14,000 feet

Mt Bierstadt 14,065 feet (4,287 m)

Standing at over 4000 meters high Mt Bierstadt was my first 14er (Mountains above 14000 feet) in Colorado and an amazing climb, although not technically demanding Bierstadt has an aesthetic beauty to it which makes it a wonderful climb.
I set off with my housemate Eddie at around 6 o clock to get to the mountain, the sky was cloudless as we drove through Golden and out through the village of Morrison towards the mountain, upon reaching the mountain village of Georgetown we stopped to grab some protein bars and drinks, following this stop we made our winding way up the Guanella Pass towards the beginning of the trail. We had parked the car and where ready to go by quarter to 8 in the morning.



Trail from car park to the summit

We had something quick to eat got ready and set out, the mountain was still at this stage of the season covered in snow and so within the first ten minutes of the climb we were pushing through snow which went halfway up our legs. We trudged on upwards towards the switchbacks which marked the start of the real climb, the weather was ideal clear skies and crisp cool air made for a great start by around 9 o clock we were making steady progress up the switchbacks making our way past many other climbers as we went.
This altitude was something I wasn't used to and I could feel my lungs burning as we made our ascent up the mountain, 14 times higher then the tallest mountain in Ireland a crazy thought.
We stopped halfway up the switchbacks to have something to eat and to take in our surroundings, a blanket of snow stretched out in each direction we looked, a plateau of high mountains all around us. Having eaten we set off once more.

We continued on to the top of the switchbacks at which point we entered the final push for the summit, for a while at this point the snow that covered the ground lower down was not there, but once we reached the final ridge we once again had to trudge through at times knee deep snow.
The air was thinner at this height then below I felt slightly dizzy and tired. I was taking more and more breaks the closer we got to the summit.
At half 11 we had reached the summit, having sat and eaten and taken in the surrounding peaks of Mt Evans and other 14ers we took some pictures and set off on our descent, just below us lay the saw-tooth ridge which connected Mt Evans and Bierstadt.
Many miles away from us we could see a storm moving in towards us and so once we reached the switchbacks we took into a run to get down as quickly as possible.



Me and Eddie on top of the summit

Push towards the summit of Bierstadt

We pushed on as the snow storm began to fall on the mountain, getting down in half the usual time it is supposed to take, we ran for well over a half  an hour and stopped for something to eat a bit of the way down but, by half 12 we were back at the car atop the Guanella pass.
We packed up and hit for home, a great trek and a good 14er to do as a first.

“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.”
― Barry Finlay, Kilimanjaro and Beyond