After refreshing the weather forecast again and again during the week leading up, I decided to stay in the Sawatch Range for another weekend.
There were higher wind speeds Friday night and Saturday morning but the rest of the weekend looked bright and sunny.
I picked Mount Yale for Saturday given the uncertainty of the weather that day (it was one of the easier mountains in the area). It’s a quick drive from Buena Vista and the road is paved all the way to the trailhead. There are plenty of beautiful, free dispersed campsites off of County Road 306. I caught up with some friends at Collegiate Peaks Campground (about 5 minute drive from the Mount Yale trailhead) before camping at the trailhead.
ABOVE: Views looking back from the hike up Mount Yale, the intense winds just below Mount Yale's summit (video)
I set off from a busy trailhead parking lot around 7am. Under the cover of the trees the temperature was warm and the wind was minimal.
As I ascended the wind started to pick up and several hikers on the way down warned of some pretty wild wind speeds up towards the ridge-line. They weren’t wrong and under the cover of a rocky outcropping I threw on my hat, heavy gloves, wind pants, and buff. I’m glad I hauled them up there.
The wind was a punch in the face as I reached the ridge. I ditched my backpack under some rocks before starting on the scramble to the top. I wanted to move fast and it was twisting me a bit left/right like a rudder in the wind.
The forecast had predicted 25 mph winds at the summit but I would guess they were closer to a steady 35/40 mph breeze with gusts up to 55/60mph (maybe a bit higher at times?). It was pretty difficult to stand and uncomfortable to walk upright in the open. I stayed low on the ridge under the cover of the rocks, tagged the summit, and made it back in under 40 minutes.
If it was a long exposed traverse I don’t think a summit would have been a safe bet with the wind speeds. I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation with the other hikers up there.
So far Mount Yale has been one of the easiest 14K peaks in Colorado (with the exception of extreme wind speeds). Near Mount Yale as you drive back towards Buena Vista is Cotton Lake, which I would definitely check out again. I hiked via Browns Pass and Mount Yale Trail totaling 8.5 miles, 4,300 feet, 4.75 hours.
ABOVE: Trying to hold the camera still in the wind on top of Mount Yale
After a fun afternoon spent at Cotton Lake and Buena Vista, I drove about an hour south towards Salida to hike Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak the following morning (Sunday, 9/24/23).
After leaving the main road there is about a 30 minute drive up to the trailhead on a moderately rough road. It’s passable in a smaller SUV (with no 4WD) if you take it slow.
ABOVE: Clear views from the Shavano to Tabeguache traverse
It was much warmer than the previous day and I started up the trail around 5:40am. I had ascended about 1,500 feet as the sun began to rise and illuminate the trees.
It was a much quieter mountain than Yale and I didn’t see anyone else for several hours. The last 800 feet of Shavano really kicked my ass, it’s a lot of scrambling with no clear route and I was feeling pretty sluggish. I reached the summit of Shavano at 9:45am and took a 30 minute break to enjoy some food and the sunlight.
ABOVE: Hikers making their way up to the summit of Tabeguache, first light through the trees, and some beautiful views on the way up to Shavano.
Tabeguache doesn’t look that far but the traverse isn’t a gimme by any means. It’s rocky and the partial covering of snow and ice made it really slow going.
You had to be really careful on the footing so you didn’t punch through any soft snow sitting between the rocks. There were several other groups making their way over the traverse around the same time. It’s a mile and about 600 feet of elevation gain/loss one way.
It took 90 minutes to reach Tabeguache from Shavano. The views were beautiful but I was pretty over the whole thing on the climb back up and over Shavano. It was a long hike back in, my right ankle was killing me, and the sun was up and beating down on the trail.
I finally reached the car after 8 hours 45 minutes and found a beautiful camping spot near the mountain for the evening. I hiked these two via the Standard Route totaling 11.5 miles, 5,300 feet, 9 hours.
