A mixture of cold rain and sleet add and extra layer of misery to what would have been a hard hike pushing 60lb bikes even on a good day. Segment 7 from Frisco to copper mountain is steep and littered with loose rocks and large boulders that make each meter a challenge, our shoulders and backs burning from the effort of a nearly constant push. By 11am Ten mile ridge still looms above us, hidden from view by clouds and sheets of rain. An hour into the “fun” we become separated from Peter about the time the weather goes from bad to worse and we have to make a decision to follow him and try to summit or turn back and reconnect in town somehow. Neither of us feel comfortable leaving peter up in the clouds alone so soldier on in hopes of finding him.
Up ahead Peter has beaten the worst of the weather to the saddle and has found a hiker friend who is staying nearby for safety. Knowing better than to stop above the tree line in a storm Peter summits then decends down the other side to the tree line and starts a timer for 1 hour, after which he will head to copper mountain assuming we have turned around. He does his best to send this info to us via northbound hikers who relay at least part of it to us. Even out of the wind and below the saddle it’s a cold wait and in his haste to layer up ends up ripping the cuff of his frog togs rain jacket, not a very good time for gear to fail.
Back on the north side of the pass we are having gear issues of our own as my front break fails. I wouldn’t have though that was important for pushing my bike until I didn’t have it. The trail was steep enough that I was pushing the bike a few feet up then holding it in place with the breaks to haul myself up after it, when the front break went it made this process decidedly less effective. Dispite the mechanical issues we continue our upward push, getting colder, more tired and more frustrated as we loose fine motor control and the whole process gets even harder. I haven’t been truly concerned for my safety while backcountry in a long time, today I was scared.
After what seemed like an eternity we finally reached the high point of the trail and started down the other side, thankfully each downward foot brought relief from the wind and bone chilling cold, but did nothing for our already existing hypothermia. Without a front break I had to walk down the steepest sections or risk sliding out of control on a narrow alpine trail.
45 minutes after peter started his timer we reached his hideout, very briefly considered hunkering down and waiting out the storm but ultimately decide that the 6 remaining miles to copper mountain would be the best option. By the time we are down we are all soaked, chilled and at least mildly hypothermic. Copper mountain is this weird fake mountain town but it has restaurants and coffee shops so it’s everything we need in the moment. It takes hours to warm up and even after the break none of us can face another push up any mountain so we book a hotel in Leadville and peddle up and over Fremont pass at 11,318 ft instead. On the decent I my front tire begins to loose air, slowly enough that I can limp it the remaining miles to Leadville. I ride very very slowly and very carefully since the steering is slow and sloppy at best and my weight needs to stay back to protect the rim from damage... wow what a day. All in all though it could have been so much worse, by 9pm we are all safe and snuggled into bed in Leadville surrounded by every single piece of gear we have in the attempt to dry it out.
I have a good feeling about tomorrow, tomorrow is going to be a good day !
