March 4th, 2001 Steve Bremner and Sam the Wolfdog
Climbing mountains in Colorado in winter is often like a game of strategy. You can't always find the trail when the snow is 3-4 feet deep so you make calculated guesses and make your way forward as best you can in the direction of the peak. There is no right way or wrong way up a mountain--just easier and more difficult. On this trip I tended more towards the hard road.
Starting from the Quandary Trailhead on Blue Lakes Road (Summit County 850) just north of Hoosier Pass off Highway 9 we headed up the snow covered road in the direction of Blue Lake Dam. No one is driving this road at this time of year except via snowmobile. Along the way we passed a scene literally frozen in time: an old boarded residence with a faded pink '59 Pontiac buried in snow next door.
After two miles we reached the dam. A dog barked from the other side of the lake and a couple snowmobiles buzzed noisily up and down the road. This was where we left all human and animal activity behind as here the course led northwest and up into the silent valley alongside the spectacular south face of Quandary Peak.
Gerry Roach's "Guide to Colorado 14er's" mentions an old mining road leading up from the dam. I couldn't locate it, so I forged up and picked my way through rocks and brush staying to the right of the drainage. Sam the wolfdog generally stayed low waiting to see where I would end up, invariably finding an easier route. After a mile or so scrambling we reached a high bowl. Fletcher came into view beyond the saddle descending from Quandary's west ridge. Finding some cairns, I followed them staying to the right above the central drainage. When I started up to gain Quandary's west ridge a couple hundred yards east of the saddle, Sam waited once more. Reaching the ridge I had difficult mixed snow and rock scrambling ahead to descend to the col--Sam watched my wasted effort (I was mainly avoiding possible avalanche conditions on the more direct route up the snow bowl.) Once Sam espied me way above on the col he scampered up the snowy slope in mere minutes.
Now we were well above 13,000 feet with Fletcher Mountain looming about half a mile away. Following about 300 yards across a mostly level snow pack, we reached the mountain proper and began climbing steeply up the slopes. To my right along the East Ridge the snow was piled high in dangerous looking cornices. Taking care not to move to close to the ridgeline we reached the summit after about half an hour in extremely pleasant conditions for winter--the sun brilliant and with just a whisper of wind. We enjoyed the views for a full twenty minutes before moving back down the mountain.
This time I kept a more direct course, right down the steep snow. Avalanche danger seemed slight, as the snow pack was very "tight". Keeping to the drainage we descended directly to the lake. From the lake's dam it was pleasant walking down the snow packed road. Though I had put glacier cream on my face I got some serious color on that bright sunlit day. Now five days later it is peeling.
Ascent time: 4 hours Descent time: 2 hours
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