Summary
Mount Sherman Elevation 14,040ft. (Jun. 26, 2004)
"Dauntless Mine Trail Head", this trail is a class 1, trail runs
(3.5 miles rt. with 1,800ft. gain). Depending on how far you wish to
travel on the fourteener, or how much you can or are able to four-wheel-drive,
depends on where you start your climb. In 2002
I was able to actually drive further up the four-wheel-drive road, however on
this date the road was blocked by a steel gate. On this climb I was joined by
Courtney, my fiancée, she had never climbed a fourteener so I suggested that we
start off with Sherman.
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Trip Schedule break down
| Saturday |
4:30AM |
-left the house. |
| |
6:40AM |
-leave the TH. private property gate. |
| |
9:00AM |
-summit Mount Sherman. |
| |
|
-rest for 10 minutes on the summit. |
| |
10:40AM |
-back at the TH. |
| |
11:40AM |
-Lunch at the Kenosha Pass Picnic Area. |
| |
1:30PM |
-back at home. |
On this date I actually took a different route up Sherman, we went up the
jeep road and by all the mines. On the previous trip, I went straight up the
valley/gully between Sheridan and Sherman and then turn right at the end of the
valley and up some steep switchbacks to the saddle. On this occasion, I opted
for a longer but much easier and scenic climb up the jeep road. By following the
jeep trail and a number of cairns the trail to the Saddle was no problem. We had
to cross two small snow fields about 100 yards before reaching the saddle, but
the snow was in very good condition. Above the saddle we encountered some ice
covering the lose scree and rocks, but I have seen worst. By the time we were on
our way back the ice was really breaking up due to the temperature and the
number of people that were now on the trail.
The infamous windy ridgeline did not let us down today. We bundled up before
reaching the narrow part of the ridgeline so that we would not catch frostbite.
The temperature was cold and we where glad to have our snowboarding gloves with
us. There are numerous trails on either side of the ridgeline so the route we
took up was actually different then the one we took down. As we approached the
summit the clouds continued to block our views. I remembered from my
previous summit that the ridgeline flattens out, but the summit is still a fair
walk away. Even with the large cornice of snow on the east side of the ridgeline,
the rock wind block containing the plastic tube and summit registry could still be
found.
The hike down was uneventful, and that is the way a like it. We reached the summit
as number two and three for the day, but from the look of the traffic coming up
the trail while
we were going down, many others were going to summit this day. As par for fourteeners, I saw
a couple people heading up to the summit when we were almost back to our truck,
I hope they have rain coat and an affinity for resisting electrical
current/charges.
Final note, we did not need or bring a snow axe, but you could probably have
some fun on the snowfields if you brought one.
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