Having missed celebrating National Trails Day on Saturday I sentence myself to an alpine start on Sunday and make plans to attend the huge alpine cathedral that is Chasm basin in Rocky Mountain National Park.
1:30am and the alarm wakes me from sleep. Thankfully, the radio wasn’t playing a certain pop song by Gary Wright which would have been far too weird to contemplate. 2:30am and the bars have closed, many people are headed home after a long day. I meet Dominic and Sarah in Boulder and we’re just waking up for our own day. 3:30am finds us leaving the Longs Peak trailhead just ahead of another party – they’re probably headed to our route as well and it would be nice to get ahead of them.
I spread out from Dominic and Sarah a bit on the hike in and just take in the monastic silence of hiking uphill in the dark with just a small spot of illumination to concentrate on. We’ve departed earlier than last week’s trip so we get sunrise from inside the Chasm basin – who needs stained glass?
Like the great cathedrals of the medieval ages, Chasm Basin includes a Flying Buttress. Our route – Dreamweaver – lies adjacent to the huge buttress now glowing in the dawn light.
We pause on some rocks below the route to gear up (harnesses, helmets, ice axes and tools, and ropes) while watching a solo climber start up the couloir. The wind is gusting through our layers and hands go numb while we fiddle with metal but provides a certain push to climb up towards the sun.
We find well defined steps still in the snow and provide an easy route upwards past some avalanche debris and into the couloir’s first constriction. I’m surprised to the see the solo climber hanging out on what looks to be a steep section of icy rock.
Like Pete last week, this is Sarah and Dominic’s first real ice climbing experience, but they both have logged plenty of time on steep snow and rock. I’m prepared to belay our group as much as necessary to increase their comfort in this new medium, but we’d also like to climb fast and efficiently, which means belaying only when we really need to. With just 30 meter ropes, belays will also have to be short, so I lead up to just below the first icy crux and build and anchor while talking to the solo climber who is trying to re-warm his frozen fingers.
Once I sort out a completely tangled rope and tie into both strands I take off up the ice. Enjoying the solid swings of my tools I feel really secure leading this crux but then have to hunt around to find another belay. Finally, I locate an anchor and bring up Dominic and Sarah who are each climbing with one ice tool and one mountaineering axe.
Above this first crux the terrain levels off and we warm up in the sunshine while chatting with the thawing solo climber. His plan is to bail out to the Loft from this saddle near the top of the Flying Buttress. He gives us a little route information about what lies ahead and warns us to climb efficiently due to the chance of worsening weather.
A short scramble on rock and we’re back on snow and heading up a steeply inset snow gully with great views back down towards the Flying Buttress.
When the snow steepens and turns a little icy I check with the others to see if they’re okay continuing to solo or if we need to rope up. They choose to continue climbing unroped and we quickly pass the short ice bulges with no issues.
Above I spot a steeper section and figure we ought to belay this section. I locate another anchor and clear another knotted rope then start up, running out the rope until I exit the couloir onto a sloping snow field with some large rocks to belay from. Sarah and Dominic again quickly follow with some huge grins.
Dominic leads us up the steep snow field towards the summit of Mount Meeker.
Once near the summit we remove our crampons and pack away the technical gear then scramble to the top. The weather looks worse to our south and east so we feel safe but don’t dawdle before taking on the scramble to the east summit.
A hungry marmot greets our arrival at this lower summit and we eat in front of him before continuing along the east ridge.
We depart the east ridge at the Iron Gates and crash down scree and talus until we’re back in the basin admiring Dreamweaver from below again.
Sun bakes us as we hike out of the basin but eventually the clouds win and snow falls before we reach treeline.
I’ve been wanting to climb Dreamweaver for the last year or more and the smile on my face never fades on the hike out. Even in the snow I keep my head up and enjoy the walk back to the trailhead without ever consulting my watch to see how much longer it’ll take.
Later at Oskar Blues brewery I order the only beer that seems to match the day, a very hearty imperial stout with over 10% alcohol content.
Great write-up, Adam!
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