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...
13,650' - Keeping an eye on Mt. Massive again, this time to measure our descent...
13,600' - Shelter above treeline is hard to come by...this is about as good as it gets. The clouds were really rolling in at this point so I decided to stow the camera to make better time. Three hours later as we reached the car thunder and rain could be heard and seen on the upper slopes. What an amazing day...
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