Mt. Quandary

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On Saturday September 16, 2006. Brandon (my cousin), two of his roommates; Joe and Dean, my buddy Ryan Jones, and I climbed 14,256 ft. Mt. Quandary. Our plan was to wake up at 3am and be on the trail by 4, but I didn't here my alarm so we slept in until 4:30.

The morning was cold and clear so our hopes were high for a nice day on the mountain. Little did we know a summer blizzard was heading our way.

As we hiked above treeline the sun was beginning to come up, but it was blocked by a thick blanket of clouds which thickened more and more until it began dumping snow on us. At first it felt good to be in snow again. The beginning was very mellow and calm, but as soon as we got to the ridge the wind began to blow and blow and blow until a 60+ mph gust almost knocked all of us over. After that huge burst of wind, we made an executive decision that the point we were standing on (a few feet from the summit) was the summit and it was time to get off the mountain. We hurried it down, being careful of every snow covered rock we stepped on and just like clockwork as soon as we were off the ridge the wind died down, the sun came out, and it was nice again.

After all was well we quickly found a sunny spot to sit and eat lunch while we made jokes back and forth about how crazy that morning was.

Get ready everyone WINTER IS VERY CLOSE!

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Photos

Brandon well prepared
Like all camelbaks, Brandon's leaked all over so he decided to take the kitchen sink.

Dastardly Wind
You can see the snow blowing over the ridge...it was intense.

Ridge
The blizzard was violent, but it was still nice to be in snow again.

The guys
The last thing we wanted to do was pose for pictures in the blowing snow so this is the best group picture I got.

Ryan
Fearless, Determined, Ready
(before the wind started)

Ryan nighty night
The weather was so nice the night before Ryan decided to sleep outside.

The clear after the storm
After the storm hit us hard it died out and left us with blue skies and a fresh frosting of snow

Our Happy Place
We planned on eating lunch at the summit...but that idea changed very quickly. This is much better Ahhh

Comments

[SarahStar]

Let it snow!
Hi Phil- Thanks for the update. Looked fun despite the wind and snow. It is getting chilly here to and the mountains got a little dusting. May be time to start dusting off those skies! Sarah

[mom]

Blizzard
So happy to read that you GOT OFF THAT MOUNTAIN. I love your adventures but I want you safe EVEN MORE. Love, MOm