7/3/06 – Golden Horn – Southwest Ridge

8.8 miles, 3400'


go back to Cirque Mountain

It poured in Ouray that evening after we got back from Telluride to Ouray. We'd find out that the storm hammered our friends to the south in Lower Ice Lake Basin, as well. Erin and I went to bed early that night like we did the night before. With the drive from Ouray to the trailhead outside of Silverton and a short hike to their campsite in Lower Ice Lake Basin, I set the alarm for 4:00 a.m. to be on the safe side. The next morning we drove from Ouray to the trailhead outside of Silverton stopping at the first big turn on the Clear Lake Road, which marks the start of the shortcut to reach the Ice Lake Basin trail.

But what's this, the lot's full? We don't have time to drive back and start at the official trailhead! We breathed a sigh of relief when we realized that these were our friends' cars. We blocked in Dwight's 4Runner, donned our headlamps and packs, and started up the trail at 5:15. The cutoff trail is only a tenth of a mile or so, but you have to cross Clear Creek amidst a series of cascades before you reach the main trail. There's a bunch of trees and boards that make for an excellent crossing, however, so when the creek's not running high, this isn't a problem, even in the dark. Erin wasn't feeling well this morning, so with only 1.5 miles and 1100' to go in the next hour and a quarter, we put her in the lead to set a slow plod up the switchbacks.

We got to Lower Ice Lake Basin and were immediately greeted by the sight of Golden Horn, glowing in the morning light. We had made it just in time! Soon we could see Vermilion Peak and Pilot Knob, also bathed in alpenglow. The wildflowers, like last year, were impressive; this is such a beautiful place! As we hiked deeper into the basin, we saw a campsite south of the trail under a cluster of trees. No one was stirring there so we moved on, and after coming over a small rise, we saw Dwight, Bob, James, and Sarah eating and getting ready. Bob greeted us with a facetious, "Does this place suck, or what?!" Today was an exciting day for Dwight: the weather was looking perfect for him to climb Vermilion, his final centennial! Unfortunately, Erin and I could only accompany him for the approach into the upper basin where we'd split off for Golden Horn.

Last year after our wedding, Erin and I climbed Vermilion, dealing with some punishing weather on both the ascent and descent. We had climbed Vermilion's standard route and downclimbed its tricky Northeast Ridge with the intention of climbing Golden Horn. However when we reached the saddle, we were chased back down into the basin by a storm that was rapidly approaching from the west. It drenched us with wet snow as we left the upper basin, and we begrudgingly turned our backs on Golden Horn. Another day, another year, and we'd just climb Vermilion with Dwight and then traverse to Golden Horn, but these two flatlanders didn't believe we'd have the energy for both. Given how rudely we were rebuffed by Golden Horn last year, you can understand why Erin and I were salivating at the chance to get back to Ice Lake Basin! In fact, it was the lure of Golden Horn that initially led me to pursue spending the weekend with Dwight before I found out about his plans for Teakettle and Dallas. I think it may be impossible to not get excited about revisiting Ice Lake Basin; this is a special place, one of the most beautiful that I've seen in Colorado.

We hiked toward the headwall at the west end of the basin where the trail takes a clever route, weaving between cliffs and next to unique waterfalls to reach the upper basin. This part of the approach was just as I had remembered it: feeling uncertain as to when you'll pop out into the basin and with Pilot Knob's lengthy ridge teasing you before finally revealing its highest point. We arrived at Ice Lake and took a short break to rest and take a bunch of pictures. There were a lot of people milling about, and we saw some folks coming down the trail from Island Lake. I have to get up there someday because it seems like it would be just as gorgeous as Ice Lake! We proceeded on the gentle trail and passed a few small lakes and ponds before we neared the largest lake in the basin, Fuller Lake. Short of this lake, we turned right to get on top of the minor extension of Fuller Peak's northeast ridge, which protrudes into the basin. Shortly after this, Erin and I had to split away from the group to head for Golden Horn. We wished them well as we left the trail to aim for the Vermilion/Golden Horn saddle.

