Report from 8/20/16
The Overlooked 13er…
I know I wasn’t planning on any cool peaks during my week off, but it happened anyway! After all, what is a vacation without a massive mountain to climb? *winky-smiley-face*
Mount Lady Washington is located in Rocky Mountain National Park. It stands front-right of Long’s Peak which is the park’s only 14er. This little pile of rocks constantly gets overlooked since a large majority of the people who hike this trail go to hike Long’s Peak.
L to R: Mount Meeker, Long’s Peak, Mount Lady Washington
However, MLW has literally the most sunning view I have ever seen in my life. It is one I highly reccomend if you are visiting RMNP. (See what I did there? I got lazy and just used letters…) Anyway, Mount Lady Washington, also known as “MLW”, “Lady”, “Lady Washington”, or “#5 in the Grand Slam”. It stands at 13,281 feet above sea level. It’s not nearly as impressive in size as its 14,261 foot neighbor, but it has very understated qualities.
I started my hike at 4:30am however the trail was not scarce. Because of the unpredictable weather the Colorado 14ers create because of their height, anyone wishing for a successful summit of Long’s has to leave in the middle of the night. I passed many hikers who were on their way up to Long’s Peak, and as I asked in passing to each group I went by, not a single person was hiking anything else.
I reached Chasm Junction 3 1/2 miles from the trailhead just before sunrise. I took a break here and waited for the stunning view. Soon after the mountain turned pink, the orange, I headed up the trail less than 1/4 mile more before taking a hard left. There is no maintained trail on MLW and there are basically two main ways people reach the top. One is directly up the front, east face. It is a steep 2,000 foot climb in class 2 tundra/class 3 scrambling mix. The other is to hike to the Boulder Field camping area another mile and a half up the trail (also known as basecamp to Long’s), then to follow the Northwest ridge. I decided on the shorter steeper route for my ascent, and the longer, flatter route for the way down to save my knees. It was steep, slow going, and strenuous boulder hopping that seemed to never end. I was literally the ONLY person on that mountain all morning and I honestly doubt anyone else summited after I did. No one else that I passed on the way down was planning on MLW, and if there was anyone attempting the Grand Slam that day, they would’ve gotten rained out since it’s the last peak in the series and it began to rain just after I made it back to the trail head.
When I finally made it over that ridge, I was immediately in awe. The summit view, like I mentioned before, was absolutely incredible. I have climbed Long’s Peak 3 times, summited twice, and you do not get a better view on that mountain than on MLW. The famous diamond face on Long’s was massive as it stood right in front of me on that pile of annoying, frustrating rocks. It was immediately worth it. I sat, in solitary silence, just staring and the magnificent and majestic mountain standing in front of me. Long’s Peak has always been my favorite mountain and 14er, but I had never seen it like this before… My eyes teared up and I fell in love with Long’s all over again.
Soon after decending the northwest ridge, I was reunited with the Long’s Peak trail, and the crowds. I enjoyed my solo time on MLW, and it is a peak I will never forget.
My Summit List is growing!! Check it out!
JACQUE TIETJEN 