Beautiful day for a hike – this picture was taken about 50 minutes after starting – looking West
Got to the trailhead at 8:30, about 2 hours later than planned. This forced parking down the road a little. No spots in either parking lot at Guanella Pass
I think I found my spot in Colorado (at least near Denver)
Mt. Bierstadt on the right, the “Sawtooth” is the connecting ridge to go to Mt. Blue Sky
Took a few breathers on the way up. This is looking back at all the hikers I passed 🙂 It wasn’t too crowded, but looks like it here as a lot of people rest along the turns as you get higher in elevation.
Finally got to see some mountain goats
Almost to the summit after 2 hours
This is “Frozen Lake” which comes into view when you are very close to the summit
Looking Southeast near the summit
At the summit – view of Abyss Lake
Mt. Bierstadt marker
Looking Northwest from the summit of Mt. Bierstadt – The two high peaks in the middle: Grays Peak (left) and Torreys Peak (right)
Looking Northeast toward Mt. Blue Sky and Denver through the haze
Mt. Blue Sky from Bierstadt summit
Near the trailhead after descent – looking back at Bierstadt and the Sawtooth
There’s the car with the summit in the background
Summary
I choose Mount Bierstadt as my first 14er for 3 simple reasons:
Time: Round-trip (including about 30 minutes at the summit took less than 5 hours
Ease: The altitude got me, but in terms of some of the 14ers that I have only read about, Bierstadt is one of the easiest
Proximity: Only about 90 minutes from the Denver area
Additionally, there is the opportunity to climb Mt. Blue Sky directly from Bierstadt, however I started a little late in the day, and I wasn’t entirely sure if this was okay. Although when researching the area, it appears that you can do it.
Beautiful.. Nice pictures.
Beautiful hike and pictures!! Thank you Joe.
Impressive hike. Glad the goats we cooperating with you.