#8. Do a solo ascent of a 14er.
This next one dovetails nicely with my overall goal of climbing at least 30 14ers before I'm 30. I got this idea because I started noticing that while climbing, I rely a LOT on my climbing partners for motivation and perseverance to keep climbing upward when sometimes all I want to do is to go back to bed. Climbing mountains is hard, y'all. It takes grit, mettle, focus, determination, and the ability to ignore pain and the lack of oxygen. I thought it would be a good test of myself to see if I could climb one on my own. And, for those of you who know me, I'm stubborn as all get out, and so anything on that above list that I lack, I make up for by being incredibly headstrong. This was my opportunity to prove that to myself.
At this point you might be saying, "Oh my goodness! By yourself? This sounds so dangerous! What if you ____ (insert any number of things here: get lost, fall, get attacked by a mountain lion, etc.)???"
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT MY PARENTS SAID. And I know why they said it. They love me! And sometimes I do things (like this) that scare them. But I feel very confident that especially in the last couple of summers, I've grown to respect the mountains even more. Which means knowing that they will a) always win, and b) always be there. This has allowed me to make better decisions that ultimately determine my safety.
SO. I decided this summer was going to be the summer that I climbed a 14er on my own. After some research, I decided on Mt. Bross. Close to Fairplay and Alma, I chose Mt. Bross for a few different reasons:
1) I didn't have to drive more than 2.5 hours to get to it
2) I had already been around the area last summer climbing Mts. Democrat, Lincoln and Cameron (and since I hadn't gotten Bross, that was all the more reason I wanted to grab it)
3) I knew that if I got seriously injured, the peaks would be popular enough that I could get help
4) There was a trail all the way to the top, so no route-finding was necessary
5) The road leading to it wasn't terrible...or so I thought
So, on the night of August 15, I drove out to Alma and turned onto the road that would lead me towards the Kite Lake TH. This road was worse than I remembered, but nothing more than some deep potholes and washboarding. The hard part was the next road, the turnoff from Kite Lake. Aside from it being unmarked (I went solely by mileage), it was ROUGH: big potholes, tons of rocks, and some dips and puddles that I wasn't completely sure I could get over. But, Helene the Subaru proved her mountain worth yet again, and we made it to the "parking lot" around 9:20pm.
Some pictures of the road
It was eerie, being up that high and all alone with NO light. I was feeling a little uncomfortable while I was reading Hemingway by headlamp, but as soon as I turned it off and the moonlight was the only source of light, it was so incredible and peaceful that I forgot all discomfort from just a moment ago.
The next morning, I had planned on starting around 4am. But honestly, the dark creeped me out so much that I wanted to wait a little longer. I ended up starting at 5am, and it was still plenty dark. I spent the first mile alternately convincing myself that no mountain lions were around, and that every mountain lion around was watching me. An interesting exercise in mind over matter...
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| Clouds to the north of me, as the first light started coming over the peaks |
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| The first colors of the sunrise. Pictures do not do this justice! |
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| Hello Mr. Sun! |
Parts of Mt. Bross are actually owned by private landowners, and this has created a lot of problems for the accessibility to the mountain. There used to be a huge mining operation on the slopes, but now there are so many abandoned mines and mining buildings that no one really wants to take complete ownership of it and open it up to the public, for fear that they will be responsible for any lawsuits should something happen. However, climbing to the top is sort of a "don't ask, don't tell" thing...except that I'm telling about it now. Oops. Oh well. I wasn't the first and I certainly won't be the last!
As someone who is FASCINATED with old, decrepit, almost-unidentifiable buildings, this route was basically heaven for me. Check out some of the things that I passed on the way up and down!
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| Any takers?? You could own part of a mountain! |
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| This old mining building was filled with snow! |
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| A definite fixer-upper. |
I summitted at 8:20am, just under 3.5 hours after starting. Because of the old mining operations, there are lots of old mining roads on the mountain. They basically all end up in the same place, but I didn't want to risk it and on at least two occasions, turned back and took the other road. I think that delayed me a bit. I met 4 very nice young men from UNC on the summit, and they were kind enough to take my summit picture for me!
Overall, this was a great experience for me. Yes, I got scared (multiple times). Yes, I slipped and fell 100' from my car on the way down (don't worry, just a scraped knee). Yes, I had moments where I wasn't sure if I'd be adding mileage to my hike because of the road. No, I didn't have any big epiphanies about life or myself. But, I learned things, some of which I knew all along. I could do this on my own. I didn't need a climbing partner to help me make it to the top. (Having said that, I also learned that I much prefer hiking 14ers with other people.) My gut feelings were almost always right, and I should pay attention to that more often. I know when I get tired, and I know when to stop and rest, and when to keep pushing through. I also know how to train better for next season.
5 down. 25 to go!
