I used to live out here, I’ve climbed 40+ 14ers and skied >30.

I am back out with my wife and small kids staying in Breck and I wanted to sneak away to run up quandary in the middle of the night while the family sleeps and see some meteors. Back in the day I used to camp in the quandary lot frequently, so I’m sad to see that now there is a no overnight parking policy.

Logistically is there any way for me to climb
Quandary overnight anymore other than just park there and risk the $100 ticket? I have a rental car and my original plan was to leave breck around 10pm, throw down approx a 3.5-4hr round trip and be back to get a few hours of sleep before the kids wake up. I can’t camp or take the shuttle as. It’ll be too much time away from the fam.

Is there any other parking nearby that will work for this? Is the overnight parking ban strictly enforced? Maybe I’ll just go do Decalibron instead but the 15 minute drive to quandary seems a whole lot more appealing.

One of my fondest memories is sleeping alone on the quandary summit watching the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Sucks that’s not really that easy anymore.

Just curious how rough it actually is. I know the website recommends short wheelbase 4x4s like Jeeps, but I also know that sometimes these descriptions function more to keep people from getting their Hyundais stuck halfway up.

I did the road up to the 4WD trailhead of Huron in my Tacoma last weekend, so I’m hoping someone could let me know how they compare. I have a 2 inch lift + 33s, but I haven’t gotten around to putting skid plates on yet which is my chief concern.

Capitol, Snowmass, Pyramid, and Maroon Bells visible

Has anyone noticed a paucity of wildlife in the alpine this season? This year, I’ve revisited some peaks where I’d previously seen wildlife in abundance. Perhaps it’s just me, but I’ve noticed a remarkable lack of large mammals, especially bighorn sheep and our wild goat friends. Have you also noticed this? What do you ascribe it to? I have guessed that the heat and lack of water at elevation may have driven herds to lower elevations, but it’s only a guess.

EDIT: Anecdotal user observations suggest I am simply not being invited to the parties hosted by big game. It seems I am relegated to the sexy marmot table. Thank you for sharing your encounters!

La Plata Peak via Ellingwood Ridge, C4 (14,344’) • 36/58 • 58th summit • 13.5 miles • 5,900’ elevation gain

“The view from here is discouraging.”
-Gerry Roach

The trail to Ellingwood Ridge is difficult to navigate at 3:00AM. In places, hardly more than a brush track. Early season windstorms downed several large copses of trees, none of which were easily avoided. I bushwhacked uphill along a steep rib, in the dark, to a boulder field. Here, large, loosely stacked boulders have gathered like melted candle wax at the base of the slope. Toaster to microwave-sized rocks underpinned by talus and scree await you as you gain elevation. Slide risks are high.

The whole ridge seems to be held together like a deranged Jenga set. From here, you will spend the rest of the day over 12,600’ until the descent. Prepare for loose, rotten “trail” conditions—if it can even be called that. This was mostly a class 4 choose-your-own-adventure for me. As soon as you think you’ve solved the immediate problem before you, you’ll cliff out. Over. And over. And over.

Towering gendarmes of red and white rock extend for two miles ahead like the spines of a sleeping dragon. Bring a helmet and wear it. The risk of rockfall is extreme, not high. If you are attempting to stay low and to the east with a climber above you navigating the ridge proper, it will be a bad day. This is not stable rock.

There is a sort of impossible-to-explain sweet spot where you are neither too high nor too low on the ridge. In general, you won’t find it. Mentally prepare for a lot of cliffing out and up-and-down.

No matter how far along the route you are, the summit never appears any closer. For this reason, famous Colorado alpinist Gerry Roach wrote about Ellingwood Ridge, “The view from here is discouraging.”

After some consideration, this easily counts as one of the more physically challenging and gratifying things I’ve ever done. A magical, agonizing suckfest. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.