Mt. Sherman first successful 14er of 2008 (and windiest yet)

Today Ryan and I received our first successful 14er climb of 2008 in 14,036' Mt. Sherman. Mt. Sherman lies between Leadville and Fairplay, and we approached from the east side. It had been a little while since we had turned around on Quandary, and several months since our success on Longs, so we were both looking forward to better luck this time. We drove just past Fairplay and camped at the Fourmile Campground on CR 18 just below a stretch of private property before the Leavick site (remnants of the area's mining past). The campground was perfect for us; nearly empty, wooded, close to our "trailhead" and providing a spectacular view of the stars above. It was surprisingly warm for being early June of a banner snow year above 10,000 feet.

We started at a fairly reasonable hour and parked just before where the private property begins around 11,000 feet so that we would abide the 3,000 foot rule. This added a few miles round trip to our climb (compared to others that drove past us to 12,000') but it was a good warm up and helped Ryan get acquainted with his new boots. We took our time on our ascent, and that's a good thing because I was feeling the altitude after not skiing or spending much time in the high country over the past few months. Perhaps the best part of our climb was the use of winter gear! There was continuous snow available to us above 12,500 feet. Because the rock was poor and unstable, Ryan used his ice axe while I put on my snowshoes to make progress on the more enjoyable snow fields. We gained the summit ridge and the wind picked up like I've never before experienced. We actually had the summit to ourselves for a few minutes, which was a first for us.

Below is some video footage of the ascent and summit. As you can see, the summit was so windy that I couldn't keep the camera steady. You can't even hear me with the wind resistance feature on the camcorder, except of course me cursing the wind or mentioning that you probably can't hear a word I'm saying. That's unfortunate, because the view was terrific. We could see loads of other 14ers from every range in the state except for the San Juans. Compared to last year's mid-June ascent of Huron, there is much more snow this year, so we'll probably be using our snow year at least one more time.



Here is our summit shot showing my jacket puffed up and full of wind:



The rest of the day's pictures can be seen at http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157605495965263.

On our way down the wind continued to howl, and my snowshoes on my backpack acted as a sail... I had read the high wind advisories, but this was quite difficult to manage. I can only guess at this point, but I would believe we had sustained winds of 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph. At one point while descending to the saddle between Sherman and Mt. Sheridan a gust actually knocked me off my feet, which I'm fairly certain had never before happened in my life. We continued using our recently acquired ice axe knowledge by glissading 3 times for a total of a few hundred feet of descent. This was the first time I had used my ice axe outside of practice, and it was quite a thrill!

Once below the snow line, the return to the Jeep felt long, and my sore body was reminded that I was rusty (although I think most of my fatigue was related to fighting the wind instead of the mountain itself). We definitely didn't set any speed records, but we had a great time and enjoyed being up top again. I've read that Sherman is considered to be a boring 14er outing, but this was one our most enjoyable so far. It really peaked my interest in snow climbs, so hopefully I'll be able to get a few in soon :)