August 2nd, 1998, From Huerfano Vally, Northwest Ridge
| Mount Lindsey is a really fun and challenging climb in many aspects. Robert and I drove down to Mount Lindsey on August 1st to camp overnight. The jeep trail that runs through the center of the valley is very long (about 10 miles) and gets really rough about halfway there. It had rained on us almost the entire way and the ground was very wet. There were some huge mud puddles and some steep inclines to go over. According to some info that I'd found on the road, 2-wheel drive cars could indeed make it all the way to the trailhead. Man, is this incorrect! There's no way a 2 wheel drive can make it to the trailhead except by being dropped by helicopter. Amidst this rugged road is some of the prettiest scenery that I have seen in Colorado yet. There were thick forests of aspen surrounded by deep emerald green meadows with small ponds located in various spots. On top of this, the giant north face of Blanca Peak looks over the entire valley. It's quite dramatic. |
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We arrived at the trailhead around 6:30pm and packed in about .5 - .75
miles to our campsite which, unlike the other campsites we saw, was well-hidden from the
trail and situated next to the roaring Huerfano Creek. The creek posed one of the biggest
challenges to us. After setting up camp and eating, we scouted ahead on the trail and
found that the creek crossing was going to be difficult. The main crossing was very wide
and deep and only passable by wading. So, we explored upstream and downstream until we
found the most suitable place to cross which was downstream near an island formed by the
creek forking and rejoining with itself. Crossing over to the island was easy, crossing
from the island to the opposite side was tricky. We found the most narrow spot (which
translated into deep and swiftly flowing water) and began extending the shore with large
rocks. We build a small ramp about two feet long that made the leap over the stream
possible. It wasn't easy either. I tested and got over safely but it was much spookier
coming back. Well, it began to get dark so we decided we would see if anyone would set
stepping stones on the trail in the morning and if not, we'd use our way station. We slept very well that night. Our campsite was soft and perfectly level and smooth. We got up rather late in the morning and went up to the stream crossing and noticed a towel on the other side. Somebody had suffered and waded through that frigid morning water. We weren't about to do that so we backtracked and crossed at our spot. |
| We made it across with no problems but the other side was really marshy.
After we hooked back up with the main trail, we continued up the valley a way until the
trail turned left and started climbing below the talus and towards the Nipple Creek
canyon. The trail is pretty clear and leads all the way up the canyon to the basin below
Lindsey. However, we got off route at one point and ended up hiking directly up Nipple
Creek. Fortunately, we regained the trail well below treeline but, on the way down, it was
difficult to see how we'd gotten off the trail. I suppose the trail looks different on the
way up as opposed to the way down and there were a few places that entered the forest that
looked like trails. No harm done though, and we got some nice close-up views of Nipple
Creek. Near treeline, there's a tunnel carved out of the rock on the opposite side of the creek (above). There are no mines labeled on the map but this cave was definitely artificial. We were dissappointed too because I'd left my flashlight back at camp. It was really creepy after walking in only 15 feet. The tunnel continued about 20 feet ahead and turned and ascended to the left. Maybe some other time we can explore it. However, I'd hate to run into some "thing" deep in that tunnel. |
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| After exiting the Nipple Creek Valley, we came to a wide basin filled with
boulders and green grass (above right). Ahead of us we saw the prominent pyramid of Mount
Lindsey (right). At first, we mistook this for "Iron Nipple" which lies to the
left of Lindsey from here. I figured that a mountain named "Iron Nipple" would
have to look pretty difficult to warrant such a name but it turns out that it's a rather
wimpy mountain. I have no idea why it's even named. It's a sub-peak of an unnamed 13,800+
peak. Go figure. There are a few faint trails that lead to a small saddle in front of Lindsey, from this sub-saddle, you turn left and climb to the Lindsey/Iron Nipple saddle. There are two routes you can take at this point. The standard route leads up the north face up a couple of steep gullys. The other route is the northwest ridge which is a tough, exposed ridge climb. After having so much fun on Navajo Peak the year before, we opted for the ridge. We descended the North Face route. |
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The northwest ridge was pretty easy going at first - just scrambling over large boulders. Later on, the ridge narrowed drastically. There are a few gullies that run up to meet the ridge which makes the ridge appear unpassable. As we approached the tops of the gullies though, it was easy to see where to cross them. At one point, the ridge narrowed to just a couple of inches, so we dropped down about 5 feet and traversed across a ledge a few inches wide while holding on to the top part of the ridge. The most difficult section by far, however, is near the middle of the ridge (middle of left picture) where you can see a prominent, vertical triangle-shaped cliff. From a distance, we thought we could easily traverse around the right side but upon closer inspection that wasn't an option without a rope. We climbed up the left side and continued up steep rock until regaining the ridge. After this, the scrambling relaxes again and it is very pleasant all the way to the top. There's a false summit to climb over but the true summit lies only a couple of hundred feet beyond. There weren't too many people on the peak this day - we had the summit all to ourselves. It was a perfect day and we could see for miles. |
Here's the summit shot. Blanca Peak is the prominent mountain in
the background.
To the right of Blanca is Ellingwood Point.
