ELECTRIC PASS PEAK
(13,635')October 2, 2008
By Tim Briese
10 miles, 3700' elevation gain, 5:35 roundtrip time
I left home at 3:20 a.m. and headed for Aspen, driving in the dark all the way to Independence Pass, some three hours into the journey. I drove to the Cathedral Lake Trailhead south of town along the Ashcroft Road and began hiking up the trail at 7:30 with my two labs. I was anticipating a scenic treat with the autumn foliage in full glory along the trail at this season and I was not disappointed. The sun rose over the ridge to the east and the yellow leaves on the surrounding trees burst into an amber glow as I walked along on a carpet of crunchy leaves that blanketed the trail. I had been on the Cathedral Lake trail twice before, once on a climb of Cathedral Peak and another on a hike to the lake, and I had been mesmerized by the grand scenery on this route both times.
After hiking briskly up the trail for just over an hour I reached a signed junction and took the fork to the right toward Electric Pass. The excellent trail climbed up through extensive stands of yellow bushes into a gentle valley above. Electric Pass Peak stood placidly ahead at the end of the valley, perhaps the most benign peak I had ever seen in the rugged Elks. A fine view of Cathedral Lake unfolded behind me as I climbed higher. The morning had started off with a crystal clear sky but clouds were rapidly building and taking charge of the heavens in ominous fashion. The excellent trail switchbacked up onto the gentle grassy slopes of the ridge above the valley to the right and took me all the way up to a minor saddle at 13,200 feet a third of a mile southeast of the summit. The trail then went up the ridge a short distance toward the summit before traversing across the loose south face of the peak about 200 feet below the summit. This trail deposited me on the peak=s southwest ridge at so-called Electric Pass. From there it was a short stroll up the ridge to the summit, where I arrived at 10:35.
My eyes were immediately drawn to the impressive view of Cathedral and Castle Peaks directly to the south. Off to the west lay the Maroon Bells, Snowmass, and Capitol Peak. The biggest attention-getter though, was the weather, which was rapidly deteriorating. Showers were already falling from the clouds a few miles to the southeast and a growing dark cloud was approaching from the west. I decided to get off the summit after spending only ten minutes there, hardly allowing the dogs a chance to lay down and rest. I hurriedly scooted down the ridge, back across the face, and started down the grassy ridge. Twenty minutes after I left the summit a roll of thunder rumbled through the air from a storm cell to the southeast that was fortunately moving away. I cast many an anxious glance at the dark cloud approaching me from behind and it soon began dropping sleet and snow which swirled around me. I halfway expected a lightning bolt to split the sky at any second but it never happened. The snow shower lasted 30 minutes or so before the sun broke through the clouds and illuminated the valley around Cathedral Lake. When I got back down into the bushes I took a right fork of the trail and went down to the creek below the outlet of the lake, where I found a nice spot to sit down and enjoy lunch beside the gurgling waters of the stream.
After lunch I headed on down the trail back toward my truck. Along the way I met four or five parties of casual hikers coming up the trail, the only other people I saw on the route today. The sun came and went amidst the clouds and several peals of thunder growled in the distance. I paused often to enjoy the spectacular aspen colors along the way. I returned to the trailhead at 1:05 p.m., completing the hike in about five and a half hours. I pushed along at a faster pace today than I usually go, partly because of the threatening weather, but also because of the long four hour drive home that awaited me. The fall colors in the Aspen area were the finest I had seen in years, but unfortunately they were muted because it rained most of the way from Aspen to Twin Lakes. Light snow was falling on Independence Pass, a reminder that winter was not far away.
