退隱山林: Second ascent of Quadry Peak – BeiBei's first 14ers achievement. (August 14, 2010)

Quandary Peak from CO-9

Quandary Peak from Hoosier Pass

The student fellowship members, led by the son-in-law Zifeng, decided to go on vacation and hiking in Breckenridge. The trip was planned by Nathan, an American student. Nathan, a U.S. military officer, was recommended by his unit to study at the University of Denver. He loves hiking, so we arranged to climb Quandary Peak, the closest 14ers mountain to Breckenridge. I had climbed this mountain four years ago with my hiking buddy George (Quandary Peak Climbing Registration (August 5, 2006), but we encountered dense fog when we reached the summit. This time, the weather forecast was good, so we should be able to enjoy the beautiful views from the top.

Quandary Peak, at 14,265 feet (4,348 meters), is the highest mountain in the Tenmile Range (a mountain range extending north of the Mosquito Range) and ranks 13th among Colorado's 14ers. It is located about 8 miles southwest of the ski resort of Breckenridge. Its traditional trailhead, East Ridge, is located about 1 mile north of Hoosier Pass, next to CO 9. Whether starting from Denver via I-70 to Frisco and then south on CO-9, or via US... Highway 285 is only about 90 miles north of Fairplay. If started from the traditional East Ridge trailhead, this mountain is a Class 1 climb, making it an easily accessible 14ers.

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Climbing Mountain: Quandary Peak (14,265 ft/4,348 m)

Trailhead: Quandary Peak Trailhead (10,850 ft/3,307 m)

Elevation Gain: 3,450 ft/1,052 m

Distance: 6.75 miles/10.8 km (round trip)

Difficulty Level: Class 1

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The student fellowship members, except for Nathan, were all international students from mainland China—four men and four women, a total of eight people. None of them had any experience climbing high mountains, which was a bit worrying. Besides the eight students, Nathan, my daughter, and my family of four made a total of 14 people. We arrived at the trailhead at 6:35 AM. After a short preparation, we set off as a group. The mainland students were all chatting and laughing; some of them didn't even know what "14ers" meant, so they showed no fear. I was worried about Beibei, who had just turned seven. This was his first real high-altitude climb—nearly 11 kilometers round trip, with an elevation gain of nearly 1100 meters! High altitude! Could he handle it? Luckily, I had a plan: we'd climb as much as we could, and if we couldn't, we'd turn back.

06:43 Departed from the parking area. There were many hikers; the car was still some distance from the trailhead.

06:47 Trailhead, a group photo.

Trailhead

The hiking trail begins by zigzagging up through a pine forest. It's a bit chilly because there's no sunlight and it winds through the woods.

Quandary's East Ridge Trail

07:14 We climbed to a clearing, at an altitude of approximately 11,300 feet. From the clearing, we could see North Star Mountain to the south.

Mount Lincoln from Quandary's East Ridge Trail

Quandary's East Ridge Trail

At 7:32 AM, we arrived at a flat, open area, close to the forest line. Looking west, the entire Quandary came into view, at an elevation of approximately 11,600 feet. Looking north, we could see the Grays Peak and Torreys Peak that we had climbed the previous week. Afterward, a wide trail continued southwest along the flat ridge, offering excellent views.

Quandary Peak from It's East Ridge Trail

North Star Mt. from Quandary's East Ridge Trail

At 7:48 AM, we exited the forest line at an elevation of approximately 12,000 feet. The trail winds along the south slope of the Quandary, with Blue Lakes to the lower left, and North Star Mountain to the left of the lakes.

North Star Mt. & Blue Lake from Quandary's East Ridge Trail

Next came a slightly steeper stone staircase. Beibei and I slowly climbed the steps, while Doudou and his father went ahead, and my daughter accompanied her mother-in-law on a leisurely stroll. My mother-in-law didn't want to climb to the top; she would just walk as far as she could. The mainland students were doing well so far, while Nathan kept an eye on the students' situation.

Climbing the east ridge

Looking down Hoosier Pass from Quandary

At 08:29, the trail ascends to the upper right ridgeline, offering a northward view of Grays Peak and Torreys Peak, at an elevation of approximately 12,800 feet. The trail then continues westward along the ridgeline.

Looking down the East ridge of Quandary

Have a great view

Front Range from Quandary Trail, Grays and Torreys are the predominate peaks

Hikers take a rest

At 09:16, we reached a high point on the ridgeline, which we called "Fake Hill." The elevation here is 13,150 feet, and the main peak is about a mile directly in front of us. We had walked about 3 miles from the trailhead to here. DouDou, ZiFeng, and a few other students had already rested here. YiRu caught up later, took a short break, ate some snacks, and continued on our way.

