MOUNT OF THE HOLY CROSS 7/25/84
MOUNT OF THE HOLY CROSS 14,005'
Mountain........Mt. of the Holy Cross
Elevation.........14,005
Rank...............53rd
Range..............Sawatch
Trail length......7 miles
Elevation gain..5,400'
Difficulty..........**
Comments........Uphill coming back!
TRIP REPORT
7/25/84
We got up a little earlier for Holy Cross because it involved more distance and up-and-down than any of the other peaks we'd bagged so far. From Halfmoon Campground, we quickly climbed up and over the north ridge of Notch Mountain (a 900' speed bump), then followed a very scenic trail facing the 'Vale of Tears' with waterfalls, hanging valleys, and Holy Cross towering above. The cross wasn't visible from here, though.
At the base of Notch Mountain we encountered a wide, fast, deep creek. After a bit of scouting we found a log 'bridge' and tried to cross using large sticks as a third leg. The current ripped the sticks from our hands as we tried to plant them solidly on the stream bottom, so we tossed them back to the bank and with great trepidation somehow fumbled across the water-slick log. On the far side were a few campsites and numerous trails - it took us a while to locate the sparsely-cairned summit trail.
The trail went up to Holy Cross's north ridge, then ran steep and straight until we reached an almost level snowy ridge leading to the summit cone. A little bit of scrambling got us to the top as a storm moved in and pelted us with a mix of snow, sleet, and rain.
We headed back down, found a different (but no easier) log to cross the stream, then started back up Notch Mountain as the sky opened up in earnest. We were pretty exhausted from climbing five 14ers in four days and sludged back to the car like lead-footed zombies. We drove to somewhere near Glenwood Springs and crashed.
Over the next few days we visited Colorado National Monument, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Telluride (great scenery & bars), and made an aborted attempt on Mt. Wilson (cut short by heavy rains, loose rock, and mudslides). Then we drove on to Lake City to stay in what the locals call the 'Psycho Motel', although the name over the door says 'Matterhorn'.
Mt. of the Holy Cross gifts and t-shirts
Mountain........Mt. of the Holy Cross
Elevation.........14,005
Rank...............53rd
Range..............Sawatch
Trail length......7 miles
Elevation gain..5,400'
Difficulty..........**
Comments........Uphill coming back!
TRIP REPORT
7/25/84
We got up a little earlier for Holy Cross because it involved more distance and up-and-down than any of the other peaks we'd bagged so far. From Halfmoon Campground, we quickly climbed up and over the north ridge of Notch Mountain (a 900' speed bump), then followed a very scenic trail facing the 'Vale of Tears' with waterfalls, hanging valleys, and Holy Cross towering above. The cross wasn't visible from here, though.
At the base of Notch Mountain we encountered a wide, fast, deep creek. After a bit of scouting we found a log 'bridge' and tried to cross using large sticks as a third leg. The current ripped the sticks from our hands as we tried to plant them solidly on the stream bottom, so we tossed them back to the bank and with great trepidation somehow fumbled across the water-slick log. On the far side were a few campsites and numerous trails - it took us a while to locate the sparsely-cairned summit trail.
The trail went up to Holy Cross's north ridge, then ran steep and straight until we reached an almost level snowy ridge leading to the summit cone. A little bit of scrambling got us to the top as a storm moved in and pelted us with a mix of snow, sleet, and rain.
We headed back down, found a different (but no easier) log to cross the stream, then started back up Notch Mountain as the sky opened up in earnest. We were pretty exhausted from climbing five 14ers in four days and sludged back to the car like lead-footed zombies. We drove to somewhere near Glenwood Springs and crashed.
Over the next few days we visited Colorado National Monument, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Telluride (great scenery & bars), and made an aborted attempt on Mt. Wilson (cut short by heavy rains, loose rock, and mudslides). Then we drove on to Lake City to stay in what the locals call the 'Psycho Motel', although the name over the door says 'Matterhorn'.
Mt. of the Holy Cross gifts and t-shirts
posted by JansStores at 11:48 AM
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