hagerman peak - 13841 - sw ridge class 3
September 2020
Hagerman Peak is a mountain I had been putting off for nearly a decade. My old college roommate Josh and I had talked about trying to nab the first winter ascent of this peak back in winter of 2011/2012, but never made it happen. In October of 2010, the two of us did the 4 pass loop, where he ascended Hagerman while I waited at the small tarn below Trail Rider Pass. At that time I was still very new to the art of climbing mountains and wasn't interested in making the scramble. I had my SLR camera and took lots of great photos though. Not ascending Hagerman that day would come back to bite me it turns out.
Now, 10 years later I have now known a young man named Ben Brownlee just a couple months, and neither he or I had done Hagerman. I hadn't given it much effort to finish off the last 10 or so Centennials while I was living in other parts of North America, but now that I have moved back to Colorado I figured it was the right time to finish them off. Hagerman would be number 97/100 for me, and Ben had a 4Runner to be able to drive up to Lead King Basin. He and I, along with his friend Heath made plans to day trip it on Sunday Sept 20th. The day before at about 2pm we all met up at the Trex lot and drove out to Lead King Basin, making it to the Geneva Lake Trailhead just as it got dark. When we arrived we realized that I had forgotten a tarp to protect my sleeping pad from the ground, and Heath forgot his sleeping pad altogether. I managed to sleep under the stars, but the occational drizzle made it super annoying without anything to cover by down bag with. Ben was the only one to get any decent sleep that night. My sleeping pad ended up popping and I didn't sleep much.
When 6am rolled around, we started up the trail, making it to Geneva Lake in just over an hour. Thankfully the smoke was fairly minimal, but there was a middle layer if thin clouds blocking the sun, and as we gained elevation, the temps began decreasing. We continued around to the north side of the lake, and we all agreed we would just ascend straight up to the low col in the long SW ridge rather than hike the main trail all the way around to the SE side. This proved to work out great, and we made good time ascending grassy and talus slopes from the basin at 11,000 feet, and reached the ridge at 12,800 feet, bypassing the low col and I even climbed some low 5th class loose terrain further north than where Ben and Heath went. Discussions we all had led me to find out that Heath has a friend that is also working on the worlds country highpoints, who has also climbed with my friend Eric who was with me on our Wyoming 13ers slam earlier in the summer. Eric is about halfway done with the country highpoints. I found that an insane coincidence...the climbing community can be very small sometimes. Anyways, we reconviened at a flat spot in the ridge about 12,900 feet for a quick rest before continuing the final 1000 feet up where the most fun scrambling would be.
Now, 10 years later I have now known a young man named Ben Brownlee just a couple months, and neither he or I had done Hagerman. I hadn't given it much effort to finish off the last 10 or so Centennials while I was living in other parts of North America, but now that I have moved back to Colorado I figured it was the right time to finish them off. Hagerman would be number 97/100 for me, and Ben had a 4Runner to be able to drive up to Lead King Basin. He and I, along with his friend Heath made plans to day trip it on Sunday Sept 20th. The day before at about 2pm we all met up at the Trex lot and drove out to Lead King Basin, making it to the Geneva Lake Trailhead just as it got dark. When we arrived we realized that I had forgotten a tarp to protect my sleeping pad from the ground, and Heath forgot his sleeping pad altogether. I managed to sleep under the stars, but the occational drizzle made it super annoying without anything to cover by down bag with. Ben was the only one to get any decent sleep that night. My sleeping pad ended up popping and I didn't sleep much.
When 6am rolled around, we started up the trail, making it to Geneva Lake in just over an hour. Thankfully the smoke was fairly minimal, but there was a middle layer if thin clouds blocking the sun, and as we gained elevation, the temps began decreasing. We continued around to the north side of the lake, and we all agreed we would just ascend straight up to the low col in the long SW ridge rather than hike the main trail all the way around to the SE side. This proved to work out great, and we made good time ascending grassy and talus slopes from the basin at 11,000 feet, and reached the ridge at 12,800 feet, bypassing the low col and I even climbed some low 5th class loose terrain further north than where Ben and Heath went. Discussions we all had led me to find out that Heath has a friend that is also working on the worlds country highpoints, who has also climbed with my friend Eric who was with me on our Wyoming 13ers slam earlier in the summer. Eric is about halfway done with the country highpoints. I found that an insane coincidence...the climbing community can be very small sometimes. Anyways, we reconviened at a flat spot in the ridge about 12,900 feet for a quick rest before continuing the final 1000 feet up where the most fun scrambling would be.
As we worked our way up the final 1000 feet the scrambling and position was amazing. This was certainly one of the more enjoyable ridges I have done in Colorado. Views off to the north of Siberia Peak were pretty clear. This peak is one I had reveled over since 2010 knowing it was one of the more obscure Peaks around. Siberia Lake also looked really beautiful from satellite and I always wanted to check it out. By 8:45am we were standing on top, taking us less than 3 hours to reach the summit. We saw plenty of people working their way up and down Snowmass Mountain from both the Lead King basin side and the Snowmass Lake side. We were however the only ones on Hagerman Peak so we had the summit to ourselves. We enjoyed the sunny views for 30 minutes, with a disting of snow covering small ledges on the north facing aspects the mountains really put on a show.
