UNCOMPAHGRE PEAK
14,309 ft.
August 8, 1997
By Tim Briese
Uncompahgre has an impressive and unusual shape that is unique among Colorado’s 14ers. It has a massive summit tower surrounded by high cliffs that guard a gently sloping summit plateau, which gives it a grand appearance that dominates the landscape for miles around. My daughter Emily and I were intrigued by photos we had seen of this noble mountain, and it was near the top of our list of peaks that we wanted to climb.
We left home after lunch with our lab Sadie and headed toward the San Juans. It was a pleasant drive on a sunny summer afternoon on a route I had not traveled for several years. We stopped for a break at Blue Mesa Reservoir and threw a few sticks into the water for Sadie to retrieve in the big, surf-like waves. It was quite relaxing sitting on a log listening to the waves roll against the shore, for water has such a pacifying effect on the mind and soul. We drove on down scenic Highway 149 and passed through the rock walls of the Gate that frames the Gunnison River before arriving in Lake City around 6 p.m. We headed up the easy four wheel drive road along Nellie Creek through beautiful stands of aspen toward the trailhead. We selected a fine campsite in a meadow at 11,000 feet with a small stream gurgling nearby. There was a rugged peak dominating the view up at the head of the valley, gleaming in the late day sun. We hadn’t camped in such a beautiful spot for quite a while. I had forgotten how magnificent the San Juans are, and it felt good to be here again. Emily, too, was filled with enthusiasm about our adventure. We sat around our campfire and talked for a while during the clear, cool evening before retiring for the night.
We arose at 6 a.m. and found a heavy coat of frost covering everything outside the tent. We broke camp and drove up the road a few hundred yards to the trailhead, and at 6:45 we hit the trail and began our quest to climb our first San Juan 14er. It was a clear and chilly morning without a cloud in the sky. The wide, smooth trail took us through a forest of tall pines and then passed some large boulders before we ascended a short, steep hill as we neared timberline. The imposing mass of Uncompahgre now stood in plain view before us, a mile or so away across the bright green alpine tundra. The sun rose over the mountains behind us and began to warm us with its golden rays. The flowers and grass around us were strikingly beautiful in the early morning light. As we crossed the basin toward Uncompahgre we passed a couple of banks of snow and a little waterfall along the trail.
When we neared the base of the mountain the trail made a long switchback to the left, but we decided to leave the gentle trail and bushwhack straight up a long grassy slope and across a steep bank of snow to eventually rejoin the trail on the ridge above at 13,400 feet. When we gained the crest of the ridge we were treated to a grand view of a dazzling array of mountains off to the southwest in the heart of the San Juans. I was a little surprised that they had so much snow on them this late in the season. We switchbacked up a steep slope toward the cliffy ramparts guarding Uncompahgre’s south face and then followed a clever route up a steep gully through the cliff band. A hiker we had met shortly before warned us to be careful of slippery frost as we climbed up through this section, but that hazard was gone by the time we got there. Soon we were on the broad, sloping summit plateau and walked about 150 yards northwest to its highest point.
We signed the summit register and looked about at the spectacular views. It was quite a thrill to be standing on the highest point in the San Juans, with this vast, magnificent range spread out before us, from nearby Wetterhorn Peak to the distant Eolus group. There were about a half dozen other climbers on top, and we chatted for a few moments with a nice older climber from New Mexico. He complimented nine year old Emily on her achievement. It was a chilly 40 degrees, with a stiff breeze blowing from the northwest. We sought out protection from the wind behind one of the numerous rock shelters on the summit and crouched behind it to eat a snack in the pleasant sunshine. A few puffy clouds were starting to appear in the sky, but no threatening weather was imminent. I walked over to the northeastern side of the summit plateau and peered over the edge of the precipitous 700 foot cliff that drops away, before quickly retreating.
The descent was fast and easy on the fine trail. We met a guy coming up with two tiny dogs on a leash, and Emily and I joked privately about the thousands of steps their tiny legs must have taken. We again took the shortcut and bushwhacked down the grassy slope into the basin, stopping part way down to eat our lunch amidst a field of colorful wildflowers. We took a short side trip to inspect a pond and a waterfall before rejoining the main trail and hiking on down the valley. As we neared timberline we met an older couple out on a stroll admiring the columbines and other beautiful flowers arrayed on the slopes along the trail.
We returned to the trailhead a little before 2:00 and headed down the road back to Lake City. After driving south of town to have a look at Lake San Cristobal, we headed for home, where we arrived that evening about 9:30. We were thrilled with the achievement of our first San Juan 14er climb, and were eager to return for more.