It was cool to keep an eye on the rest of the group as we hiked. The looked so tiny so soon! We could see our ascent route, a leftward slanting ramp. The ramp forms a convenient break in a small cliff band in the middle of the slope. Preceding this ramp was a short snowfield, so to be prudent, Erin and I took out our ice axes and put away our poles. Getting up to the ramp, especially the spot immediately before the ramp where the snow was extremely slushy, was the toughest part of a relatively easy climb. Once above the ramp, we were back on scree, so we wanted our poles again. I had neither seen nor heard marmots, so I just propped up my ice axe against a rock to save time instead of taking off my pack to put it away. Of course, as soon as I climbed 100' higher, I heard that distinctive chirp. I turned around, and saw a marmot making a beeline for my axe, so I turned around and ran down the hill. I scared him away from the axe, but I'm sure he was gunning for it! I slogged back up the hill, meeting up with Erin atop the ridge.

With the change in gear and my marmot detour, we had wasted a lot of time. Sure enough, our friends were now atop Vermilion, celebrating Dwight's accomplishment while we were still 400' away from our goal. Thankfully, Golden Horn is quite an easy climb from here. What an interesting view of Pilot Knob you get during this ascent! We pushed it hard, and within fifteen minutes we made it to the top where we exchanged hoots, hollers, and yodels with our friends a half-mile away and 114-feet higher. We were surprised, however, when we started hearing some yells from Pilot Knob behind us. There were climbers on top of that peak as well, so the three key summits of Ice Lake Basin were being occupied at once!

We hung out on top for a while, enjoying the views of Vermilion and the colorful basins and peaks surrounding San Miguel Peak. We were now uncertain of what to do. We had told Dwight that we would consider waiting for him while he and Sarah made the traverse to Golden Horn, but from what we could see in our binoculars they still hadn't left Vermilion's summit. Were they still going to try the traverse? Walkie-talkies would have been nice here! With the weather beginning to look unsettled over the San Miguel Mountains, Erin and I chose to descend, and we made quick work of it before arriving again at the ramp atop the snow slope. We were going to follow our footprints in the snow from the ascent, but I saw a better looking entry point for a glissade, so I checked it out and it was perfect. I got down on my rear, let out a joyous shout, and slid down the 100 or so feet to the bottom. Now we could see our friends hiking across the snowfield a quarter-mile away... but there were only two. Shoot! We could now see Dwight and Sarah crossing Vermilion's face and heading toward Golden Horn. We met up with James and Bob, and we started hiking back to Lower Ice Lake Basin, reveling in our fantastic surroundings.

Bob was on a tight schedule. After three straight days climbing in the San Juans, he now had to drive all the way past Buena Vista, and then hike a couple of miles that evening to meet up with a different group at their campsite for a hike up Mount Elbert the next day. He boogied on ahead of us to start packing his tent and gear. James, Erin, and I took a slower pace, and just enjoyed ourselves. On the way out, we saw Erin's and my enormous rock shelter from last summer. As I alluded to earlier, Erin and I faced a storm in the morning of our Vermilion climb last year, as well. The thunderstorm caught us just as we were starting to ascend out of Lower Ice Lake Basin, so we quickly turned around and sought refuge underneath an overhang. It's quite a cool formation: this stack of improbably tilted boulders of impressive size, with the creek that drains Island Lake rushing straight through the middle of the cave! To top it off, there's a dramatic waterfall right behind the boulder shelter. If you're stuck waiting out a storm, it's certainly not an uninteresting place to be.

Back at their camp, we waited for a few minutes while Bob and James finished packing. The mosquitoes were starting to bite, and we left in a hurry. In good time we made it back to the vehicles, where we said our goodbyes to Bob and James. Then it was Erin and I on the road again, with visions of Coyote Cantina dancing in our heads. What a wonderful trip! The San Juans are truly one of the best places in Colorado to refresh and rejuvenate the body and soul.