Back at it again, the Elite Outdoorsmen team went to telescope peak. Mission was to conquer the unpredictable weather conditions of the peak. We anticipated patches of snow, maybe a bit at the campsite… None… No snow so far. Arrived at Mahogany Flats campground at 10 am. Made good time, left LA at 5:30am. Elevation at Mahogany approximately 8000 feet. Acclimation was an issue but we were ready to tackle the peak. We made our way to the trail head a few minutes after arriving, signed the registration book and off we were.
A few miles in the trail starts to bend around the mountain and started getting a glance of the peak. I’ve got to say the peak looks amazing year round but this time of the year specifically, the view was astonishing. Snow patches/ice scattered throughout.
Breathing was hard with only 20 minutes of acclimation, but we started with a solid above average pace. An hour and a half later we approached Roger peak, time for some water and small snack break. At this point we have spotted the first large snow patch. Seeing the size of it we anticipated tons of snow at the peak. The next 45 min are long up and Downs, nothing to write home about but the scenery is always breath taking and peaceful.
After this section, its mostly rocks for a good mile, then some more snow as you bend around the mountain. This part is pretty easy because it’s not a lot of climbing more covering distance instead. One thing though, was steep down hills from the trail. The snow basically smoothes out the once trail shaped side of the mountain.
This below is the end of the easy part. about a mile in, the fun part begins!
This photo is looking back at to ^^^^
Once we approach the end of that section we start a major ascend up to the peak. As we get closer we realize the normal trail is buried under snow! Following safe tracks from previous trekkers and making our own trails we maneuver up the mountain.
Since I forgot my trekking poles Alvaro let me use one of his. Made trekking so much easier. At times if you step on fresh snow I would sink to mid thigh that approximately 3 feet of snow.
When trekking a mountain with so much beauty in every inch of view, you can’t help but to stop and admire nature. The little things how the snow is only on one side because The sun is on the other for a longer time through out the day…
The patterns in petrified trees, plants etc.
We had some fun on the snow but then quickly picked up the pace. The peak is now closer within sight, trail is nowhere to be found barrier under tons of snow. We are now about a mile from the very tip top. Steep uphill in show approximately 25% grade. In this part the rocks were very interesting but no time to stop.
The last 200 feet are approaching, Alvaro has already reached the top. That gives me great motivation and I start the toughest part of this trek. Every step counts for everything. Miss a Step and you get really wet or stuck. Look back and you wont want to go up anymore. Over exited to reach the peak I muscle my way through the snow and bam! Out of breath heart speeding at an altitude of 11430 feet. I felt great!
Registered at the top. Relaxed for a few minutes and prepared for the even most fun part of the trip! The descent!
The jump off was tough. You don’t want to trust the blocks of snow but you want to get down ASAP. A tradition of ours is to run down the trail. Its very hard to do and can take a toll on your stamina and body. We didn’t bring gloves(not sure why) by my fingers were freezing. So the solution was don’t touch the snow and burn down to the safe parts that are run able… not so easy, I saw les strout in man vs wild perform a maneuver where he slides on his back to ft down to the bottom of a mountain covered in slow… worked really well. Only that I couldn’t do it all the time because there was a cliff after every hill and I have no brakes! Oh and after one of those stunts I came out covered in snow and almost drenched. So that method was out we had to climb down…
We finally reach running areas and we hit a few bursts of running through some snow and small up hills really fun/challenging stuff. About 30 minutes till the end my knee starts to bug me so I stopped running Alvaro let me use his 2nd trek pole to deprive some pressure from my right knee. He also went back and grabbed some snow so I can ice my knee…Now that is what I call team member! We met further down few more minutes and home free! Started a fire and the rest is history! Another awesome adventure in the books!
-Francisco
