DESCRIPTION: Mt. Wilson - El Diente Attempt Denied Due To Winter Storm WHEN: May 23rd - May25th 1996 WHERE: Lizard Head Wilderness, Colorado WHO: Bill & Lizanne Tucker, Pat Metz, Pam Metzger & Mike Kaczocha
5/22/96
After mucho discussion and beta from fellow AMCers (Arizona Mountaineer Club) and people from the Net we decided that the best trip for us would be to backpack into Navajo Basin and camp as high (elevation wise) as we could while still having good access to water. This would probably be near Navajo Lake. The next day we would attempt Mt. Wilson first and then with time and weather permitting we would traverse across to El Diente and then back down to camp. The next day we would pack out and possible try some climbing at the Ophir wall. Well that was the plan! If you go by Dawson's guide we were going to go up the North Face of Mt. Wilson 4.1.5 and then traverse the ridge to El Diente, then down El Diente via 4.1.8 or 4.1.11 (mis-marked on his map as 4.1.1).
5/23/96
I had heard that the weather had been in the 70s in Telluride, but we were going to be camping at 11,000 feet and you can get any type of weather in the San Juans in May. This made the chore of packing even more difficult; Take the TNF bibs, don't take the bibs, take the down jacket, don't take the down jacket. AUGH! Lets just bring everything, 50 pounds later and the pack was packed. Pam got home from work (I skipped out of work that morning to pack), Bill, Lizanne and Pat showed up in Pat's (a.k.a. Pato "The Duck") truck at 1:00pm and by 1:15 we were on the road. We made the usual Flagstaff-gas stop, Kayente-food stop, and Cortez-food-gas stop. The extra food stop was for the vegees in our group bean, beans, beans. It was dark by the time we got to Cortez and it was then we realized that we lost an hour because of the time zone. We always forget this when we go to Ouray. On our way out of Cortez we noticed a sign that said tune to 98.5 (#?) for weather information.
Well we did and for the next hour on the way to the Dunton turn off we heard nothing but country music. No weather report! (play Twilight Zone music here) The Dunton turn off was well marked like it says in Dawson's guide. From there we followed his instructions and only missed the Navajo Basin Trail Head turn off by a mile before we figured we had passed it. The sign for the turn off faces the opposite way if you come in from 145. So watch the odometer. We saw a bunch of Elk on the way in. To our surprise there was nobody else parked at the trail head, we had the whole place to ourselves. We figured others would be pulling in the next day. So we pulled out the sleeping bags and hit the hay. The temperature was chilly but not freezing, maybe in the 40s and the stars were out.
5/24/96
The next morning we got up about 6am. The sky was overcast and it was slightly breezy. The clouds were moving pretty fast, and occasionally the sun would pop out. After about 2 hours of re-packing and doing the "Take the TNF bibs, don't take the bibs, take the down jacket, don't take the down jacket" again, we were heading down the trail. We all started out wearing poly-pro long johns with shorts and fleece jackets. The trail was muddy from all the snow melting. There was very little snow to be seen anywhere except under trees and on the North side of the ridges, hills and mountains.
In the first mile we passed 3 signs that warned us that there were "no bridges on this trail". We eventually hit the Dolores river, which did not have a "bridge" but did have 3 logs laid across it. With heavy packs on we moved one by one cautiously over the logs that were wet from the swiftly moving river underneath. We all made it without getting wet. The trail then climbed out of the river basin up to a wide open area of rolling hills. We found a patch of trees in the middle and took our first break for a multitude of reasons. It must be all those vegetables & beans, beans, beans! After our break we headed onward, slowly gaining elevation. We eventually came across the first set up waterfalls to the right of the trail. They were an awesome sight: powerful and loud. After that we passed by the Kilpacker trail turn off and took another break shortly after that. At that time (10am-ish) the wind started to pick up and it started getting colder. We all huddled together after eating to get warm and then started up the trail again. We came out of the woods to an open area with a view of a large rock wall and another waterfall.
We then noticed that the trail switch backed several times to the left of this rock wall. This was going to be a fun elevation gain. After several rests, water breaks and Bill taking a ride down a small snow field (not on purpose) we made it to the top, and at the top of this barrier there was a pleasant sight: "Navajo Lake 0.5". So we followed the trail down and around until we hit an awesome lake right at the end of the tree line ( about 11,000 feet). With the ridge to El Diente on the right and the ridge to Rock of Ages Saddle on the left it was a cool sight.
