Trip Report
Carrie and I have been hanging out a lot with Dylan and Nicole since moving to Colorado. Nicole had never done a 14er, and Dylan had never done a Colorado 14er, so we setup plans to climb one close to Montrose.
Our decision was to do Wilson Peak. Dylan and Nicole arrived Friday night. I was a little nervous about the weather forecast for the next day, 60% chance of thunderstorms after noon, so I warned the group. We determined the risk was tolerable, but we would stick with a 4:30am departure and be moving by 6:30am.
We woke to rain in Montrose and decided to head toward Wilson Peak and hope it cleared. The rain dissipated as we headed south and the skies cleared. By the time we reached Ridgway, the skies were clear... game on!
We left the trailhead at exactly 6:30am. We headed up the trail at a decent clip. The air was cool with a slight breeze, almost perfect. We made a decent pace and took a few small breaks to get food into our bodies. At 9:30am we were at the 13,400 foot saddle between Wilson Peak and Gladstone Peak. Clouds were starting to build, but nothing that looked concerning.
Within a 100 feet of starting up the ridge, Carrie and I hit a tricky side hill. We decided to ditch our trekking poles here and grab them on the way back. It took us quite a while to get through this section, but we eventually got on a much easier trail to 13,900 feet.
At 13,900 feet you get a view of the remaining route and the crux. There were people descending as we watched and it looked sketch! However, as we dropped down onto the route, it wasn't as bad looking as I had thought. Then as we started up the route, it was challenging, but not scary at all (good holds throughout).
We soon were on top of Wilson with great views in all directions, especially of Lizard Head. We celebrated briefly, but were concerned with a rapidly developing storm to our west.
As it neared, our thoughts went from "let's not dilly dally" to "let's get our butts moving, NOW". We got through the crux and climbed back up to the false summit. Not long after, the first drops of rain hit. Within a few minutes, we were in a full-on rain/hail/thunder storm. Luckily, the lightning was all cloud to cloud, but that didn't stop us from going as fast as we could.
We eventually reached the saddle near our stashed poles and Dylan was nice enough to have grabbed our them for us, as he and Nicole retreated faster than us.
We finally caught up to the two of them as they waited for us at around 12,900 feet. As I approached, I thanked Dylan for grabbing our trekking poles... he responded something to the effect of "you aren't going to be happy about them". Marmots had destroyed them while they were stashed for that short period of time.
The weather held for the remainder of the hike out, but the storm circled nearby the entire time, ensuring we didn't get too comfortable.
Despite the weather, some sore feet and legs, and marmots destroying our poles; we had a blast on Wilson Peak. Such a rugged area with excellent scenery!
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Hiking Directions
Follow the well-signed Rock of Ages trail. The trail eventually leads to the 13,000 foot saddle between Wilson and Peak 13540. It then traverses east to another saddle between Wilson and Gladstone Peak. The second saddle puts you at 13,400 feet and at the base of the southwest ridge of Wilson Peak. Turn climber's left and start up the ridge.
On the ridge there are cairns and a decent climber's trail until 13,900 feet. At 13,900 feet you reach a false summit. The view of the remaining route will get your attention, as it looks intimidating. Catch your breath and relax, it's not as bad as it looks. Drop down about 50 feet and traverse climber's left to the base of a gully. Climb up the steep gully, which is solid class 3. At the top of the gully it is a short walk on easier terrain to the top of Wilson Peak.
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