppings and a few massive rock towers. Sadie and I walked around a jumbled pile of rocks and startled a couple of bighorn sheep that were only a few yards away, and they bolted off up the slope above.
I bushwhacked toward the summit across tundra slopes that were largely free of snow. A cold biting wind ripped at my back, as it had done ever since I left the protection of the trees below. When I neared the summit I climbed up across a field of snow that lay on its leeward side to the southeast, and then scrambled up over a few large rocks to the top.
I reached the summit about 11:30 and sat down for a much needed rest. A grand panoramic view swept around before me, from Longs Peak to the Crestone Needle. The high summits to the northwest were graced by a generous mantle of white, much more so than the mountain on which I stood. The sky had been clear earlier in the morning but a high layer of thin clouds now streamed in from the west in advance of an approaching storm. The cold wind viciously whipped around me, too, inducing me to leave the summit and begin my descent after only twenty minutes or so.
The descent was rapid and easy. I quickly hiked across the tundra and then went down the snowy slopes back to the trail. It took less than two hours to hike all the way back down to the trailhead. I was quite tired when I got back to my truck, though, for this strenuous climb covered eleven miles roundtrip and entailed about 4000 feet of elevation gain, making it statistically similar to a 14er climb. Sadie had trouble jumping up into my truck on her own when we got back, the first time I had seen her have that problem. It was a telling reminder of her advancing age. I was glad that she was still able to accompany me on these outings. I was thrilled, too, to achieve my first winter climb, and looked forward to more such adventures in the future.
