I think Kristine & I have lost track of how many times we have climbed the local 14er to Breckenridge, Quandary Peak, but despite being one of the easiest 14ers to climb in the state, it definitely has its advantages and benefits to climbers of all abilities and experiences. The standard east slopes route at around 5.5 miles roundtrip and 3,400′ vertical gain is a wonderful beginner hike in any season of the year. However, there are more difficult routes on essentially every other aspect of the peak such as the class 3 west ridge, the steep and direct Cristo Couloir on the peak’s south side and the tougher Quandary Couloir and Inwood Arete on the peak’s north side. I climbed and skied the Cristo Couloir in early June of 2011 with the dogs and good friend Caleb Wray and I’ve climbed the west ridge in the winter of 2011 with friends J Weingast, Jesse Hill, & Steve Cizik. I have yet to venture over to the north face, except for a north side McCullough Gulch winter camp one year, but look forward to doing so in the future. However, I, along with Kristine and the dogs, have probably been up the east slopes route 4 times a year on average for the past 6-8 years always in fall, winter, or spring. I honestly don’t think we’ve hiked up Quandary in the summer months yet. The moderate east face also provides for some nice ski-mountaineering and, if you are adventurous, some swiss-bob sledding. Quandary’s great winter access to trailheads, being only an hour’s drive away, relatively short roundtrip mileage, and ease of getting to above 14,000′ really make it a wonderful training climb for higher altitude mountains around the world. We always try and climb it several times right before embarking on any higher international climb. I believe I first climbed Quandary Peak back in June of 1998 as one of my first 14ers with my friend Andrew Norelli after we drove out from North Carolina for 5 weeks to venture throughout the west and climb mountains. I remember that was a tough day yet at the time had no idea it was one of the state’s easiest 14ers. Wow, was I ignorant. But, ignorance is bliss, right? Not that day – we were whooped. Anyway, here are some Quandary pics from over the years:
Me and the dogs on Quandary’s summit in March 2010 prior to leaving for Everest. Kristine & I tested out our Millet Everest boots a few times on Quandary before we left for Everest
Kristine after swiss-bob sledding down Quandary’s east face in her Millet Everest boots prior to leaving for Everest
Kristine climbing Quandary’s east slopes the weekend before we left for Everest in her Millet Everest boots. Our good friend, Ryan “Baba” Aldrich, joined us this day and is behind Kristine with his skis on his back
Rainier & Kona making their way to Quandary’s summit in March 2010
J Weingast, Steve Cizik, Andy Dionne, & Nico Cizik at our 11,800′ winter camp in McCullough Gulch at the base of Quandary’s north face in February 2011
Quandary’s summit with part of our Kilimanjaro team in May 2011 prior to our climb of Kilimanjaro 3 months later
Quandary’s south-facing Cristo Couloir in June 2011
Caleb, Rainier, & Kona in the Cristo Couloir about to enjoy some sweet spring snow
Me skiing Quandary’s Cristo Couloir in June 2011
Quandary’s west ridge in profile behind Kristine as she climbs towards nearby Fletcher Mtn’s summit in December 2011
Jesse Hill, Steve Cizik, & J Weingast on Quandary’s west ridge proper in December 2011
Here is a short video I shot of the fellas climbing Quandary’s west ridge proper in December 2011:
Kristine & I took our great friends & recent newlyweds Rob Casserley & Marie-Kristelle Ross up Quandary during their March 2012 visit as their first Colorado 14er. Of course, Rob has climbed Everest eight times, so it might not really compare, but he did enjoy himself tremendously. J Weingast & Megan Gilman joined us on this climb as well
In preparation for our upcoming Aconcagua trip this December to gain some altitude and to join in on the annual 14ers.com winter welcomer gathering, we headed over to Quandary this past Saturday and had an enjoybale 4-5 hrs on the mountain despite a not so ideal weather forecast. It was really wonderful seeing folks again whom we had met previously on mountains around the state as well as meeting new folks. The weather forecast all week was showing not such a great day on Saturday with winds gusting as much as 55 mph and wind chill temperatures well below zero. However, we went anyway and the weather actually didn’t seem as bad as forecasted. It was a hike on snow the entire way amongst loose rock and some scree and with the temperatures and wind it certainly felt like winter was here! I wanted to at least see the organizer this day, Jim DiNapoli. Since we got started near the rear of the pack, we slowly made our way up to the front meeting and greating folks along the way. By 13,500′, we caught up with Jim who had organized the entire day through 14ers.com. Jim is a winter climbing wizard as well as a great rock climber. He is currently trying to climb all of Colorado’s 14ers in winter, a hefty goal to say the least. I bet he will accomplish this goal most definitely. We saw him years ago on our way into Willow Lake and Kit Carson & Challenger Peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Range. Kristine & I kept saying how we only wish we could be in the kind of shape Jim is in when we are 58 yrs old. Jim is amazing! He’s in better shape and younger at heart than most people I know my age! It was great to see him again for sure and the three of us had a great time breaking trail up to the summit. Once we crested the short summit ridge, the visibility really dropped and the wind and cold seemed to increase exponentially. Once on top, Jim took a few pics as I had forgotten my camera. However, the dogs were cold, really cold. Kona was shivering even in her doggy fleece and old down vest we had put on her. Rainie was having issues with her paws icing up. I believe the recorded temperature & windchill on top by another 14ers.com member 30 minutes later was 4 degrees and -19.2 degrees with windchill. Not your normal October 27 temperatures! We needed to get the dogs down so we departed the summit while Jim stayed up on top to wait for the other 14ers.com hikers. We chatted with several of the other 14ers.com hikers on our descent as they were still ascending wishing them luck. We arrived back at the truck around 1pm. Here are a few pics courtesy of Jim:
Me, Kona, & Kristine at about 13,800′ on Quandary’s east ridge during for the 2012 14ers.com winter welcomer gathering
Me & the dogs making the final steps up to Quandary’s summit ridge
Jim & I on Quandary Peak’s summit on October 27 for the 2012 14ers.com winter welcomer gathering
And last, but certainly not least, my dad harvested the biggest (in terms of physical size, weight, and rack scoring) white-tailed buck ever taken at Chalk Hill Farm in the mountains near Sparta, North Carolina. What makes my dad’s accomplishmnet that much more impressive is that he harvested this monster buck with his bow! The 218.2 lb 10 point buck scored an unofficial 138 1/4 which puts my dad and his buck in the Pope & Young record books! Congratulations, Dad, on a buck of a lifetime! No one deserves it more than the huntmaster of Chalk Hill Farm himself! Maybe its a good thing Kristine & I are not traveling back home for Thanksgiving because I certainly do not want to try and follow my dad in this respect! Good luck Uncle Bryan, Lee, Cole, & Ransome! 🙂 Here is a picture of my dad & his monster Chalk Hill buck:
My dad and the biggest buck ever harvested at Chalk Hill!
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