I was in Colorado for a week for a softball tournament. We went down a day early so I could get out and climb a few peaks. I contacted my old hiking buddy, James Just, who lives in the Denver area, and he was interested in getting out. I wanted to get several peaks in one day so I suggested something around Mount Evans. We debated some routes and locked in on climbing the north face snow field on Mount Evans, traversing over to Spalding and Gray Wolf.

We drove the easy one hour to our trailhead, Summit Lake, at 12800'. I had gotten by rear kicked on my last 14er, but I had spent the night in the Denver this time (instead of coming straight from Boise), so I thought I would do better.

However, I could feel the elevation in the initial slope we started hiking up to get to our snow climb on the north face. The good news was there was ice on the puddles, so we expected solid snow. And it was a perfectly clear day!

I started out a bit awkward and slow on the snow slope. I haven't been on snow much in recent years. We were also punching through here and there. Then we got on some steeper terrain and better snow. I got a lot more comfortable and started moving better... just heading straight up. We weren't punching through anymore and the snow was perfect. James showed me a technique later with my ice axe that got me moving even quicker. I started really enjoying the steep snow slope. James finished off the entire snow slope before getting on rock. I didn't have a helmet and the rocks and snow above us had been in sun for over an hour now, so I ended about 100 feet lower than he did fearing rocks might start falling.

We then scrambled the remaining 200 feet to the summit. The wind was blowing, but the day was otherwise great. I actually liked that the wind was blowing, as it kept me from sweating.

We started heading toward Mount Spalding. The ridge was traversed by a trail in spots, but James led us through some fun scrambling. Eventually we left the ridge of Evans and walked the tundra slopes over to Mount Spalding.

On Spalding I was tired, but it was all lungs, not my heart or legs. Off we descended toward Gray Wolf.

The descent of Spalding and corresponding hike across the flats in the drainage between Spalding and Gray Wolf seemed to take for ever. I struggled up Gray Wolf's class 2 slopes and joined James.

The next plan was to gain the shoulder of Mount Spalding and then descend Spalding's north ridge down to our trailhead at Summit Lake. Then if we had the energy, we would scramble up a few more 13ers near Summit Lake.

The 500 feet of gain to get onto Spalding's north ridge were slow. I had a headache and was light headed. The day was enjoyable, so I decided to have the end of the day beer sooner than later and call it a day at Summit Lake. I am sure James could have gone much longer.

There were hundreds of people on the Mount Evans road, hiking up Evans, and at Summit Lake. It was nice knowing we were the only ones that had done that route on the peak that day. And we were the only ones drinking beer!!!

Great day in the mountains.

Take Exit 240 at Idaho Springs on Interstate 70. Drive south on Colorado 103 for 13.5 miles to Echo Lake. Pay the entrance fee and drive 9 miles up the Mt. Evans road (Colorado 5) to the Summit Lake parking area.

From the Summit Lake parking lot, head south and climb the mound rising from the lake. Once you top out on this mound, you can see the north face snow route in front of you.