REDCLOUD PEAK
14,034 ft.
June 23, 2000
By Tim Briese
I had eagerly been awaiting the arrival of the summer mountain climbing season for several months. This was the year I hoped to complete my quest to climb all the 14ers, and I had nine more to go. Snowpack meltoff was running earlier than normal this year, promising an early start for the climbing season.
My daughter Emily and I had done a warmup climb of Mt. Bierstadt the week before, which was a successful climb in spite of strong winds and snow showers that we encountered. The weather promised to be good this week so we decided to head to the San Juans to attempt a climb of Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks.
We left home on Tuesday afternoon and took the beautiful drive through Buena Vista, over Monarch Pass, and down the Gunnison River valley. We stopped at Blue Mesa Reservoir for a while, where Emily swam in the chilly water and our dog Allie enthusiastically retrieved sticks. I sat on the rocks on the shore and relaxed, mesmerized by the waves riding in on the breeze. Water has a fascinating power to calm and refresh.
We arrived in Lake City just after 6 p.m. and continued on past Lake San Cristobal into the majestic San Juans on the Cinnamon Pass road. The San Juans are a relatively young volcanic range, with deep, glaciated canyons and neck-bending alpine scenery. It is always a treat to visit this area. We reached the Silver Creek trailhead and headed up the trail with our backpacks in the golden evening sunshine at 7:15. This climb does not really require a backpack, but backpacking is an activity that Emily particularly enjoys, and it promised to be a good tuneup for other outings later in the summer.
The trail headed up the valley through aspen and pine forests, contouring along a steep slope high above the roaring stream below. After a while we began to wonder if we could find a flat campsite in this V-shaped valley that is so typical of the San Juans. After about an hour we reached a fork in the stream where South Silver Creek comes in from the right. We scouted around here for a flat place to camp and found a nice spot on a grassy shelf above the river, with a beautiful view of Handies Peak down the valley to the southwest. After setting up our tent we cooked dinner and filtered water at the river as dusk settled in. It was exciting to be camped in the San Juans, with a mountain stream nearby to serenade us.
Sleep did not come easily, though, and at 5:30 a.m. we looked out of the tent to find a cloudy sky with a few raindrops falling, to our considerable dismay. So much for the favorable weather forecast! Early morning rain is never a good omen for mountain climbing. At 6 a.m. we left camp and headed slowly up the trail, casting a wary eye at the sky, which continued to shower us with intermittent light rain. We passed a massive bank of snow at one point, perhaps the remnant of an avalanche that had thundered down from above during the previous winter. Emily felt very tired and a little ill this morning, and was really dragging.
After we had gone about three-fourths of a mile and reached timberline, we decided to abandon our hike as another shower of rain moved in. I felt very disappointed trudging back to camp, having come all this way from home and turning back empty-handed.
When we reached camp Emily crawled into the tent to rest while I threw a few sticks for Allie to retrieve. After a while the weather broke a little, and I proposed to Emily that she rest in the tent with Allie while I made a dash for Redcloud, and she agreed.
At 8:30 I left and raced up the trail as fast as I could. The trail curved around a scenic basin above timberline and switchbacked on up to a saddle at 13,000 feet. There were one or two small patches of snow left on the trail, which was probably less than usual for this early in the season. The trail was unpleasantly steep above the saddle, but I doggedly pressed on and reached the summit at 10:15. It was a unique and interesting summit, with bright reddish-orange rocks and dirt on top. I had never seen this color of material on any other 14er. Visibility came and went as dense, puffy clouds billowed around me and the surrounding mountains. I caught tantalizing glimpses of Uncompahgre, Wetterhorn, and Handies Peaks through the clouds. There was a young couple from Boulder on top, with whom I visited a little bit.
I looked wistfully at the ridge across to Sunshine Peak, then looked at my watch, and then looked at the darkening clouds to the north with rain already falling from them. I quickly decided that the wisest course of action would be to descend, so I blasted back down the trail. Along the way I met three or four parties headed up, including a large group of about 20 youths from a church camp. It took me about an hour to get from the summit back down to camp.
I was disappointed to climb only Redcloud but not Sunshine, for now I would have to return here later in the year and redo nearly the same climb. In mountain climbing, however, it is best to take only what Nature offers, and not unduly press her for more. Nevertheless, it was a good feeling to climb my first new 14er of the year.
Back at camp Emily and I could see rain approaching above the ridge to the north, so we broke camp as quickly as possible in order to get our gear under our ponchos before it got wet. In spite of our efforts we had to finish packing in the rain, and then struck off down the trail. We hiked along in steady rain and hail, snugly covered by our ponchos. It was fun hiking through the woods in the rain. An occasional clap of thunder rumbled through the air, and I wondered where the climbers were whom I had met on my way down. The rain continued all the way back to the trailhead and on the drive back to Lake City.
We stopped at Poker Alice’s in Lake City to enjoy a tasty pizza before beginning our drive home. Although our outing had not gone as we had expected, it was nevertheless a good trip. We looked forward to more climbing adventures in the months ahead.
