Mount Buckskin - 13,865 ft

Date: 2-9-05

Climbers: George Barnes and Doug Shaw

Route:  East Slopes, Class 2

RT distance:  5.0 miles (??)

RT time: 7.5 hours

Elevation gain:  2,600 feet

Coordinates of TH:  39.3090°N, 106.1181°W

Coordinates of summit:  39.3188°N, 106.1470°W

Topo map:  Click HERE

Trip Report:

    The Kite Lake road is plowed to just below Paris Mill at 11,000 feet.  Having paid our dues on the road only 4 days earlier, Doug was willing to drive his 4WD pickup farther up the road.  We made it to the Sweet Home Mine, and parked at a wide spot in the road.

    We noted the temperature was a balmy 3º F as we geared up for the climb.  Between the new / blowing snow and 15-20 mph winds, visibility was pretty poor.  From the truck I skied up the road while Doug (having forgot his snowshoes) tried his hand at post holing.  At around 39.3217°N, 106.1268°W we left the road and made for Buckskin's east slopes.  I cached my skis at an obvious rock and we began our ascent.

    Things got challenging pretty quickly.    I broke trail though knee-waist deep snow while Doug followed and tried to knock down the snow in between my tracks.  We'd later find his effort was for naught, as the snow completely filled our trench.  I begin regretting my decision to wear leather boots (instead of double plastics) and try to keep my toes warm by wrapping them up inside my boot.

     Things level out briefly and I hide behind a large rock to get out of the wind and eat my sandwich.  This is my second time eating "real food" while climbing, and salami on rye beats the heck out of Clif Bars!

     From here we head nearly due north to avoid some disconcerting snow slopes.  Once on the ridge (near the power lines) we ascend on talus, with minimal post holing.  The summit ridge cornice is visible, and gets closer to us 50 steps at a time.  We're pretty exposed, and I pause to add my last layer of clothing, a hard-shell over my Windstopper fleece.  Balaclavas and goggles are definitely necessary!

    On the summit I take a few panorama shots, and Doug contemplates running over to the lower NW summit, but nixes the plans given the hour and distance back to the truck.  I finish off my hot cocoa here (still hot!) and we get our axes out for the descent.

     Glissading and plunge stepping gets us down the mountain pretty quickly.  Our tracks have complete filled in, so more post holing is required to reach my skis.  I make it down the road with minimal effort and mentally add skis to my list of required winter climbing gear.  Doug arrives 10 minutes later, and we're off for another evening drive down 285 back to Denver.

     Once we warm up, we decide to come back to the Mosquitos for some ice climbing at Lincoln Falls the next day.  Thankfully the weather is *much* warmer (near freezing!), and the wind less brutal.