WOOD MOUNTAIN
(13,660')ANIMAS FORKS MOUNTAIN
(13,722')July 31, 2007
By Tim Briese
Brian and I rose early in Ridgway and drove to Cinnamon Pass, arriving just as the sun rose at 6:15. We struck off crosscountry in the direction of Wood Mountain, which stood less than a mile away to the north. We managed to stay mostly on grassy slopes as we ascended the peak=s southeast ridge. The grand scenery spread out around us was particularly beautiful in the early morning light. We stepped on the summit at 7:35, for an ascent time of one hour from the truck.
After soaking in the scenic views for a few minutes we turned our attention to Pt. 13,688, our next objective. The point lay a half mile to the north at the other end of an incredibly gnarly ridge that was well guarded by cliffs and spires. We descended Wood=s northwest ridge to a 13,300 foot saddle from which we studied Garratt and Martin=s proposed route to Pt. 13,688. It looked difficult and dangerous from this vantage point. We nevertheless launched forth and proceeded to descend a steep and loose slope to the north. We dropped down two or three hundred feet to a point where we were able to get below a steep snow slope, for neither of us had ice axes along, then traversed across steep and unstable talus to the western base of the gnarly ridge. We searched for a couloir to climb to the crest of the ridge, but each one looked as bad as the next. Finally we found one marked with a cairn and some flag tape and cautiously began to climb it. It was very steep and dangerously littered with loose rock, ranging in size from gravel to talus blocks. This was a lot more than we had bargained for! After climbing about 75 feet Brian became quite concerned about the difficulty of safely descending the couloir when we came back, and I concurred. I angled up across a rock face a short distance further to inspect the terrain above, and it looked no better, so we decided to stage a careful retreat. With disappointment in our steps we traversed back across the steep talus and reclimbed the loose slope up to the saddle. We have since learned that there is an easier way to climb Pt.13,688 from the north via Hurricane Basin, and we plan to try it someday.
Just as we reached the saddle we saw a climber coming down the ridge from Wood and it turned out to be none other than Jim Mallory, a climber we recognized from 14erWorld. He was a very pleasant and amiable fellow, and it was a treat to talk with him for a few minutes. Clouds were rapidly building up in the sky, so he presently took off along the ridge to the west and we followed shortly after. This narrow, easy ridge was a lot of fun, with steep slopes dropping sharply away on both sides. Jim continued on to unranked Pt. 13,708, but we turned and traversed past it on a talus slope to get to a saddle to the left on our way to Animas Forks Mountain. Jim presently overtook us and flew past like a mountain goat. We marveled at what a fast climber he is.
Beyond the saddle the ridge narrowed to an exciting catwalk, but unfortunately we could ill afford to take our time to enjoy it as it deserved, because we were racing against the weather. When we reached the summit ridge of Animas Forks Jim was already on his way down. As he passed by he exuberantly exclaimed, A I love it up here!@ I wholeheartedly agreed with his sentiment, and smiled to myself as I thought about how alpine exhilaration is inescapable!
Dark clouds now filled the sky, and memories of the horrifying lightning storm we survived on Mt. Meeker flashed through my mind. We blasted the last few feet up to the summit and stayed all of one minute, in sharp contrast to the leisurely two hours we had enjoyed on Baldy Alto the day before. We flew down the peak=s southeast slopes on scree as light rain began to fall. After descending about a thousand feet we found a faint trail that we followed into the grassy basin to the east and gradually contoured all the way around the basin back to the truck waiting at Cinnamon Pass. By this time the darkest clouds had drifted away and the sun was shining again. We hadn=t heard a single clap of thunder in spite of the ominous appearance of the sky while we were near the summit. The fast descent from Animas Forks Mountain took just over an hour, and we arrived back at the truck a few minutes before two. We covered about five miles and climbed 2900 feet of elevation gain today.
Rather than returning to Ridgway via Silverton, we four-wheeled up to see Engineer Pass and then made an ill-advised decision to take the section of the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway that connects with Hwy. 550 just south of Ouray. We are veterans of quite a bit of four-wheeling, but this was the most rugged and hair-raising route I could remember in a long time. I was thankful to make it safely back to Ridgway. That evening we enjoyed one of our Ridgway traditions, a delicious dinner at the wonderful Adobe Inn.
