Great December weather and an ongoing snow drought favored a successful winter 14'er ascent, and I picked Mount Princeton for my target. The adventure started off with me missing the 2WD parking lot, I don't know how, but I cruised on by and started ascending a steep 4WD road in my truck. The snow got deeper the higher I went up, and the road became more and more sketchy, which made me realize that I was going to get stuck if I didn't find a place to turn around. Luckily a ledge appeared on this mountain road and I had just enough room to turn around and go back down. Now parked at the 2WD lot, I started hiking up hill–around 3 miles to the radio towers, and several more miles to a trail that led to a never-ending field of boulders and talus. I picked my way through the rocks, skidding occasionally on ice covered snow–eventually bypassing the official trail that ascends up to a ridge, which was a mistake, as I encountered a slope that turned to pure dirt and loose rock. I had to cling to the side of the mountain, controlling my breathing so I could think my way through this obstacle, and eventually found just enough hand and foot-holds to avoid sliding down the mountain and crawl upwards to safer terrain.
After a bit I joined the ridgeline trail, and from there it was just a slog to the summit. Despite the low snow pack, the surrounding mountains were still sufficiently plastered to make for some enjoyable sight seeing while I celebrated my climb with a summit beverage. Then as usual, the hike back down began. Given it was winter, the forest soon became pitch black by 5 pm. I calmly scanned the trees and brush for signs of menacing creatures–none were encountered. And just before 7pm I was back in my truck and on the way home. I definitely noticed that sleeping at 10,000 feet every night has improved my endurance and lung capacity while climbing Princeton. Acclimatization really does work.
Google map of the Mount Princeton.
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