Add Heading HereI had been in Chicago Basin three years earlier, running through the night with the intention of climbing all three of the fourteeners there. Unfortunately, lingering hard snow fields were impassable without crampons, and I had to bail on all three. Got in a nice long run, but no summits. Fast-forward three years...
Took the train this time (thanks to my daughter), and camped in the lower basin the night before. Got a decent night's sleep and hit the trail before sunrise. Standard route. The weather was mostly cloudy, with only occasional hints of clearing, but no actual rain until after noon. We made it up the red gully and hit the summit about 10:30 am MDT. I figured just under five hours from camp for this summit was perfectly OK--there's some slow going up near the top if you have a lick of sense. Got some partial clearing--the best conditions of the day--and had the summit to ourselves. After a moment's hesitation, I took the "leap of faith," and got to the actual summit. It's every bit as good as advertised, and it felt really good finally to get this one after my multi-year wait. Fourteener #37 for me, #35 for Trisha.
After that, we headed over to Windom. Images
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San Juan Range
