We drove to a hotel in Lake
City, close to Wetterhorn Peak, which I would attempt the next
morning.
Wetterhorn would be my first
attempt at a "Class 3" climb.
The road to the trailhead was
pretty tough, but had some nice sections through Aspens.
Terri dropped me off at the
trailhead and vowed to return in the afternoon.
About a mile into the
trail you break out of the trees and are treated to a great
view of Matterhorn Peak (13,590'), which is ridge connected to Wetterhorn.
A picture of me taking a
picture of the connecting ridge.
Eventually I came across
another climber on the trail, who snapped a picture of
Wetterhorn over my shoulder.
Up through a boulder field.
Wetterhorn is a great mountain at 14,015'. The fin-looking feature to the
left of the summit is called the Ship's Prow.
To the east, Uncompahgre Peak
is another majestic sight at 14,309'.
I stashed my poles about here,
where climbing with my hands would begin. The path to the summit
is a traverse up and across this face, to a point to the right
of the Ship's Prow.
Route finding across a
sometimes crumbly, gravelly ledge system required patience;
if you get to a dead end you just have to downclimb and try
another path.
