Quandary Peak

Leaving the car at about 8:30am we headed up the trail to the East Ridge stopping every quarter mile to take a five min break to capture some pictures and drink some water and then get back to business. Along the way we passed two gentlemen that were hiking to the top as well and just enjoying the hike as we were. The temp outside was about 15 degrees with a little wind from the northeast and partly cloudy skis. Nearing the saddle at about 13,000ft as we looked back we saw another group of four climbers about forty five minutes behind us. At the end of the saddle just before it slopes up to the top, Buck and I decided to break out the stove and cook some food. Chicken pot pie was on the menu for lunch. After spending about an hour to break we headed up the last finale stretch to the top. About 15 minutes into the hike Buck and I looked at each other and had the same feelings about what we ate, our stomachs were turning. It seemed like every 15 minutes I had to stop and re-gather myself.

An early start for a Saturday, as Buck and I left for Hoosier pass just outside of Breckenridge Colorado . Our first mountain on our list of 54 was a good place to start. Arriving at the trail head at around 7:00am. Buck and I took our time getting ready making sure that we had everything that we needed for the trip, being our first 14er we wanted everything in order before we headed up the mountain. All ready to go, Buck and I got our split boards out and prepared them to skin up. Being snowboarders and in the back country is better to have a split board so you can skin up through the deep snow, your other option would be to use a pair of snowshoes and strap the snowboard to your back. Our weapon of choice would be the Voile split board which was the first of its kind.

 

 

 

 

As we reached the top we were feeling better, or maybe it was just because it was all down hill from here. What ever it was it felt great to be at the top of our first 14er. From the top you could see as far as Longs Peak far in the back ground, and of course you get a really good view of Mont Lincoln which is Quandary’s neighboring peak. After taking a few shots with the camera, we were looking at how barren the south gully (cristo couloir) was to even snowboard down so we had to take option B and snowboard down the east face instead. As we were setting up our boards we noticed two other snowboarders approaching the top, I guess my first thought was that it was nice to see somebody else sharing the same passions we did. We took a moment to share a few words and then latched the bindings tight and pushed off down the mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The steepest slopes that we encountered on the east face was about 32 degrees, and the snow was so wind blown that it was tuff to hold an edge. Buck and I managed to get down to the bottom of the trail in good time before dark. We had gotten down to the vehicle at about 4:45 pm we had talked about the pros and cons of the trip got some food and water into our stomachs and headed for home.