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MT. YALE HIKE! Jason and Steve Hike Mt. Yale (Great Photos Of The Rockies!) - May 19, 2006

	Today my buddy Jason Friesema and I hiked to the summit of Mt. Yale. I begin this pictorial where the Denny Creek Trail branches off towards Mt. Yale, about one or two miles from the trailhead on Cottonwood Pass Road. Click here to see photos of the lower end of Denny Creek Trail.
	We started out hike at 5:30 a.m. and below timberline, things were really pretty and unseasonably warm for a mid-May morning. There were, however, a few spots where the snow was still quite deep. I caught a photo of Jason "post-holing," which is a term for stepping on snow and having your weight push you deep into the snow, sometimes as deep as your rib cage. Jason wasn't happy nor was I about the snow, but he at least smiled for the camera. Left photo: Near timberline, there were lots and lots of large snow areas.
	Above timberline, the views to the north, west and south are amazing! Somewhere behind me is Browns Pass.
	At this point, the trail leads up fairly steeply towards a saddle. There were still quite a few snowfields out there and uh, well, I guess I wasn't too happy about it. :p)
	Looking south, I snapped this shot of four Colorado 14ers: Mt. Princeton, Mt. Antero, Mt. Shavano and Tabeguache Peak. Can you identify all four peaks? ;)
	Just look at all the snow that still remainds in Colorado's high country. Wow! In the bottom photo, I got a shot of Jason in the foreground with Snowmass Mountain and some of the mountains near Aspen, Colorado in the background.
	Reaching the "saddle" took a lot of work. At this point, I took a brief rest while standing on hard-packed snow.
	Ah, but from the saddle, you're almost to the Mt. Yale summit. It's a relatively short scramble up a "false peak" before reaching the Mt. Yale a little farther.
	Here we are... *The Mt. Yale summit!* TOP: Looking southwest towards Cottonwood Pass and Cottonwood Pass Road. The mountains way out in the middle are part of the Crested Butte area. SECOND: Looking south, Mt. Princeton is the peak in the middle. THIRD: Looking east, it's the town of Buena Vista and the Arkansas River valley. Pikes Peak can be seen way out there faintly in the far back right. FOURTH: Looking northeast, Mt. Harvard and Mt. Columbia. FIFTH: Looking north, myself on the summit with a huge mix of mountains that include Colorado 14ers Huron Peak, Missouri Mountain, Mt. Belford, Mt. Oxford and La Plata Peak. BOTTOM: Looking northwest, Snowmass Mountain and its neighboring peaks are to the left.
	Jason tried to call his wife on his cell phone, but he couldn't get reception up there! Here are my other Colorado 14er hikes: Pikes Peak Summit (September 2003) Mt. Democrat, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Bross (July 2004) Mt. Princeton (August 2004) Mt. Sherman (August 2004)
	Now I was fairly dehydrated, in need of more oxygen, and only using 70% of my brain (according to statistics about high altitudes of 14,000+ feet), but I did manage to celebrate Norway's recent Constitution Day by photographing this Norwegian ribbon at the summit. My Norwegian friend Tonje sent it to me! :)
	So here's where things got a little messy. While on the way down, clouds engulfed the area fairly quickly and before we knew it, it was snowing. No big deal, right? Well, soon after the snow came down, there were intermittent lightning & thunder rumblings throughout the entire Collegiate Peaks area. When Jason felt a some static sparks from his walking pole, that's when we got really scared and Jason and I jetted downhill towards the forest like two mad men! We left the trail and ran straight towards the nearest area of trees, scrambling down some rocky slopes with loose scree. Jason and I agreed it was out scariest experience on a 14er.
	Once we got back in the forest, we hiked downhill for a short while before reaching the trail. The weather simmered down and I snapped a photo of a beautiful small creek (left), and Denny Creek running pretty hard (right)! With weather in the 70's in Buena Vista, the snow has been melting quickly and one could hear the roar of Denny Creek from quite a distance.