Mount Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln and Bross, May

Mount Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross

El: 14,148', 14,238', 14,286, 14,172, respectively

Route:  Ascended northeast slope of Mt. Democrat, descended west slope of Mt. Bross

Trailhead: Kite Lake

Elevation Gain: Aprox. ?

Round Trip mileage: ?
Start Time/Finish Time: 6:15 AM/ 1:30 PM

After hiking seven 14er's in 7 days, the exact details of each climb are starting to fade.  So, before more time passes, I thought I would report on my climbs of Mount Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln and Bross, near the small town of Alma, perched at 10,580 feet, where they claim to have the "Highest Saloon in America" and about 20 miles south of Breckenridge.  From the center of Alma, a dirt road (CR 8) travels Northwest about six miles to Kite Lake at 12,000'.  In all my years of hiking I have never found a trailhead at higher altitude.  This one is even complete with an outhouse.  Following my usual routine of establishing a base camp and rising early to take advantage of frozen, consolidated snow, I spent the night at the lake, which, was also the highest point I had ever slept, beating my previous record of 11,700 feet at Lake Katherine near Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The Kite Lake basin affords a great view of Cameron and Bross.  Democrat is the left-most peak, but its actual summit is hidden from view.  Lincoln, tucked behind Cameron is completely obscured.

Kite Lake Trailhead, at 12,000' where I set up camp and rested for my summit bids the next day.

 I woke up on May 18th at about 5:30 AM to do my first snow climb of the season up Mt. Democrat.  Normally I would get moving much earlier than this, but the cold temperatures were keeping the snow rather stable throughout the entire morning.  The steepness was moderate, and after dealing with the loose rocks in the Sawatch Range, I thoroughly enjoyed the snow and getting used to my ice axe and crampons again.

After beginning my snow climb on Mount Democrat and overlooking still-frozen Kite Lake

The southeast face of Mount Democrat.  Still a ways to go!

Higher up this time, looking down at my snowy path below

When I gain the ridge, the view of Mt. Democrat's actual summit comes in to view

 I'm  not entirely remembering my summit time on each of the peaks, but I believe I made it to the Summit of Mt. Democrat around 8:30 AM.  Despite sleeping lightly the night before, and substantially less oxygen going to my brain, I had there mental where-with-all to throw in my political $0.02.  As of yet, I don't know of any "Mt. Republican" that compels a climb.

I did just summitted "Mt. Democrat" and this somehow seemed fitting

From Mt. Democrat, There is a complete view of Mount, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross, aligned nicely along the ridge to the east.  The route was completely straight-forward, with no difficulty exceeding easy Class 2.  This is by far the easiest place in Colorado to bag multiple peaks in a day, four in this case. (This is, if you include Cameron, which is not an officially ranked 14er, but is still listed in the Gerry Roach guide book.)

Descending the east ridge of Mount Democrat and steadily making my way towards Mount Cameron

I had to loose a fair amount of my hard-earned elevation as I descended Mount Democrats's connecting ridge to Mount Cameron, and then regain it to make the next summit.  The climb, in general was quite chilly and often breezy, but I had a short respite while ducked behind some rocks on Mount Lincoln and the temperature rose briefly.  It was a fine place to take an extended break, especially being the day's highpoint. 

On the Summit of Mount Lincoln, the highest point of the day

 Once I left Mount Lincoln, the wind along the ridge to Mount Bross was terrible, gusting up to 60mph, I'd guess.  I encountered a sign on the way to the summit, which bars access to the top,  but I decided to ignore it because I wasn't previously aware of any red tape, and I reached my last summit of the day at exactly 12:00 PM, a perfect time to descend. 

Yes, I saw the sign.  Yes, I read it.  And yes, I still went.

 The descent route was confusing.  There were the remains of multiple mine shafts amongst the scree and a criss-cross of old roads.  I follow one of these roads and realize quickly that I am off route as it leads in to a deep gully.  Uninterested in regaining the trail which was high above me, I followed the gully down to the Kite Lake Basin, finding a few opportunities to do a standing glissade in the snow.  I reach the car at about 1:30 PM, rest for awhile, disassemble my tent and drive away.  I stop at the saloon in Alma for a delicious Greek pizza and at a coffee shop for a hot chai, before leaving for Breckenridge, where I stayed the evening at the Firehouse Inn.  The next day I planned to climb Quandary peak, the one 14er of the Ten-Mile Range, but the weather had other ideas.  I woke up to gray skies, rain, snow and wind.  I was also teased by intermittent bursts of sunlight through the clouds.  I decided it was a good day to rest, and I quickly started planning my upcoming climb on Snowmass Mountain.  

Looking up the descent route.  It was not exactly "pleasant"