But as soon as we arrived the wind picked up with strong gusts. We scouted for a camp site and found one not too far from the lake on some nice grass. Pam and I were putting up the TNF VE-25 and Pato, Bill and Lizanne were busy putting up the REI 4-season tent when the gusts got worse. The REI decided to blow up like a balloon and pull the 3 of them with it, so I ran over to help them while they staked it back down. While I was helping them another wind gust came by and got under the staked down VE and pulled up all the stakes and pulled Pam across the ground hanging on to the fly. Luckily the VE blew towards me and I was able to grab it and stop Pam from taking a ride across Navajo Lake. With some team work, in between wind gusts, we were able to get both tents nailed down and our gear inside to help hold them to the ground.
By this time it was about 2 or 3 pm so we all crawled inside our tents and took a nap. We all woke up about 5pm to the pleasant(?) surprise of snow hitting the tent. Pam and I unzipped the VE and looked out "Oh my!" there was at least 6 inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down. We yelled back and forth between the tents and decided to go down and pump water out of Navajo Lake. After that we crawled in the tents and cooked dinner. The wind calmed down a little and Pato, Lizanne and Bill went for a short hike around. Pam and I slept some more. It was too cozy in the -20 degree zip together down sleeping bags!
After their hike they joined us in the VE and we talked until dark. We had pretty much decided that the Mt. Wilson, El Diente combo was probably out, and that we would be lucky to get one peak in if the weather is better in the morning. As we talked about this we heard a thunderstorm like rumble off in the distance. Yep, an avalanche! We heard another one and then some loud rock fall. After that we talked about heading out the next day when the weather lets up. Pato, Lizanne, and Bill headed back to their tent and I did the bathroom thing to prepare myself for a long night. That night the wind gusts picked up to where both tents collapsed in and down on everybody inside. Every 5 to 10 minutes there would be a wind gust that would cause the VE to hit Pam and I in the face as we laid down sleeping. This went on all night and at about 2am it got worse. The gust were harder and longer. I tried to sleep with all my body weight on the windward side of the tent so the wind wouldn't get underneath and take us for a ride. At about 3am Pam and I decided to get dressed, bibs and everything, just in case the tent didn't hold. I didn't want to be walking around in 70 mile an hour gusts in my underwear. In between gusts we yelled over to the other guys to see if they were okay. They said that they might be joining us; their tent fly had ripped.
5/25/96
It took forever, but morning finally came with a hint of sunlight through the dark, fast moving clouds. The gusts seem to come less frequent but were still pushing 70mph. We got out to stretch and pump more water, leaving one person in each tent to hold it down. The wind gusts would almost knock you down. After pumping water out of the lake we decided that we would eat big warm breakfasts, pack up inside our tents and be ready to head out if the winds calmed down. On our way back to the tents it started to hail, and then snow some more. After breakfast and packing up the packs the wind was still gusting but there was usually a 1 to 5 minute break in-between gusts. So we decided to work as a group to pull down one tent at a time in between gusts. With everybody working together in the hail and snow we managed to get both tents down and in packs with no casualties. Amazing! Although we noticed that our VE poles had bent sections. I'm sure TNF will take care of them, I hope! (FYI: I called them when I got home and they said the would replace or fix them.)
We then threw on our packs and headed down the 5+ miles back to the trailhead. After hiking only about 400 yards down the trail and more into the trees, the wind calmed down considerably. Although the snow came down in bigger and bigger flakes. But at least there weren't any more 70mph gusts. The hike out was actually pretty nice. Several inches of fresh new snow blanketed everything. We saw some elk and enjoyed the relatively calm weather. The crossing at the Dolores river was interesting since the logs were really wet and partially snow covered. Lizanne went across with finesse. Pato followed standing up and walking also. Pam, Bill and I opted for the clumsy but safe crawl across the logs. After that it was a mud slog back to the trucks as the sun actually made an appearance.
At the trucks we breathed a sigh of relief "What a night!" Bill, Lizanne and Pato decide to drive to Utah and climb the next day at Indian Creek. Pam and I decided to drive back to Phoenix to see her Mom for one last day before she flew back to Colorado Springs. Bill and Lizanne will be leaving the country soon for a 1+ year world tour. Pato, Pam and I all decided that we would be back to try this trip again!
Michael Kaczocha /*-------------------------------------------------------*\ | Ice climbing... you learn more in a dripping, fearful | | 10 feet of ice than in a century of key tapping... or | | whatever it is you do for a living. (D.Raleigh) | \*-------------------------------------------------------*/