MOUNT
OF THE HOLY CROSS
I
bagged a 14’er on the last day of our trip.
Originally my friend David and I had planned to do a loop hitting
several – Mounts Democrat, Lincoln, and Bross. However, a fire near Breckenridge killed that
idea. We scrambled for a backup plan at
the last minute. We considered Mount
Massive near Leadville, but ultimately settled on Mount of the Holy Cross. At 14,005’, Mount of the Holy Cross is the 51st
tallest mountain in Colorado and the 14th tallest in the Sawatch Range. It is
also the northern-most 14er in the Sawatch, not far
south of Vail. It is most famous for the
distinctive cross-shaped snowfield on its northeast face. Unfortunately, the cross isn’t visible on the
standard approach route. The cross can
only be seen from nearby Notch Mountain and a few other remote spots.
Originally I wanted to do a loop hike including
Notch Mountain, a rugged ridge above The Bowl of Tears alpine basin, Mount of
the Holy Cross itself, and Halfmoon Pass.
Mountaineers refer to that route as “Halo Ridge”. That route requires many hours of hiking and
scrambling above treeline, with no easy escape
route. The weather forecast was
marginal, and we were leery about committing ourselves to such a risky
route. We decided to stick with the
standard approach from Halfmoon Campground.
We would climb to Halfmoon Pass, descend to the East Fork of Cross
Creek, and then climb Mount of the Holy Cross.
We’d return by the same route, meaning we’d have to climb back up to
Halfmoon Pass from the East Fork of Cross Creek that afternoon. That extra climb makes this peak one of the
more demanding 14er’s, though the route is not technical. In total, the route covers 12 miles with
5,600’ of elevation gain.
You
can see maps of these routes here: https://www.14ers.com/routelist.php?peak=Mt.+of+the+Holy+Cross
I
got up at 5am on Saturday. Christy slept
in. She was rapidly recovering from her
knee procedure. She planned to hang out
in the hotel lobby and visit the outlet mall next door. I drove I-70 west to Minturn and then headed
up into the mountains. After passing
through town I endured the tedious 8 mile drive to the
Halfmoon Campground.
The
road is rough in places, and I got stuck in a line of traffic behind an SUV
going about 5mph. I kept expecting him
to pull off to let traffic pass, but it didn’t happen. That 8 miles took 30 minutes longer than it
should have, so I was a little late reaching the trailhead. I didn’t need to worry though, as David was
later. He spent the night with friends
near Vail but overslept. Luckily I had a cell signal, so I told him that I would get
a head start and meet him somewhere along the trail. David lives in Colorado, so he’s used to the
altitude. I figured he wouldn’t have any
trouble catching up to me.
It
was chilly and buggy at the trailhead. I
got started at 7:15, which was a good bit later than I’d planned. The climb to Halfmoon Pass near treeline was a nice warmup.
Just beyond the pass I got my first view of the goal for the day – Mount
of the Holy Cross. It towers over a
rugged alpine basin that holds Lake Patricia and the Bowl of Tears. I took it slow on the long descent to East
Cross Creek. David caught up to me near
the bottom. It was great to see
him! David had moved from Greenville,
South Carolina to Denver about nine months earlier.
3
We
crossed East Cross Creek on a pair of slippery logs. There are a number of designated campsites
here, as well as a primitive route up to Lake Patricia. After crossing the creek
we began a relentless 3,300’ climb. I
was feeling great, which was a bit of a surprise. The altitude had still been getting to me the
previous day during a much easier hike in the Flat Tops Wilderness. Luckily, I’d finally gotten adjusted to
it. David was struggling a bit
though. I was concerned about our late
start and the potential for bad weather.
There was a 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms that afternoon, which
was rapidly approaching. David
eventually encouraged me to go on ahead of him.
I told him that I would wait for him on the summit.
I
passed several other hikers on the way up.
I followed a good trail most of the way, though the final 400’ of
climbing involved some mild scrambling through a boulder field. I reached the summit at 11:42. There were several
other groups there. The peak features
fantastic views, particularly west and south.
Most of western Colorado is visible from the top. Most impressive was the white bulk of Snowmass
Mountain in the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness near Aspen, Colorado. I lounged on the summit and enjoyed the
views. David arrived an hour after me,
and we hung out for another 30 minutes.
The summit of Mount of the Holy Cross is a tough place to leave! There were lots of scattered thunderstorms in
the distance, but luckily the weather held for us.
We
returned by the same route. I returned
to the hotel in Silverthorne at 7:30. Christy and I then met David at the
Dam Brewery for dinner and beers. I then
endured a tiring drive back to Denver.
We stayed at a hotel there that night.
I was up late packing for our flight home the next morning. Mount of the Holy Cross was the perfect way
to end a great trip!
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