Mt. Rosa

Today I headed out to do Mt. Rosa. A friend picked me up at the house at 9:30am and we drove up Old Stage and then to F.S Road 379. We were only able to drive up 379 a short distance, where we found the road washed out. So we parked and loaded on the gear.

This was the first time that I had gone up this side to the summit. I have been up Mt. Rosa two other times but came up from the Gold Camp TH and St. Mary’s Falls and then back down Pipeline and Seven Bridges This way makes for a 16/mile round trip hike.

There was a lot of snow, a lot more than I had expected. In some places it was at least 3ft deep. The trail was covered and we followed the tracks of hiker who had gotten an earlier start. With the snow and route, I think today was one of the toughest hikes I have done. Each step in the deep snow, you would either be able to stay up or sink to you waist. It made for long hike. But we pushed through and made it to the summit.

In the summer and even coming up the other side with the distance seemed easier than today’s hike. The total distance was only 7.2/miles round trip today, but felt a lot longer.

Below are a few pictures that we snapped:

From the Summit of Mt. Rosa

Downtown Colorado Springs from the

Summit of Mt. Rosa

2009-1219

Nik Nelson at the Summit of Mt. Rosa with
Pikes Peak in the Background
2009-1219

Dennis Robinson at the Summit of Mt. Rosa with
Pikes Peak in the background
2009-1219

Nik Nelson and Princess taking a breather
2009-1219