Atlantic Peak

Jen and I successfully completed our first winter climb yesterday. We summited Atlantic Peak. Well, the peak really doesn’t have an official name, but most people call it Atlantic peak – it is just across from Pacific Peak. Atlantic Peak tops out at 13,841 ft and it is one of the peaks in the Tenmile Range.

We often enjoy the rugged look of the Tenmile Range when we ski at Copper Mountain which is just west of the Tenmile Range, and I have been looking for the opportunity to do a winter ascent here for quite a while. While we have been gathering required gear such as ice axes and crampons, I have been keeping an eye on the avalanche report. The avalanche risk had been moderate all week long, and no avalanche activity had been spotted in the area all week, so the weekend was looking pretty good for a first try.

A more active weather pattern was in the forecast to arrive sometime during Saturday, but with no significant snow fall predicted, only a few inches. The wind however was looking to potentially become a factor; both strong sustained winds as well as very strong gusts were predicted. We decided to go for it anyway, making sure we would pay extra attention to eroded as well as wind loaded snow. Should the wind or snow conditions turn out to be too much of a risk, plan B was to turn around and go ski at Copper instead.

We got up super early Saturday morning and arrived at the trail head a little after 7 am, and we were on our way up the mountain before 8 am. The route starts out along the Mayflower Creek, then goes across Mayflower Gulch right about where Pacific Creek meets up with Mayflower Creek. From here the real climb begins along the west ridge of Atlantic. Calling it a ridge is an understatement, though. At certain places the snow on top of the ridge is as sharp as a knife’s edge, to the point where you feel like you are balancing on a line. Something that wouldn’t be too hard if it wasn’t for the howling winds that is about to blow you over any second. It definitely provided for some excitement.

While the sun did peek out a couple of times from behind the clouds as we started our approach, the clouds got thicker and thicker, and as we were gaining altitude and getting above tree limit, the winds got stronger and stronger. The visibility was diminishing by the minute, but we still felt comfortable about our navigation so we pushed on, but by the time we reach the summit, we were completely engulfed in the clouds and there were no views to be enjoyed. We instead quickly snapped a couple of pictures of each other and started our descent again.

It was definitely easier going down than up, but the winds were as strong as they had been all day, and visibility was still low, so it took quite a bit of effort and concentration to descend down the very same ridge line we had climbed on the way up. As we were going down we finally cleared out of the higher clouds, visibility got better, and we got a better appreciation for the views of this place. We felt good about our climb. We had learned a couple of things, but in general we were well prepared, exercised good caution and choice of route, and had a great day in the mountains.

The pictures may not quite show the winter conditions, especially the winds we were facing, so check out the little video below. If nothing else you can hear the howling winds. It may have been in the 70s down in Boulder, but it is still winter in the mountains!