| East Ridge Route, 4-22-06 Trip Report |
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| East Ridge Route, 4-22-06   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Colorado, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Apr 22, 2006 Activities: Mountaineering Season: Spring | Page By: altitude14er Created/Edited: Apr 23, 2006 / Apr 24, 2006 Object ID: 190004 Hits: 431 Loading... Page Score: 80.84% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
A Day without Snowshoes10.9 Miles, 4,280ft. of Elevation Gain
Started at Deer Creek Campground
Ascended East Ridge Route
Defining Characteristics-
(1) The peak has little snow on it now.
(2) The approach below treeline has a truly long feel to it.
(3) Nothing special about this peak, just an aerobic workout
I departed from the Deer Creek Campground at 8:45am on April 22nd. The weather was great. I decided to bring my snowshoes as I thought I would need them around and above treeline. The week before me and my friend Dave attempted Rosalie but the weather was bad. Just below treeline the trail disappeared and we found ourselves snowshoeing through two foot deep snow drifts. When we reached treeline we turned back due to horizontally blowing snow and white out conditions. What can I say, I’m a fair-weather climber! To reiterate, the postholing was last week.
I was much more enthusiastic than last week, starting out with great weather. I parked at the Deer Creek Campground. I moved quickly and went the .7 miles down the road to the trailhead and parking lot. Three cars were parked at the trailhead. I started down the trail, hauling a good amount of weight on my back. With snowshoes and water it was probably about 30 pounds. After about a mile I reached the junction with the Rosalie trail. Despite the fact that you are climbing Rosalie due not follow the "Rosalie" trial. Instead head straight (right) and continue to the North. (I followed SPer Ryan Schillings East Ridge Route featured on the main Rosalie page. You will find that his descriptions are adequate and get you up your goal.) The trail is very uneventful up to this point. The forest is thick and dense, offering seldom views. I continued through the dense forest and began to notice some areas above treeline in front of me looking North. These spots were probably about 500ft. higher than me and a half mile away. Yet I was relieved to discover that I’d be above the trees soon. I was getting tired of hiking in the forest without promise of a rewarding view for my efforts. The trail was nothing like last week, the snow had melted and was no longer deep. My snowshoes were not needed. I only occasionally stepped through knee deep snow. The trail however, was highly confusing and hard to follow.
I followed my instincts and the map offered on this route (Rosalie SP Route & map by Ryan Schilling) and bashed through the trees due North. I found myself emerging above the trees slightly to the West of the Pegmatite Points. I was able to easily scope an area to the East Ridge of Rosalie that wouldn’t entail snowshoes. I resolved to take a break on the east ridge. The trail was nowhere to be seen and I picked my way up the steepening tundra to the saddle. Once on the saddle I plopped down on a rock, the weather was still pleasantly warm and windless. I studied the rest of the lazy East Ridge and realized I was going to get up the peak without snowshoes. For the sake of spring training I did haul them on my back the whole 4,000 something feet to the summit. I cursed myself for bringing them but it’s better to be safe than sorry I told myself.
I climbed the East Ridge up to the lazy summit. It was easy to avoid the occasional snow patches all the way up to the summit. About 300ft. below the summit I left the east ridge and ascended the southern aspect for the final bit. I shared the summit with the only others to summit this day, two nice dudes in there early thirties. We briefly discussed our conquests on various 14ers and 13ers and took photos for one another. I plopped down on a large flat rock and ate some food. The views were breathtaking. Rosalie offers an interesting perspective on Mt. Evans, Bierstadt, Pikes and SquareTop Mountain. It became clear that the peaks of Colorado have retained a lot more snow further West. The easternmost highpoints of the Front Range were more barren of snow. All winter local meteorologist have said that storm systems heading from the West coast dump all of there snow leading up to reaching Denver. Creating for a dry Denver but moist mountain belt. Further West the peaks were draped in white. I was grateful for the “summer” conditions I found upon Rosalie. After a half hour spent on the summit I began the 4,000 something foot descent. What a day!
The Eastern Aspects of Rosalie Images
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Front Range (CO)
