Climbed on June 14, 2022. Approach from Ten Mile Canyon TH, Exit via Crystal Creek and Spruce Creek TH. There are lots more accounts of this classic route to be found online and just by chatting with locals!
On the morning of June 14 got a ride into downtown Leadville, took the early morning bus to Frisco, walked to the Ten Mile Canyon TH, and started up towards Peak 1. This was my first time hiking up past Mt. Royal. It was a wonderful morning, albeit a bit windy, and I only hit a bit of occasional snow in the upper section of trees before Mt. Victoria. Snow beyond treeline was confined to leeward drifts for the most part.
Upon summiting Peak 1 I was greeted with that which was to be my companion for the remainder of the day: FIERCE winds. They remained blowing steadily at at least 20 mph, with gusts being higher. I remember walking at a perpetual slant, forced to lean into the wind in order to not be blown off balance. IT was a PHENOMENAL exercise in patience, and I consciously adopted a mindset of simple persistence. I think if it were otherwise, if I was out there looking for a beautiful and chill day, I would have bailed pretty fast. But what are the mountains for if not to make us better people!? And so I took the opportunity to practice composure in the face of discomfort and frustration. I won’t pretend to always be so mentally and emotionally elastic, though, as I don’t think any person can justify constant discomfort. Despite the fact that we are capable of bearing much in life, at times an ass of burden needs to sit and enjoy munching on grass.
I wanted to finish the day by going one peak further and bivying on top of Crystal Peak. I hadn’t hauled my sleeping bag and bivy sack for nothing! Crystal ended up being the perfect peak on which to sleep atop: the summit is relatively flat, and the windbreak on the summit housed a nice sleeping pad-sized area on which to set up. I just built the windbreak up a bit more to protect me further from the wind, and enjoyed the evening from up high.
I hiked out the next morning via Crystal Creek and the Spruce Creek TH, and managed to get a ride into Breck after walk the road a bit.
Each time I walk through the major Tenmile drainages (Mohawk Lakes, Crystal Creek, Monte Cristo) I’m blown away by the amount of seemingly decent rock and snow routes that seem to line the walls of the valleys. Always fun to dream of new lines on the hike out. Overall great trip :).