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here is a non-JavaScript version of the trip report. NOTE: the slideshow above will not work with JavaScript disabled. For my Mt. Sherman trip report from 2002 in summer conditions, Click Here
February 14th, 2004
With the forecast for Valentines Day looking clear for the high country, Amy and I decided that we would make a date with Mt. Sherman. It was a perfect
way to spend the day, doing what we like best. We left Boulder around 5:30 a.m. and headed up hwy 285 to Fairplay. We proceeded on the road to the Fourmile
Creek Trailhead. With all the recent snowfall, we weren't sure if we would be able to make it to the trailhead at the old Leavick Mine. Sure enough, the snow
on the road became too deep and we had to park about a mile below the trailhead. One guy with Illinois plates was getting ready at the pullout and began hiking
about 10 minutes in front of us. We got our gear ready and began hiking right about 8 a.m. We had our snowshoes with us but we were only sinking in a few inches
as we headed up the road, so we left the snowshoes on our packs. It was pretty cold in the shade so we were looking forward to getting into the sun and warming
up a bit. There was a cool looking horseshoe shaped mountain in front of us as we headed to the Leavick Mine which is the standard 2wd trailhead in the summer.
Shortly after the mine we passed the guy from Illinois who was stopped taking in the views. We broke out into the sun and warmed up rapidly. Continuing up the road
we finally came around a corner that gave us the first views of Mt. Sherman and the large basin below it. In the photo below Mt. Sherman is on the right and
Mt. Sheridan is on the left.
Scouting out the basin as we approached, I thought
we might be able to leave the road and the summer route, for a more direct line to the saddle between Mt. Sheridan and Mt. Sherman. Just past the 4wd parking
area we decided to leave the road and take our chances with a more direct line. The snow was waist deep up the first slope as we tried to gain a wind-swept ridge.
The guy from Illinois watched us wade through the snow to the ridge and probably thought we were nuts. He continued up the road probably thinking he would be
miles ahead of us before too long. We gained the rocky hillside where the snow had been blown clear, and proceed up the slopes towards an old mine shaft. We
were gaining elevation quickly and soon reached the mining structure we were aiming for. From here we debated whether we should proceed to left towards the Mt.
Sheridan / Sherman saddle, or head to the right and between the Sherman / White Ridge saddle. The saddle between Mt. Sherman and Sheridan gets heavily corniced
but it looked like the we could gain the ridge on the far right side with little avalance danger. We decided this was the way to go and began the steep grind
up to Mt. Sherman's southwest ridge. The photo below shows our ascent route in green, our descent route in red, and the standard summer route in blue.
We kept looking down on the road and the summer route for the guy from Illinois, but he was nowhere in sight. We began wondering
if he had headed up to a different peak. The slopes up to the ridge consisted of crossing some short deep snowfields in between patches of rocks. The photo below
is Amy making her way up to Sherman's southwest ridge.
We finally
gained the ridge and were treated to some spectacular views of the peaks of the Sawatch Range, including Colorado's two highest peaks, Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert.
We continued up the ridge trying to stay on exposed rocks when we could. The photo below is taken from the lower portion of Sherman's southwest ridge.
We stayed on the southern side of the ridge until about halfway up where we gained the
ridge proper and began to break trail to the top. For the most part the snow was pretty wind packed, so we weren't sinking in too deep. The only tracks we saw
were those of some marmots.
As we were heading up the west ridge we noticed that the guy from Illinois was finally in view, taking a break at the highest mining
structure before the Sheridan/Sherman saddle. Keeping an eye on him as we moved up the slopes, we commented on what a long break he was taking. I bet Amy a Pepsi
that he decided to turn back, so he was taking a long break to enjoy the views before he descended. Sure enough, as we were nearing the top of ridge, I looked back
and saw him heading back down. The ridge was turning out to be longer than I remembered, I had climbed Sherman before from the 4wd parking area, but I didn't
remember the false summits. It was probably because this time we had to start hiking about 4 miles lower and I was wishing the ridge would end soon.
We were getting a little annoyed to climb one bump on the ridge, just to find another, and another.
Finally
we gained the last substantial bump on the ridge and it was a short casual stroll over to the summit.
We arrived on top at 11:15 a.m., taking us about 3.25 hours
to reach the summit. The skies were clear and the views were well worth the effort. To the northeast were Grays and Torreys Peak standing tall, to the south Pikes Peak
was dominating the scene, and to the west the mighty Sawatch rose above the Arkansas River valley. Mt. Massive, Elbert, La Plata Peak, and Mt. Harvard were the
most commanding of the Sawatch Peaks.
We dropped down the ridge a little bit to get out of the wind and take a break. We enjoyed some Snickers Marathon bars as
we talked about how fitting it was for us to climb a 14er on Valentines Day. Amy has accompanied me on every 14er I've climbed since we have met, and Mt.
Sherman was her 28th 14er. After enjoying the summit for about 20 minutes, my feet were getting cold and I wanted to start heading down. We opted for a more
direct descent so we proceed to the ridge between Sherman and White Ridge. This slope provided some perfect conditions to teach Amy how to self arrest. We made
very good time glissading down the slopes, self arresting when we needed to slow down or stop.
As we were making our way down a snow-filled gully, a violent roar
scared the sh!t out of me. I didn't know what the noise was and instantly turned around to see if the slopes up higher on Mt. Sherman were avalanching. I realized
it was just a plane passing overhead and I could now remove my heart from my throat.
Continuing down we rejoined our ascent path and made it back to the
road in short order. From the road it was a casual stroll back down to the 4runner. Near the old Leavick mine site, there were 2 guys and their kids sledding
down one of the steeper portions of the road. How I wished I could borrow their sled and ride it all the way back to the car. Soon enough however we made it back
to the car at 2 p.m., making our roundtrip time right at 6 hours. This was a 3rd winter 14er in 2004, and an excellent day to be in the high country.
For my Mt. Sherman trip report from 2002 in summer conditions, Click Here