We made our way down, retracing the ridge going all the way to the col this time, then descending west back down to the valley so I didn't have to downclimb the 5th class stuff I went up. By noon we were down and decided to hike the now well trodden trail north towards Siberia Lake. It looks like this valley is no longer the "best kept secret" and now hoards of people regulairly head up towards Siberia Lake to hike Snowmass Mountain...all the more reason why I am feeling like my time in Colorado will be ending soon, likely after I finish the last 3 centennials next spring. The influx of people certainly is not a bad thing, and I applaud people for trying new things, it's just not what I am looking for. There is no real sense of unknown or adventure in Colorado like I can still find in Washington, Montana, or to a greater degree in Alaska, BC and Patagonia. That's what I really have the passion for...climbing the unknown and exploring new routes and peaks few have ever been on. However, now with the loss of multiple friends I have now experienced, even my inherent personal relationship with the mountains, in it's raw form that had been so powerful throughout the past decade is starting to erode.
As we arrived at Siberia Lake, it was pretty, but didn't have the wow factor I thought it would have from my visions derived 10 years ago. With over half-dozen trips to Patagonia now under my belt, and another six or so trips to the high Andes and a bunch more way up north, I see mountains differently now. Especially through this year, which has taken a big toll on my relationship with the things I love so much. The novelty is beginning to wear thin and with so many people making a rocous in the places I have always called home, my interest in places like Colorado are declining.
We made our way down, retracing the ridge going all the way to the col this time, then descending west back down to the valley so I didn't have to downclimb the 5th class stuff I went up. By noon we were down and decided to hike the now well trodden trail north towards Siberia Lake. It looks like this valley is no longer the "best kept secret" and now hoards of people regulairly head up towards Siberia Lake to hike Snowmass Mountain...all the more reason why I am feeling like my time in Colorado will be ending soon, likely after I finish the last 3 centennials next spring. The influx of people certainly is not a bad thing, and I applaud people for trying new things, it's just not what I am looking for. There is no real sense of unknown or adventure in Colorado like I can still find in Washington, Montana, or to a greater degree in Alaska, BC and Patagonia. That's what I really have the passion for...climbing the unknown and exploring new routes and peaks few have ever been on. However, now with the loss of multiple friends I have now experienced, even my inherent personal relationship with the mountains, in it's raw form that had been so powerful throughout the past decade is starting to erode.
As we arrived at Siberia Lake, it was pretty, but didn't have the wow factor I thought it would have from my visions derived 10 years ago. With over half-dozen trips to Patagonia now under my belt, and another six or so trips to the high Andes and a bunch more way up north, I see mountains differently now. Especially through this year, which has taken a big toll on my relationship with the things I love so much. The novelty is beginning to wear thin and with so many people making a rocous in the places I have always called home, my interest in places like Colorado are declining.
Ben and Heath continued on to summit Siberia Peak while I didn't wish to climb 900 feet more of class 2 talus so I enjoyed the hike back down the valley to the trailhead. The fall colors were great, with plenty of yellows to go around. Unfortunately the smoke had rolled in a bit in the afternoon though. The aspens were still a week away from peak as well, but the higher elevation tundra and willows were beautiful. There was no shortage of people hiking around, and some even telling me they were headed up Snowmass Mountain as I crossed by at 1pm! One friendly guy however asked me if I knew the names of all the peaks surrounding the valley. Happy to see someone else open to greetings and conversation, I kindly named them all and had a nice conversation with him. Overall though, it was sad to see loads of other people who were clearly living in fear of the coronavirus and refused to even acknoledge the existence of anyone else around.
I returned to the trailhead at about 2pm and only had to wait about an hour and 15 minutes for Ben and Heath to return. Ben came back running as expected! On the way out through Marble, we stopped at the Slow Groovin BBQ place which is without question the best BBQ place in the state. Huge portions and incredible taste...cannot recommend them enough, and the employees there are cheerful and not afraid to still strike up a conversation. We all jammed out to Alanis Morisette on the long drive back to Denver in the dark and all had a great time.
I returned to the trailhead at about 2pm and only had to wait about an hour and 15 minutes for Ben and Heath to return. Ben came back running as expected! On the way out through Marble, we stopped at the Slow Groovin BBQ place which is without question the best BBQ place in the state. Huge portions and incredible taste...cannot recommend them enough, and the employees there are cheerful and not afraid to still strike up a conversation. We all jammed out to Alanis Morisette on the long drive back to Denver in the dark and all had a great time.
remembering ben
In what would be considered a tragedy, Ben lost his life just 13 days later on the ridge between Point 13,832 and Cooper Creek Peak near the popular 14ers Redcloud and Sunshine. So much excitement and stoke for future goals and trips that he shared with me now unable for him to complete. He wanted to climb the Wyoming 13ers so much, which is what brought us together initially, as he was super interested to hear first hand accounts from the trip Eric and I had just completed. We both made plans to finish the centennials together on Pigeon and Turret Peaks next spring, but it now looks like I will be making that finishing trip alone in rememberance. One of the things I liked most about Ben was he was so open and willing to always make new friends, and to help them grow and achieve their goals. At only 26 years of age he left this world far too soon. a memorial thread can be found here where many of his friends expressed their condolences.
This comes just one month after we lost Jake, another good friend of mine who was only 25 from the WA Cascades mountain community, which shook the community there just as much. It has been a rough year.
This comes just one month after we lost Jake, another good friend of mine who was only 25 from the WA Cascades mountain community, which shook the community there just as much. It has been a rough year.