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| Elk Park to Vestal Basin, CO | |
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| | Elk Park to Vestal Basin, CO | | | |
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Elk Park to Vestal Basin, CO
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| Backpack | 15.25 Miles |
8,651 AEG |
| | Backpack | 15.25 Miles | 3 Days | | |
| 8,651 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | June 28: Elk Park to Vestal Basin
We wanted to learn some mountaineering skills so we took a guided trip with the San Juan Mountain guides.
The morning air was full of smoke from fires near Pagosa Springs and in New Mexico. I was pretty sure the smoke was going to ruin our views. We rode the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Elk Park and the smoke did block some of the views but for the most part it was still nice. I was glad that I had ridden it before otherwise I would have been upset by having obscured views.
After over three hours on the train, we got dropped off at Elk Park. We took the trail into the Beaver ponds. We had great views of Vestal and Arrow Peaks while we had a snack. We left the trail and crossed the water and then started up a route to Vestal Basin. The route along the Vestal drainage was extremely steep. It kept climbing and climbing. We had to navigate over downfall of all sizes. At some point it rained enough for us to put our rain jackets on.
We climbed up a ridge and then traversed back over to Vestal Creek. I could tell we were gaining in elevation by the different types of flowers along the trail.
Finally we arrived at Vestal Basin. We found a good campsite in a meadow like area. We could see Vestal Peak from camp and it seemed like a mini Matterhorn. From our campsite we could often see three Marmots looking down at us from their posts in the rocks.
I washed out my clothes and hung them to dry.
We headed to bed between 8 and 9. Just after 10 I heard the rain. I wasn't at all motivated to collect my wet clothes.
June 29: Vestal Basin to Vestal Peak Summit via Wham Ridge!
In the morning we woke up at 4 AM and I had to put on my wet clothes off the line. We started hiking at 5 AM. We put on our climbing gear around 6 AM. We continued to just hike up slabs and far as we could. Ben had us rope up to get used to short roping. He had us on a longish leash and then Joel and I were tied in about 8 feet apart. Joel could adjust the length depending on if we were hiking or climbing. It took a while to get used to going at an even pace so that we didn't have any slack between us. Once we were used to it we started to do short pitches of climbing. That again was a challenge since I could only go so far before I felt the tension on the rope behind me. I'd have to pause until Joel came up behind me but not too long that there would be slack again. Between each pitch we would be protected with a cam and then Joel and I would counterbalance to so that if any of us fell we'd be able to catch them easily. Up and up we went climbing and just scrambling in spots.
Suddenly, we were close to the top. We were able to disconnect from the rope and continue nearly upright to the peak. We reached the top at 8:45 AM.
The views at the top were awesome! Peaks in every direction! We could also see some lakes. We couldn't see a lot down in the basins because of the smoke again. But it was still wonderful!
From the top we hiked off the backside by first following the peak's ridge before going down. I did a lot of crab walking because I the steepness. There was a lot of loose rock to try to avoid.
We traversed over to between Arrow and Vestal to where we'd descend quickly. One guy we met in camp the night before caught up to us. He had left camp around 9 (or so he said!)! And hiked/climbed by himself to the top. Crazy! We let him by and watched him side down the hill. He seemed to be letting a lot of rock down. Soon we realized that dislodging rocks is normal for this section. We went down nearly skiing on top of small landslides. It was very disconcerting. At times I felt like the whole mountain was going to come down. I was very glad to reach a patch of snow and just slide down it in my butt!!
We took a break to decide whether to continue into Arrow. We noticed some clouds building. As we talked the cloud became darker and larger. We decided it was prudent to go back to camp.
In camp our guides gave us a mini anchors course. It was full of great information like ERNEST: equalized, redundant, no extension, strong, timely. When placing cams for anchors you should make sure they are placed in the direction of use. It's a good idea to tie a clove hitch to hold the knot on the cord in place. Grab the cord in between each placed piece and equalize it. Then hold the bottom with one hand and slide the other up to where you'll place a knot to equalize everything again make sure it all is equalized and then tie an overhand knot. Clip the carabiner in the bight. Then you can also clip into the shelf above the knot. When doing so make sure you have one of each of the legs. Also, cord is often used instead of webbing now days.
If the cord goes around a tree/rock, then when clipping into the shelf clip into the lines on one side of the knot.
Towards the end of our mini session it started to rain so we got back to our tents for a nap.
After the rains and the naps, we continued our training. By the end I could do a Munter's hitch, clove hitch, and a bowline. We also learned how to use the guide feature on our ATC devices as well as how to lower someone properly using the guide method with redirects and prusik knots. We learned that to tie two pieces of rope together without having to worry about them getting stuck an overhand knot with 12 inches of tail is fine. The fisherman's knot is too hard to get undone and also can get hung up easily.
We decided we wanted to still climb Arrow Peak. Ben consulted his notes and calculated what time we should get up in order to climb the peak, pack up, and hike out to catch the train based on his other trips. We needed to leave at 4:00 AM.
June 30: Arrow Peak, Return trip to Elk Park
We awoke at 3:15 got dressed quickly and ate breakfast. On our way out I went to grab my poles and they seemed to be stuck to the ground so apparently it froze.
We head up the same approach as for Vestal but once we got to the first shelf we cut off towards Arrow. We were headed for the ramp but we wanted to avoid the the scree at the bottom. The route up was pretty easy to follow up to the ramp. Then the ramp sort of adds a second ramp part way up and we climbed up the arête between the two ramps.
Often, the guides will short rope people up this peak even though its only 4th class. I was happy that we were good enough that our guide didn't require it for us. Up towards the top the climbing got a bit more intense when it comes to exposure but over all it was easily doable without ropes. We did wear our helmets.
About midway up the sunrise occurred. It was beautiful with all the peaks in the background.
We managed to get to the top about 50 minutes quicker then planned. We had a nice break on top. Then we started down.
The first part required us to actually down climb facing in. The drop off was pretty steep. I remember thinking how the hell am I getting down that! But I did...
We got back to camp earlier then planned so we didn't have to rush to pack up.
Part of the route back to the main trail was pretty steep going down. I was glad when it was over because my legs were a bit tired from the climb.
Before we got to the main trail we kept seeing a helicopter circling up ahead. We reached a campsite close to the junction and Ben asked the guy there if he knew what was up. The guy said that the helicopter was coming for him. Come to find out a helicopter had been called because he was feeling bad. We helped him and his grand son pack up and soon the paramedics arrived.
Several parties managed to show up and stood around observing. The guy was loaded on a gurney and many of the people pitched in to help carry his to the copter which had landed in a marshy area next to the beaver ponds. One of the paramedics stayed behind with the grandson and the copter planned to return to get them and the gear. We got to watch the copter take off before we continued on our journey.
We arrived at the train with still a bit of time to spare. We had a snack and a group photo. We could hear the train whistle a ways away so we were ready when it approached to pick us up.
Luckily the train wasn't busy and we ended up with a car to our stinky selves at first. There was a nice breezy and cloud cover so the train ride was pleasant! However, I would recommend that instead of departing/arriving in Durango plan to use the Rockwood stop. It would cut the train journey almost 45 minutes each way. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
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