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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: June 16, 2009
- Miles Hiked: 5.8
- Elevation Gain: 2,540'
- Hiking Partner(s): Scott Borger & Jeff Shafer
- Description:
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Scott, Jeff, and I left Denver (CO) at 3:00 am and
were hiking from the Bear Lake trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park
shortly after 5:00 am. The approach to Emerald Lake and the base
of Dragon's Tail and Dragon's Tooth Couloirs took only 50 minutes.
Jeff and I climbed Dragon's Tail a couple of years ago and were
returning for Dragon's Tooth. Scott was interested in getting out
and decided to join us. My blood sugar level was low and Scott
needed to adjust his crampons, so we actually spent 30 minutes at the
base of the climb as I recovered before heading up the couloir.
The snow was generally great neve conditions with a few sections that
softened up near the top. There was a fairly large melted out
section of the climb before the crux rock step.
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As we approached the huge chock stone crux, it
looked fairly intimidating. We ended up climbing underneath the
the right side of the boulder into a small cave. We then stemmed
up the chimney inside the cave to pop out on top of the boulder.
Once I got above the huge chock stone, I yelled down to Scott and Jeff
that I was clear and this alternative was climbable. It was narrow
and slightly difficult to negotiate with a pack, but all three of us
squirmed through the cave and and up the chimney safely. We
finished the snow climb and decided to make the 18 mile hike across
Flattop's plateau to tag the actual summit. We returned down the
Flattop Trail after another 30 minute break and completed the hike in 5
hours and 50 minutes. After pizza in Estes Park, we went to
Boulder Canyon and climbed "Young and the Rackless".
- Maps:
- Click
here to view a
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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