NORTH CARBONATE PEAK
13,870 ft.
October 21, 2003
By Tim Briese
The beautiful Indian Summer weather we experienced in the fall of 2003 lingered well into October, and I took advantage of it to climb another Centennial 13er. I left home at 5 a.m. in the dark and headed into the mountains. The day dawned clear and beautiful as the first rays of sun hit the Sawatch peaks while I drove west on Chaffee County Road 162 along Chalk Creek. Mt. Antero was an impressive sight a few miles to the southwest. A few minutes later I drove past the Chalk Cliffs, which presented a stunning appearance in the early morning light. I left the main road and fourwheeled 2.7 miles up the Baldwin Creek Road and parked at a road junction at 10,840 feet. From this point I could see North Carbonate’s north ridge off to the south that I would soon be following to its summit.
A few minutes after I parked a jeep pulled up, a Pitkin County sheriff’s vehicle, with a couple inside. The female passenger rolled down her window and asked if I were climbing Mt. Antero, and I replied that no, I was climbing North Carbonate. She couldn’t believe it, and said that they were, too, noting that they rarely encountered anyone else while climbing 13ers. The register later showed that only about 40 people had climbed the peak all year, so the odds of encountering anyone else on the mountain seemed very slim, especially on a weekday in late October!
I left the trailhead with my two labs at 8:15 and briskly hiked southeast up the Mt. Antero Road a little over a mile, then left the road and bushwhacked through the woods to the southwest in the general direction of North Carbonate. After about a quarter of a mile the woods opened up and I crossed Baldwin Creek in a grassy meadow and headed up grassy slopes on the other side of the creek up through the last of the trees. I continued ascending easy grassy slopes toward North Carbonate’s north ridge, pausing for a moment to enjoy a fine view of Mt. Antero a mile and a half to the northeast. I angled upward and reached the crest of the north ridge at about 13,000 feet. It was a pleasant surprise to find almost no wind blowing when I reached the ridge. I could see the other two climbers several hundred yards behind, following a route similar to the one I had taken. I turned to the south and followed the ridge on a fun scramble toward the summit, encountering some patches of snow along the way but not enough to hinder my progress.
At 10:55 I reached the summit. Conditions were absolutely perfect, for it was clear and calm with unlimited visibility. The temperature was 43 degrees, but it felt much warmer in the bright sunshine. I didn’t even need a coat, which was quite remarkable for October 21st! I could see forever in any direction. I studied the view of the distant San Juans, and could pick out the Pigeon group with my binoculars. Mt. Antero loomed directly across the valley to the northeast, and the Brown Creek Basin and Tabeguache and Shavano lay to the southeast. I gazed with interest at the ridge to the south that held Cyclone (13,596') and Carbonate (13,663') Mountains. I had seriously considered climbing North Carbonate from a southern approach out of the Cyclone Creek drainage that would have taken me along that ridge, but I elected not to out of concern that route might be too long for such a late season climb. I was glad now that I had taken a shorter route, so that I had plenty of time to leisurely enjoy this fine summit to full avail. The grandeur of creation glistened forth at its finest today!
After 20 minutes the other two climbers arrived. Michael was a member of the Aspen ski patrol and his friend Ellen lived in Breckenridge. She was pursuing the Centennial 13ers and had climbed about 85 of them so far. We discussed the Thunder Pyramid, Jagged, and numerous other peaks, including Mt. Rainier, which both of them had climbed. After half an hour they left and I once again had the summit to myself. I lounged around for a considerable length of time, thoroughly absorbing this wonderful summit experience. I stayed on top for a full two hours, for my longest sojourn ever on a summit. On such a glorious day, why not?
I eventually left the top at 1 p.m. and began to bushwhack down the mountain’s southeastern slopes. I wanted to explore a different route on the descent. I hiked past two white goats, skirting some distance around them to avoid any confrontation with my dogs. Michael and Ellen had also headed down this way, but they followed the gentle ridge all the way around the basin back to the Mt. Antero Road, while I left the ridge at about 13,300 feet and headed down a talus slope into upper Baldwin Gulch, under the watchful eye of North Carbonate which towered above. This turned out to be a fun bushwhack, down grassy slopes and past steep fields of talus while I worked my way down to an unnamed lake lying in a bowl at 12,000 feet in the basin. North Carbonate struck a fine appearance far above. I threw a few sticks in the lake for my dogs to retrieve before proceeding down the Baldwin Creek drainage. As I worked my way around a few minor obstacles I thought about how much I thoroughly enjoy bushwhacks such as this.
I continued down along the creek and soon reached the meadow where I had crossed Baldwin Creek on the ascent in the morning. I could have retraced my earlier route back through the woods to regain the road, which I knew would be the easiest route, but I let my adventurous spirit get the best of me and decided instead to bushwhack all the way down Baldwin Creek to the point where it crosses the road near the place where my truck was parked. This adventure turned out to be a little tedious in places, but nevertheless was a lot of fun. After a mile of so I reached the road and quickly walked a couple of hundred yards down to my truck, where I arrived at 2:50. I rested there for a little while in the warm golden sunshine that filled the valley, while listening to the creek gurgle through the rocks nearby and gazing at the view of North Carbonate off to the south.
I hiked about five and a half miles and climbed 3100 feet of elevation gain on this outing. It was a fine climb of a relatively easy peak on a splendid fall day. The experience was rendered especially memorable by the pleasant warmth and the fine views that were afforded under the crystal blue October sky.
