-Quandary Peak(2)-

Elevation: 14,265 ft.

Date Hiked: 2-25-2007

Trip Report:
This was my second time hiking Quandary peak but the first time during the winter. This peak is the most popular 14er to hike in the winter. It is easily accessed and a short hike. Today was no exception. Even though the weather was abysmal there were still plenty of people out today.

Quandary Peak West Ridge

Erik and I left Lakewood around 6 AM and got to the trailhead by 8 AM. We parked about a mile from the summer trailhead. I originally wanted to bring snowshoes but decided against that after we had gone a short ways. I cached them in the snow nearby off the trail. It was snowing lightly and we made good time up the east ridge. The snow was not to deep which made going easier.

Directions Sign

Trailhead Sign

Trail Info

As we crested treeline and gained the ridge the wind picked up and it got much colder. The visibility also dropped significantly. We could see nothing above us but could make out the drop off to the south of the east ridge. Eventually we summited in near white out. We could barley make out the summit.

Me on the Summit

I took off my gloves to take a few pictures after I had put my down jacket on. This turned out to be a mistake. My hands instantly froze. I had a difficult time putting them back on. This was both the coldest and closest to frostbite I had ever been. Even with my large down jacket on I was still freezing. Eventually after descending a ways my hands began to warm up and I was fine. We saw a few people on the ridge who turned around before the summit due to the weather.

East Ridge

People on the Ridge

At the Bottom of the East Ridge

We made it back to the cars for a round trip time of just over 5 hours. On the way back home the traffic was terrible before the tunnel. The storm got worse as I drove. We were lucky we hiked when we did.

Snow near the Tunnel