Apache Couloir

Summer is short in the Rockies, so sometimes you just have to play hooky and go climb something. Plus it's currently around 100^o in Boulder and playing in the snow seemed like a good idea.

Nathan picked me up at 3:30 am and we set out for Brainard Lake with the aim to climb Apache Peak (13,441'), second tallest of the Indian Peaks. We hit the trail at 5 and hiked two miles on the easy trail up to Lake Isabelle before it was fully light. As we hiked the trail around the north shore of the Lake, the sun rose and bathed the jagged peaks with rosy light. If there is a better view in the world, I don't know of it.

If there's a better view in the world than the Indian Peaks at sunrise, I sure don't know about it! Navajo peak is the conical one on the right. Apache is the long ridgy one in the middle and Shoshoni is a smaller peak on the right with steep cliffs.

We quickly hiked into the upper reaches of the drainage on increasingly rough trail passing a marsh to a small unnamed lake at 11,500'. From here, the snow started in earnest and we took a break to don crampons and snow gear. We ascended a surprisingly steep 400' from the tarn to a bench at the base of Apache itself. Sheer cliffs rose above us to the west. South of us was the conical tower of Navajo peak looking remote and unscalable. The Isabelle Glacier occupied a large cirque to the north. The Apache Couloir was obvious to the south and we started an ascending traverse across 40 degree snow to reach it's base. As we climbed, I could see the snowfield getting narrower and steeper between two fins of rock, just as it should. The snow was pretty soft already and we kept slipping despite the crampons. Real-world self-arrest practice! Nathan, who has never really used an ice axe before, performed very well.

Eventually it became clear that the snowfield we were in was not the correct one. It became steep and narrow and ended at a sheer cliff. A low rock rib separated us from what was now (after 300' of climbing) obviously the right couloir. We scrambled over the rocks and were soon in the actual Apache Couloir. Rock walls quickly rose above us and we were confined to a 50' wide corridor of steep snow at about a 45^o angle. I've done one previous snow climb of this caliber and it felt about the same in terms of angle and setting (though was not nearly as long!). In this case we didn't have a good boot track to follow, however, and I front-pointed steps up the whole thing. After another 500' of climbing, the couloir openned up and degenerated into thin rotten snow over large talus. We broke for a snack and switched back to dry-ground mode. From here on it was a steep slope of scree and talus, tenuously held in place by wildflowers and gravity. I hate this kind of thing, but Nathan love it. We bounded upward singing the theme from Rocky at the tops of our oxygen-deprived lungs and arrived on the broad summit at 10 am.

Nathan dons helmet and crampons at 12,100' ready for the couloir. Behind are a set of much steeper routes up the imposing south face of Shoshoni Peak.	Nearing the top of the Couloir at about 13,000'

Another nice thing about summer climbs is that the weather is often nice enough to spend some serious time on the summit. In this case, we lounged about for nearly an hour and a half before starting down. And the summit of Apache Peak is a great place for lounging! We could see all the way down the South St. Vrain drainage past Lake Isabelle and Long Lake to Brainard Lake where the car was parked. Something about the topography made it look like the lakes were tilted slightly to the north by perhaps 10 degrees or more. Hmmm. To the south rose the pyramid of Navajo Peak with the mighty North Arapaho in the near distance. To the south west we could see the north ridge of Mount Neva my first big mountain and my first gonzo adventure with Nathan nearly two years ago. From this height, it looked small and gentle, but looks are deceiving! Northward, the Divide got even rougher with a series of soaring towers and loose chunks known as the Chessmen. The broad meadow of Shoshoni's west flank (as opposed to its cliffbound east flank) looked lovely as well. Below us to the northwest was the impressive Lone Eagle Cirque home of Triangle Lake and the broad Fair Glacier. Toward the end of our lounging, four other hikers showed up and we chatted briefly before heading down.

The view east from 13,000'. The Apache Couloir disappears from the lower right down toward the valley below. The unnamed Tarn, Lake Isabelle, Long Lake, Brainard Lake, and the Lefthand Reservoir all shine in the morning sun. Boy it looks hot down there!

Triangle Lake and the Lone Eagle Cirque northwest of Apache Peak

Navajo, North Arapaho, Jasper, and Mt. Neva to the south.

Shoshoni, Pawnee, Toll, Paiute, and Audubon in the near distance to the north.

The ridge just north of the summit was quite exciting. We scrambled over solid chunks of stone with a sheer drop to the left and a steep snow and talus mix to the right. The view was astonishing and the going was slow! Finally, Nathan reached the end of the ridge and we stopped to admire the impressive exposure. Below us the Isabelle Glacier stretched in snowy magnificence and we could make out our descent route, the Queens Way, down onto it. Nathan discovered a refrigerator sized block at the end of the ridge which was loose and very nearly sent it and himself crashing to the glacier a bit faster than we'd planned. We turned and started descending 250' of massive talus to the top of the Queens Way couloir.

The Isabelle Glacier from high atop Apache's North Ridge.

Nathan is extremely skeptical of the Queens Way glissade.

The Queens Way is lower angle than our ascent and rated as "moderate" rather than "steep". Still, Nathan was a bit trepidatious about a controlled glissade as we peered over the lip, down 800' to the glacier below. I have to say I was a bit wary myself. We plunge-stepped down a hundred feet or so to where we could see the runout well and started the glissade. After a few seconds of hesitation, Nathan was off like a shot and soon appeared down on the flats.

I started my glissade and quickly found myself in a lot less control than I usually like. Lots of slushy snow surrounded me front and back moving at the same rather exciting pace and I couldn't help thinking of my friend Nelson and how he triggered an avalanche very near here under somewhat similar conditions last month. I rolled over to self-arrest (painful in a short-sleave shirt) and took an alarmingly long time to stop. Continuing down, I managed to maintain a quick but non-terrifying pace. My axe got stripped from my grip and went thrashing around at the end of its leash before I could pull it back in and stop myself. I've been toying with the idea of leashless climbing; I guess that answers that question.... Wet and scraped, I slid down to 12,000' where Nathan was all grins. We traversed another bit of flat snow and enjoyed another 400' of glissade down to the tarn at 11,500' where we changed back into shorts and hiking poles.

Overview of our route from a small marsh at 11,300'. We ascended the Apache Couloir on the left and descended the Queens Way to Isabelle Glacier (right). The unnamed tarn is just above the first small bit of snow.

The unnamed tarn at 11,500'.

The hike back went well. We paused above Lake Isabelle to have another snack and appreciate the nice snow bridge that the stream had carved out. Back at Lake Isabelle, our Thursday solitude was broken by the several dozen hikers lounging about. There were several dogs and a trio of very large llamas packing an impressive amount of gear. After another short stop to soak our aching feet in the lake, we hiked the remaining two miles back to the car arriving at 3pm under intermittent thunder and rain.

Total distance was about 10 miles with 3000' of elevation gain. All in all, a fantastic climb up one of the most scenic valleys and summits I've ever visited. The snow climbing was quite casual and I never felt particularly out of my depth. Nevertheless, it was great to get more experience controlling glissades and doing unexpected self-arrests in real-world conditions. Nathan's first snow climb was entirely successful and he's now excited to get out and do more of the same. No surprise there!

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