14er TBT: Mount Columbia (18 March 2007)

(Last Updated On: February 26, 2015)

This is part of an ongoing series re-telling Brittany’s fourteener-skiing story. Look for the reports every Thursday, as part of a Throwback Thursday theme.

Mount Columbia was my fourteenth fourteener to ski. It was a slogging sort of day and I was joined by Fritz Sperry, Mark Cavaliero, and Joe Brannan. I never wrote a trip report for this peak in the past. So, here’s my recollection, to the best that I can remember.

Mt. Columbia (14,073′)
3-18-2007

I was having fun hitting up the peaks in the Sawatch Range. I decided to go for another. I called up Fritz and said, “Hey, what do you say we ski a fourteener this weekend?” I knew he couldn’t say no. I guess it was appropriate that we decided that we ski Columbia considering we checked out the trailhead location after our Princeton ski the previous year.

We met in Golden at 3 am and Fritz proceeded to break the law multiple times while driving. We picked up Mark as we cruised through Bailey, and we met Joe at the trailhead where he had spent the night. It was 6 am when we left the cars to start climbing on the Colorado Trail, but it was still dark.
Getting ready to ski Mount Columbia

Ascending the Colorado Trail to ski Mount Columbia

A reminder of the benefits of waking up early…. Such a gorgeous sunrise!
Sunrise while climbing Mount Columbia.

We eventually got off the trail and began following a ridge.
Ridge to climb Columbia.

We emerged out of the pines to an area of dead trees. What killed these trees? Perhaps drought?
Dead forest on Mount Columbia.

As we rose above treeline, we saw the ridge we needed to follow before us. It was then that we realized we had a LONG ways to go.
Mount Columbia in the distance.

And the ridge just kept going.
Fritz Sperry climbing ridge on Mount Columbia.

Wait, how far are we going?
Mount Columbia ridge

Somehow, I still kept a smile on my face.
Brittany Walker Konsella climbing to ski Mount Columbia.

This ridge is supposedly only 6 miles long and under 5000′ vert. But, it felt a whole lot longer.
Mark Cavaliero ascending to ski Mount Columbia.

Finally, we neared the summit.
The summit of Mount Columbia - getting ready to ski it!

Getting ready at the summit.
Getting ready to ski on the summit of Mount Columbia.

We skied the east side of Mount Columbia to make our way down to the South Ramp, which was a few hundred feet lower.
Brittany Walker Konsella skiing from the summit of Mount Columbia.

Brittany Walker Konsella skiing from the summit of Mount Columbia.

Fritz Sperry skiing from the summit of Mount Columbia.

We had to take off our skis to traverse across a dry part of the ridge to enter into the South Ramp. If it hadn’t been windy before, it definitely was now. The wind was so strong, it brought me to the ground a couple of times. I was happy as we entered the shelter of the South Ramp.

Fritz.
Fritz Sperry backcountry skiing on Mount Columbia.

Fritz Sperry backcountry skiing on Mount Columbia.

Fritz Sperry backcountry skiing on Mount Columbia.

Sheltered from the wind with some nice sun, we found some good corn on the South Ramp. Me.
Brittany Walker Konsella backcountry skiing on Mount Columbia.

Brittany Walker Konsella backcountry skiing on Mount Columbia.

Brittany Walker Konsella backcountry skiing on Mount Columbia.

Joe.
Joe Brannan backcountry skiing on Mount Columbia.

Mark.
Mark Cavaliero backcountry skiing Mount Columbia.

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An interesting perspective of our line.
South Ramp on Mount Columbia.

Once we exited the ramp, we still had a ways to go down the valley. There was plenty of snow to keep skiing for awhile, but here is where the conditions failed us. We found nothing but hollow, collapsible, manky snow. For miles. We only had 1000′ vert to get back to the car, but it took us over two hours.

Mark and Joe did most of the trailbreaking here. I was too small, and Fritz was too large. In this section, the going got good again. Funny how you never get pictures of the really bad parts 😉
skiing out of Mount Columbia.

And then we crossed the bridge, nearly done.

Despite the slog both in and out, we had some good skiing on Mount Columbia. Slogging, wind, mank and corn all thrown in the mix. Nevertheless, it was another fourteener checked off the list. I was already making a plan for # 15.


Like this report? See more of Brittany’s 14er skiing journey.

Brittany Walker Konsella

Aside from skiing, biking, and all outdoorsy things,Brittany Walker Konsella also loves smiles and chocolate 🙂 Even though she excels at higher level math and chemistry, she still confuses left from right. Find out more about Brittany!

Brittany Walker Konsella

Aside from skiing, biking, and all outdoorsy things, Brittany Walker Konsella also loves smiles and chocolate :) Even though she excels at higher level math and chemistry, she still confuses left from right. Find out more about Brittany!

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