Parry Peak (13,392') via Mt. Bancroft

On Saturday, I touched my first real summit since mid-January: 13,392-foot Parry Peak. It wasn’t a super emotional moment, to be honest. I was only sidelined about 12 weeks, which is absolutely nothing compared with most surgeries. If I’d had an ACL tear or a rotator cuff injury, my recovery time would have doubled or even tripled. I have nothing but respect and well wishes for anyone out there suffering through much worse.

Reaching the top also wasn’t a huge leap in my progression. It was the product of weeks of physical therapy and smaller hikes, including one to 12,100’ in the same general area. Still, it was an ethereal feeling to once again stand on an alpine summit, with miles and miles of unobstructed views of the mountains I love.

James Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park

I couldn’t have asked for a better crew. Kate and I had planned this hike for a week or two, but our friends James, Paige and Ben joined at the last minute. It was especially good to spend time with James, who will be moving to California in June.

We rendezvoused at the trailhead outside of Alice, Colo., a bit after 7 a.m. I hadn’t done much research, but I’d climbed adjacent Mt. Bancroft via the classic and technical East Ridge a couple years ago. I knew the Southeast Ridge of Bancroft was super mellow, and from the Bancroft summit Parry Peak was only a hop, skip and a jump away. 

My estimated time for the trip was six hours. Needless to say I was surprised to be staggering back to the car, utterly exhausted, nearly nine hours later. This was mostly my fault, as the required distance was much longer than I'd anticipated – somewhere between 10 and 12 miles. We also spent a lot of time socializing and lollygagging on summits.

At any rate, the weather was pretty darn good for mid-April. It was overcast and slightly windy as Sunday’s impending storm rolled in, but the temperature was downright balmy, skyrocketing into the 40s.

We snowshoed up a Forest Service Road to Loch Lomond, then traversed over Bancroft’s East Ridge to the plateau dominated by Lake Caroline. We gratefully stashed our snowshoes here, as the rest of the hike looked mostly dry. The route circled the bottom of Lake Caroline until we ascended a mellow slope to the crest of the Southeast Ridge. From there, it was a simple ridge walk on snow, tundra and talus to Bancroft’s summit.

False summit of Mt. Bancroft

Happy pups on the final snow slope up Mt. Bancroft

After a long break, we set off for the true goal of the day, ranked 13er Parry Peak. The connecting ridge went quick and easy, with the most interesting part coming near the top of Parry where one has to angle left around a large cornice. We found a safe line without much trouble and enjoyed the warm, windless summit. Our stay was cut short by darkening clouds.

The snow storm held nicely, however, and we took another extended break during our re-summit of Bancroft. Following the path of some skiers, we decided to descend straight down a moderate snow slope to Lake Caroline, rather than retrace our steps along the undulating Southeast Ridge. James glissaded, but I’m still babying my shoulder and the rest of the group joined me in plunge-stepping down. This decision saved us at least half an hour. 

Me, Remy and Kate on Parry Peak

The gang on Mt. Bancroft (again)

Parry Peak, from Mt. Bancroft

Unfortunately, James wasn’t wearing gaiters and his calves got pretty badly scraped when his pant legs slid up while glissading on neve. I got to put my recently acquired Wilderness First Aid certification to use patching him up. I’ll send him the bill for the gauze and bandages.

We located our snowshoe stash and staggered back down the road to the trailhead. Below treeline, the wind died completely and we baked in the afternoon heat. It was the first time since October I felt comfortable in only baselayers. We finally reached the cars, much more tired than expected, at about 4:15 p.m. James rushed home to tend his wounds, while I enjoyed a burger the size of my head with Kate, Ben and Paige at Capitol Grille in Golden.

Patching up James

With another recovery milestone reached, my plan is now to continue mellow 13ers in the coming weeks. The hope is to get on more interesting stuff by about mid-May. I need to get reacquainted with steep snow and a heavy pack before my trip to the Pacific Northwest in early July, but for now I’m content with whipping my fat ass back into shape and enjoying time with friends in the hills. Thanks to James, Kate, Ben, Paige and the pups for an awesome day.