ROLLING MOUNTAIN
(13,693')July 7, 2010
By Tim Briese
6.5 miles, 3000' elevation gain, 6:40 roundtrip time
I rose at 4:15 a.m. at the Ridgway Lodge and headed down US Hwy. 550 toward Silverton, leaving Teresa to relax in Ridgway today. From the South Mineral Campground I drove 2.3 miles south on FR 585 to a spacious parking area at the end of the road. The narrow road was a fairly nice one and required high clearance in only a few places.
At 5:50 I headed south up into the woods on the Rico-Silverton Trail. After a short time I reached a point where the trail crossed to the west side of South Fork Mineral Creek, which was roaring with water from snowmelt. After some hesitation I managed to carefully cross on rocks and logs. Later when I emerged from the trees at 11,000 feet I noticed frost on the grass as I strolled along the edge of the broad and flat South Park. About 7 a.m. I reached a place at about 11,600 feet where the trail crossed a small stream that came in from the west. I left the trail here and began to bushwhack west up the willow-choked drainage. I considered traversing up higher on the south side of the creek to avoid some willows but elected instead to try a direct bushwhack along the north side of the creek. This went okay for a while, in spite of having to deal with a couple of headwalls, but around 12,100 feet the creek was entrenched in a deep gorge and my progress was stymied by very steep and rough terrain. I found it necessary to make a tricky crossing of the creek in the gorge to get onto easier terrain on the south side of the creek. I concluded it probably would have been easier to have come up the south side of the creek to begin with.
I was moving slowly this morning because I felt quite ill and nauseous and I wondered at times if I would even be able to complete the climb. At 12,400 feet I took a lengthy break to recover and to survey the rest of the route ahead. There was much more snow in the upper basin than I anticipated, and careful route selection was called for since I did not have my ice axe along. I felt better after this extended break and began to climb higher into the basin. A snow cornice ringed much of the ridge above, including the saddle west of the summit that harbors the standard climbing route. I wasn= t sure if I could safely make it up that way so I headed up a scree slope toward a snow-free point on the ridge to the west. When I finally gained the ridge I turned right and climbed over a rugged point and descended to the 13,150 foot saddle west of the summit.
Storm clouds were exploding into the summer sky even though it wasn= t even 10 a.m. yet, so I made a dash for the summit. I hurriedly went up a climbers trail on the loose, rocky slope the final 500 feet to the summit, where I arrived at 10:10. I took a few precious minutes to observe the fine views of San Miguel Peak, Engineer Mountain, and other surrounding peaks. I noted that I was the 5th climber to sign the register this year. A dark cloud just to the north was about to become a thunderstorm so I left after only ten minutes and scooted back down the ridge. At the saddle I checked the snow cornice and just barely managed to find a route through the rocks along the edge of the snow that offered a safe descent route. Below the snow I went down scree and then grass into the basin. This route was definitely easier than the way I went up. The day= s first rumble of thunder soon filled the air, and many others followed, but remarkably, I stayed dry all day. When I got down to the creek I stayed on the south side and found easier bushwhacking there on the way back to the Rico-Silverton Trail. I paused to admire wildflowers in South Park on the hike out. I arrived at the trailhead at 12:30 and took a parting look at Rolling Mountain as I drove away and headed back to Ridgway.
