MT. POWELL
13,580 ft.
August 10, 2001
By Tim Briese
I completed my quest to climb all the 14ers the year before and now had time to pursue other mountain climbing adventures. The Gore Range has always fascinated me with its rugged, sawtooth-like peaks but I had never set foot there before. I was eager to explore this unfamiliar place and my friend Brian gladly agreed to join me on a climb of Mt. Powell, the highest mountain in the range.
I left home at 3 a.m. and headed for the mountains. As I skirted around Denver on C-470 I noted how remarkably light the traffic is there at that hour! At 6 a.m. I arrived at the Piney Lake Trailhead north of Vail in the faint light of dawn. Here I met Brian and his friend Steve Helle who was going to accompany us on the climb. They had car camped at the trailhead overnight. Brian introduced me to Steve and I could tell immediately that he was going to be a fine companion to have along on the hike.
At 6:15 we walked past the Piney River Ranch Resort and headed up the trail along the north side of Piney Lake, with the jagged peaks of the Gore Range jutting into the orange eastern sky at the head of the valley in front of us. The hike was gradual and easy for the first three miles as we followed the excellent National Forest Trail 1885 up the broad Piney River Valley. The initial part of the trail carried us across grassy meadows before it entered the woods when we got closer to the mountains.
When the valley curved around to the right at the base of the mountains we crossed a small tributary creek that came in from the left. We failed to find a faint trail along this drainage that Garratt and Martin mention in their brief route description. After studying our topo map we decided to bushwhack to the north up along the drainage. After ascending a few hundred yards we came across a faint trail that we followed upward along the creek, at first in a northerly direction, then to the northeast. Grass and bushes that hung over the trail were wet from rain the night before and showered us with their chilly dampness. After reaching timberline we entered an enchanting basin at 11,400 feet that was carpeted with a soft layer of bright green grass. Rugged peaks towered around us, reminding me of the South Colony Basin area of the Sangre de Cristos. We were in the heart of the Eagles Nest Wilderness Area which encompasses the Gore Range. It was a thrill for me to visit this place, and I was impressed by the rugged beauty that we saw.
From the basin we followed the trail as it switchbacked up a steep slope toward a prominent saddle at 12,260 feet high on the ridge above. To the right of the saddle was a dramatic view of Peak C (13,220') towering above. We did not climb to this saddle, but instead turned to the left and followed the trail up very steep slopes of grass and scree over a buttress and then traversed to the northeast a short distance to a smaller saddle at 12,460 feet on the ridge south of Powell. As we rested at this saddle we observed a herd of goats in a basin far below to the west. The sky was completely overcast, with the cloud ceiling just above 13,000 feet, which hampered our ability to see the summit of Powell and observe the rest of our route.
After resting for a few minutes at the saddle we dropped about a hundred feet below its other side and then traversed across a cliffy area to the left to get onto a steep south-facing slope that was covered with scree and talus. According to our topo map we needed to ascend about 800 feet up this slope to get on a ridge just to the west of Powell’s summit. There was no longer a trail to follow here. The best footing on this slope seemed to be on blocks of talus along its eastern side. We found it necessary to pause for frequent breaks on this grueling portion of the climb. As we rested we were treated to a spectacular view of Peak C across to the south behind us. That stirring sight served well to refresh my enthusiasm.
We pierced the misty cloud ceiling just as we reached the top of the slope. The terrain leveled off somewhat and we turned to the right and hiked past a bank of snow and approached Powell’s summit slopes. We rapidly climbed about 200 feet on large blocks of talus and stepped atop the summit at 11:10.
It was damp and chilly on top, and my thermometer registered a brisk 43 degrees. The views were limited considerably by the clouds, but when the clouds opened up occasionally we were treated to panoramas of the surrounding rugged peaks and of lakes far below to the north and east.
After eating lunch and taking the customary summit photos we left the top at 11:45 and began our descent. I could hardly take my eyes off the magnificent view of Peak C as we went back down the long slope on runs of dirt and scree. Brian and I discussed the fact that such a noble mountain surely deserves a better name! I was intrigued by the challenge of coming back to climb that dramatic peak someday. Soon we were back at the saddle and stopped to rest for a little bit. We watched a goat grazing nearby on the other side. The steep slopes back into the basin were a little hard on my tired knees and legs and I welcomed a couple of breaks we took on that part of the descent.
Patches of blue began to appear in the sky as we tramped back down into the valley, but a few sprinkles fell on us, too. We stayed on the crude climber’s trail all the way back down to the point where it joined the main Piney River Trail. We noted that we had missed the turnoff for this faint trail in the morning, and had gone further up the main trail before bushwhacking up the side drainage to find it. I believe our bushwhacking route was actually more direct and hardly any more difficult than the trail was.
I was becoming quite tired as we tramped the last few miles down the valley beside Piney Creek, but it was fun to talk about mountain climbing adventures with my companions as we hiked along. Just before 3 p.m. we returned to the lake and stopped at the resort to refresh ourselves with lemonade and cookies. After resting there for a while we returned to our cars, exchanged goodbyes, and headed down the road.
I thoroughly enjoyed this fine climb with Brian and Steve. We covered eleven miles and climbed about 4500 feet of elevation gain in eight and a half hours. It was especially rewarding to climb a peak in a beautiful part of our state that I had never visited before.
