For me, climbing Mt. Elbert would be the realization of one of my oldest dreams...to climb a Rocky Mountain 14,000'-er. We decided on Elbert not only because it was the highest in the state (and second highest in the lower 48) but because it has a well-travelled non-technical trail to the summit. Neither my wife or I are rock climbers so this was a necessity. We decided on the popular route up the north-east ridge of Elbert. The 9-mile round trip route climbs from an elevation of about 10,000' to the 14,433' summit. Sounds straight forward enough but for a couple of flatlanders the sheer elevation would be a powerful obstacle to overcome. It promised to be a memoravle day on the trail...
12,650' - Here, the trail crosses from the north to south side of the ridge allowing the blue-green waters of Twin lakes to come into view...
12,700' - As the trail once again gained the top of the ridge we were quickly reminded there was a lot of climbing yet to go...
12,700' - The beautiful Twin Lakes area to the south...
12,800' - Still looking for an ID on this pretty pink flower...
12,850' - This ridge, the "crux" of the route, is the toughest section of trail. We'd be climbing around 1,000' in less than a mile...
12,850' - We broke for lunch before the big climb and took in the view across to the south ridge. Can you make out the climbers atop it?
12,850' - The panoramic view to the east from our lunch spot...
13,100' - The "crux" of the climb begins...
13,200' - Breaks were becoming more frequent the higher we got...
13,200' - Same as the last shot, just without me. Looking east...
in this box: