mount columbia - 14073' - SE ridge Class 2
February 2012

Mount Columbia still 2 miles away!

This was a climb I did last winter with Matt. He was ambitious to start climbing the winter 14ers and I was looking to get more winter experience so we decided on a day in early February where the weather forecast called for decent weather to try and tackle the long southeast ridge of Mount Columbia. To make it even harder we did this right after a big winter snowstorm so there was fresh snow covering all the mountains. This made the snowshoeing much more challenging and due to the lack of water and food I brought on this climb it was the second most physically challenging climb I have ever done to date, passed only by my recent ascent of the SW ridge of Little Bear Peak. The concept of "mind over matter" played an important role here. So we slogged up the gentle and broad SE ridge through the trees alternating trail-breaking duties. Right before we reaches treeline I ran out of water to which I probably should have retreated but I was motivated to get this one. At treeline we took a nice break and went up a slope with many burnt trees from an old burn area. Beyond this we were facing the high altitude elements full on and the wind, snow drifts and suns rays were beating us down the entire way to the top of unranked Point 13,518 which was merely a minor bump on the ridge. At this point I was already exhausted and feeling slightly dehydrated as we had been hiking for many hours already. From this point we could see the rest of the route to the summit and it was still two miles away! Matt was feeling well but I was going to push through and make it. So we descended slightly and continued as the ridge curved to the north. We crossed a short narrow section with some exposure and finished the long walk to the true summit, where we reached a cloud layer and despite having great clear views the whole hike up, the summit was foggy. I quickly started back down as Matt rested on the summit. 

Mount Yale from treeline on the SE Ridge of Columbia

Hiking back over the ridge bumps was very painful and my headache was beginning to worsen. We saw a beautiful sunset just as we got back to treeline and amazingly I managed to get some good photos. The hike back down the ridge in the trees while dark was long, painful and I was beginning to get pissed when my snowshoes kept getting stuck under downed trees and coming off. I finally just put them on my pack and finished the hike out without them. When we finally reached the road i had to sit down for a few minutes as I was feeling so horrible. The last quarter mile walk on the road felt like torture. Once back at the car I simply collapsed in the tent and waited 15 minutes before packing up and getting in the car to drive back. What a horrible feeling but the next day after a long rest I thought it all was worth it. 

Blanket of fresh snow in the basin below Columbia

Sunset on Columbia

Sunset from the SE Ridge

Matt traversing on the SE Ridge

Nice afternoon on Columbia

Sunset glow on the SE Ridge

Sunset over Mount Princeton

Sunset over Mount Yale