Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
My solo climb of both centennial 13er Fletcher Mountain (13,958') and 14er Quandary Peak (14,272') via the west ridge. Starting from Lower Blue Lake TH, the route up to Fletcher summit was mostly class 2 talus hopping. Even though recent snow made the routing finding a bit more challenging, the climb was largely straightforward. I had the summit of Fletcher to myself and really enjoyed the view on this clear day. I had done Quandary Peak via the standard class 1 east ridge route many years ago. The west ridge of Quandary however is much more challenging. There are multiple class 3 sections along the way, made more treacherous with fresh snow on this day. The view along the ridge was spectacular and unlike the standard route, one can expect lots of solitude. From the summit I descended 2500’ straight down to Upper Blue Lake via the loose talus/scree slope of Cristo Couloir. Total stats: 6.7 miles with 3100’ elevation gain. Despite the moderate stats it took me 7 hrs to complete the loop. A challenging but fun day in the mountains
Music:
Ethereal, by Punch Deck
Filament, by Scott Buckley
Midnight Drive, by James Joshua Otto
Adrift among Infinite Stars, by Scott Buckley
00:00 Approach
04:43 Fletcher Mountain Summit
07:18 West Ridge of Quandary Peak
17:56 Quandary Peak Summit
#14ers
CO 14ers Completion Status and Tiers:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/104c-0CAWNEFWXtRtZ6o6dBgGKaPLQqORS_MlcsUr780/edit?gid=0#gid=0
My solo climb of both centennial 13er Fletcher Mountain (13,958') and 14er Quandary Peak (14,272') via the west ridge. Starting from Lower Blue Lake TH, the route up to Fletcher summit was mostly class 2 talus hopping. Even though recent snow made the routing finding a bit more challenging, the climb was largely straightforward. I had the summit of Fletcher to myself and really enjoyed the view on this clear day. I had done Quandary Peak via the standard class 1 east ridge route many years ago. The west ridge of Quandary however is much more challenging. There are multiple class 3 sections along the way, made more treacherous with fresh snow on this day. The view along the ridge was spectacular and unlike the standard route, one can expect lots of solitude. From the summit I descended 2500’ straight down to Upper Blue Lake via the loose talus/scree slope of Cristo Couloir. Total stats: 6.7 miles with 3100’ elevation gain. Despite the moderate stats it took me 7 hrs to complete the loop. A challenging but fun day in the mountains
Music:
Ethereal, by Punch Deck
Filament, by Scott Buckley
Midnight Drive, by James Joshua Otto
Adrift among Infinite Stars, by Scott Buckley
00:00 Approach
04:43 Fletcher Mountain Summit
07:18 West Ridge of Quandary Peak
17:56 Quandary Peak Summit
#14ers
CO 14ers Completion Status and Tiers:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/104c-0CAWNEFWXtRtZ6o6dBgGKaPLQqORS_MlcsUr780/edit?gid=0#gid=0
