The route (cont.)
Continue up the spur which veers right and
steepens about halfway up. The grass can be
very long. Resisting the temptation to go left
to the “pass” (which isn’t actually there),
follow the spur right up to the main SE ridge
crest. Look back at the view, which by now is
very pretty.
Turn left, descending a teeny bit. Suddenly
the ridge steepens. Go STRAIGHT up. Do
NOT try to cut across the slope to the right!
Keep going up. About halfway up check out
the crazy freestanding pinnacle. A last climb
up (a few rocky bits) through trees and you
are on the lower summit, the highlight of the
day. What a view! There are a great many
familiar mountains to ogle. You are now
above the cliffs. (The lighting was bad when I
was last there, so no great photos showing
the mountains. They were mostly shrouded
in cloud anyway. But the view really is
superb). So turn right along the ridge crest (a
bit of a trail) to the main summit, admiring
great views all the way along (see the cover).
The trail goes into pines for the last little bit
to the higher summit, revealing a new view
north.
Col 713152
The trail goes on a bit down the ridge into another bit of
meadow. Turn left down a grassy slope through a few
aspens onto the big, wide meadow that is Col 713152.
From here on the ridge is known as Gleason. So the path
(very muddy from cows) goes into the trees again for
delectable top #3. Make sure to stick to the ridge crest
throughout. Descend again to the next col, and up top #4
whose actual summit is kind of indistinct.