It had been nice to have this time off of work to travel, hang out with my dad, check out schools for the fall, and hang out with friends. Sadly, that time was drawing close to the end. I would need to go back to work soon at Rocky Mountain National Park. Before doing that, though, I decided to take a trip out to New Mexico. I could check out some schools in Southern Colorado along the way and also spend some time with my friend from college, Larson. Larson and I had not spent much time together since we had a sort of falling out in 2002. We made the effort to reconnect, though, and we decided to do what we do best and go on an adventure.
We decided, hey, why not try to climb the two highest mountains in New Mexico. It is only the worst time to do that in the middle of Spring. So we charged on ahead and drove our way up toward the Truchas Peaks. One of these was the second highest peak in New Mexico. Unfortunately,the roads were also covered in snow. After going as far as we could we camped for the night and made an assault on the peak in the morning. It was a bust. We spent most of the day charging up deep snow in the trees with our snow shoes. We got views of the Truchas Peaks, but nowhere near a summit. We went back down to Larson's truck and drove over toward Taos to try again.
The trailhead was located near a ski area, so this time we were successful in finding the trailhead. We both set up our trucks and prepared for the night. We were both leaving from the trailhead here to go to Hite, so we had to bring two vehicles. It worked well for sleeping arrangements because we each had a back of the truck to use. We were waiting for Larson's mom and dad to join us as they were going to hike the peak with us. They did not show up right away, so we spent the evening preparing for a quick exit in the morning.
Finally, they showed late in the evening and we decided on an early start to make sure that snow conditions stayed good. We were up before the sun in the morning and began the hike in our headlamps. I was impressed by how well everyone was moving through the rugged conditions. We were just on snow from the very beginning. This was a snowshoeing adventure more than anything. We took what we perceived to be a trail that stayed rather flat at first taking us to a lake.
Or I guess you could say what was the frozen remnants of a basin that would be a lake when the snow was gone. From there it was to the trees and trudging up the steep hillside to try to get up to a snowfield. This was always that most exhausting part of the day, but luckily the snow was hard and we were able to move rather well. We popped out into more open conditions and were able to analyze the route to the top. It was steep. Each step had to be gained by laborious effort. The views though were fantastic as this whole area was just a huge bowl. I had a tough time spotting Wheeler Peak thinking this rugged mass or that one would be the top.
Instead it was really actually a rather straight shot from where we stood and while it was not the most impressive looking mountain it was definitely the highest. After a while of sticking together, I decided to break off from the main group because I got too impatient. We were all moving well, but I just had high energy and wanted to get to the top sooner to make the climb worth it. I did my best to stick to the snow all the way to the top and at no point was I ever scared that falling off the mountain was an option.
In fact, it reminded me of my many ascents of Mt. Humphreys in Arizona with steepness but not sheerness of the route. I eventually finished with the steep elevation and popped out on the summit ridge. It was a quick walk over to where a plaque stood, a wind barricade had been constructed, and a summit register was placed. I waited for the remainder of my group to join me as I perused the summit register. It was fun to see names that I knew like Dave Hahn who is famous for being a guide on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Everest, who was also an acquaintance of my dad.
Eventually, everyone else scurried their way to the top. They were happy to have made the summit also. We were all smiles and I was happy that Larson had adventurous parents to make the climb with us. There were not many others out here on this day, so we basically were able to enjoy the summit by ourselves.
After a bit, though, it was time to depart. Climbing mountains is so much fun in the snow because once you put in the effort to reach the summit, the trip down is a blast. We just took the fastest way down, which turned out to be sliding down the mountain on our bottom, better known as glacading.
Wheeler Peak had the very best glacading as we were able to move swiftly, but never out of control. It was literally thirty minutes to make it down what took us hours to climb. We made it back to our vehicles, then Larson and I left his parents to drive out to Hite for another fun filled adventure.
We decided, hey, why not try to climb the two highest mountains in New Mexico. It is only the worst time to do that in the middle of Spring. So we charged on ahead and drove our way up toward the Truchas Peaks. One of these was the second highest peak in New Mexico. Unfortunately,the roads were also covered in snow. After going as far as we could we camped for the night and made an assault on the peak in the morning. It was a bust. We spent most of the day charging up deep snow in the trees with our snow shoes. We got views of the Truchas Peaks, but nowhere near a summit. We went back down to Larson's truck and drove over toward Taos to try again.
Finally, they showed late in the evening and we decided on an early start to make sure that snow conditions stayed good. We were up before the sun in the morning and began the hike in our headlamps. I was impressed by how well everyone was moving through the rugged conditions. We were just on snow from the very beginning. This was a snowshoeing adventure more than anything. We took what we perceived to be a trail that stayed rather flat at first taking us to a lake.
Or I guess you could say what was the frozen remnants of a basin that would be a lake when the snow was gone. From there it was to the trees and trudging up the steep hillside to try to get up to a snowfield. This was always that most exhausting part of the day, but luckily the snow was hard and we were able to move rather well. We popped out into more open conditions and were able to analyze the route to the top. It was steep. Each step had to be gained by laborious effort. The views though were fantastic as this whole area was just a huge bowl. I had a tough time spotting Wheeler Peak thinking this rugged mass or that one would be the top.
Instead it was really actually a rather straight shot from where we stood and while it was not the most impressive looking mountain it was definitely the highest. After a while of sticking together, I decided to break off from the main group because I got too impatient. We were all moving well, but I just had high energy and wanted to get to the top sooner to make the climb worth it. I did my best to stick to the snow all the way to the top and at no point was I ever scared that falling off the mountain was an option.
In fact, it reminded me of my many ascents of Mt. Humphreys in Arizona with steepness but not sheerness of the route. I eventually finished with the steep elevation and popped out on the summit ridge. It was a quick walk over to where a plaque stood, a wind barricade had been constructed, and a summit register was placed. I waited for the remainder of my group to join me as I perused the summit register. It was fun to see names that I knew like Dave Hahn who is famous for being a guide on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Everest, who was also an acquaintance of my dad.
Eventually, everyone else scurried their way to the top. They were happy to have made the summit also. We were all smiles and I was happy that Larson had adventurous parents to make the climb with us. There were not many others out here on this day, so we basically were able to enjoy the summit by ourselves.
After a bit, though, it was time to depart. Climbing mountains is so much fun in the snow because once you put in the effort to reach the summit, the trip down is a blast. We just took the fastest way down, which turned out to be sliding down the mountain on our bottom, better known as glacading.
Wheeler Peak had the very best glacading as we were able to move swiftly, but never out of control. It was literally thirty minutes to make it down what took us hours to climb. We made it back to our vehicles, then Larson and I left his parents to drive out to Hite for another fun filled adventure. 
