Mount Abram Summit... An Alpine Emersion

On Saturday, thunderstorms and monsoonal moisture cancelled our plan to summit Mount Abram with son Caleb and his bride-in-waiting, Kelli. We decided to stay close to town and hike the Perimeter Trail, in case we needed to seek shelter at Mouses Chocolates. Sunday was iffy, too, and Bobbie had to be to work by 2:00 pm. But the "herd" was restless so we went for it, braving a wee hour departure that would make Jim roll over in his deep grave of sleep. FYI, you can sleep when you're dead :).

Maybe I'll get back to the Perimeter Trail hike, but in case I don't, suffice it to say this is what it looked like. Incredibly, it hardly rained the whole 3 hours we were out. Unfortunately (perhaps fortunately for her) Kelli had to hit the road Sunday. We missed her laughter... but we'll do it again someday soon I hope.

The route to Mount Abram began with a near vertical slog upstream in a couloir... in and out of water and snow... followed by an ass-smoldering ladder of tundra. If fit, the saddle can be reached in 30 minutes. I know because I did it once, and paid dearly for it later. A half hour of oxygen deficiency feels like a slow death by increment. Now I know why waterboarding is so effective. 

There's little to take your mind off the burn on the initial ascent, unless you are into flowers. Any excuse to stop, ya know. 

It was "dark side of the moon" cold and shady to begin with, thanks to a big honking ridge that blotted out the sun. We would be the last to feel the sun's warmth, though we could see it warming up Red Mountain's to the south.  

Bobbie and Jeff (a hitchhiker we picked up) approaching the "saddle."

The views from the saddle are nothing short of spectacular. There's a come and go, up and down trail that skirts left and right of rocky obstacles on the ridge proper. We pressed north, a happy lot.

Still in the shade... clouds building. Note Caleb... way out in front.

Finally, our first peek at Abrams. Still a long ways to go and the "clock" is ticking for Bobbie to get to work... 

Sun begins to break through. Much better!

The ridge sharpens as we near Abram's summit.

Rocks sparkle and glow under lightly filtered sunlight.

Got to love the lavender section!

Looking back... 

The final push to the summit... It's steeper than it looks, you need "all fours."

Departed Petroleus Rex at 7:05, arrived on summit at 9:00. 

Lovely Ouray, snug in her crevice. Beyond, Ridgway and Grand Mesa.

Enough summit jocularity and celebration. Bobbie's clock ticks and storm clouds are moving in; we need to get down, down, down.