My daughter's family member

Quandary Peak's summit pyramid

09:30 Continue onward towards the main peak, there is a fairly long, flat section of Boulderfield.

Jacob making his way up to Quandary summit

At 9:40 AM, we arrived at the foot of the main peak and began our ascent. This section was steep and difficult; I wondered if Beibei could handle it. Doudou and his dad were already ahead, so it seemed he would have no problem reaching the summit. Yiru was kept behind by Beibei, not allowed to overtake.

A lot hikers on the way up to Quandary summit

View to NE from Quandary

Looking down at the 13,150-meter peak, waves of people continued to surge upwards. Beibei was a little tired at this point, so I tried to provoke him, "Beibei, let's go down the mountain, Grandpa is a little tired!" "No, I want to reach the top. Mom is slower than me, and she'll be punished by sleeping on the floor tonight."

Looking down point 13,150'

Jacob on the way below Quandary summit

Ruth ascending Quandary Peak

At 11:42, after a bit of coaxing and cajoling, Beibei finally reached the high point before the summit, at an altitude of 14,100 feet. After that, the slope became gentler and easier to walk. With only a few minutes of gentle slope left to the top, Beibei's spirits lifted as she saw the summit in sight.

Near the summit of Quandary

At 11:45, we reached the summit of Quandary Peak, 14,265 feet (4,348 meters) above sea level. It took us five hours, almost the same round trip as before. Dou Dou and Zi Feng were already lying flat on the sheltered rocks at the summit. Yi Ru arrived shortly after, and it was a rare occasion for the whole family to reach the summit of 14ers together. The summit of Quandary Peak is a long, narrow, east-west oriented rocky terrain. At the highest point, there are two US Coast & Geodetic Survey Reference Marks (functioning similarly to triangulation points in Taiwan).

The summit of Quandary Peak

Summit mark

My daughter's family member & Me on the summit of Quandary Peak

Jacob & Me on the summit of Quandary Peak

Ruth & Jacob on the summit of Quandary Peak

Ruth、Jacob & Me on the summit of Quandary Peak

Nathan & Me on the summit of Quandary Peak

On the summit of Quandary Peak

The view from the summit today is exceptional, overlooking Blue Lake to the south, with North Star Mountain (a 13ers mountain) to its south, and further south are four 14ers: Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Bross, and Mt. Democrat.

Decalibron's Panorama from Quandary's summit

To the west, the first and second highest peaks in Colorado, Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, are visible in the Sawatch Range, and other peaks such as La Plata Peak and Mount of the Holly Cross are also clearly visible.

Quandarys west ridge route seen from the summit

Mount Elbert from Quandary's summit

Massive Mt. from the summit of Quandary Peak

La Plata Peak from the summit of Quandary Peak

Mount of the Holly Cross from the summit of Quandary Peak

To the north, the Tenmile Range stretches out, with the distant Grays Peak and Torrys Peak towering prominently in the distance.

View to the northwest from the summit of Quandary Peak

At 12:20, we rested on the mountaintop for more than half an hour before descending.

Hikers making their way down from Quandary summit

Overlook Hoosier Pass & South Park from Quandary

At 14:17, Beibei was half-pulled and half-supported down to the foot of the main peak. The downhill path, less than a mile long, took two hours. This was partly because Beibei was tired, and partly because the steep scree slope was indeed difficult to walk. Two female students from mainland China were clearly lagging behind, one of whom seemed to have a fear of heights. Yiru took the initiative to go and take care of her. Beibei and I, on the other hand, went ahead and started walking.

Looking back on Quandary Peak's summit pyramid

Jacob making his way down from Quandary summit

At 2:28 PM, descending the 13,150-meter peak, Beibei began asking:

"Grandpa, how much longer? I'm tired, really!"

"Grandpa, I need to get to the car quickly!"

"Grandpa, let's rest for a bit, I'm really tired!"

"Grandpa, can you carry me for just a little while, just a little bit!"

Thankfully, Beibei was only complaining of being tired; he was still struggling to move forward. Each rest lasted less than two minutes before he stood up on his own, saying, "Let's go, Grandpa!" It really broke my heart to hear that! On the more difficult terrain, I would carry him two or three steps, and he would happily say thank you. Along the way, I tried to keep him occupied with interesting topics to distract him from his fatigue.

16:06 Finally reached the forest trail. The path became easier once inside the forest. I suddenly remembered the word chain game that DouDou, BeiBei, and XiangXiang used to play in Taiwan. From then on, we used words like "forest," "trees," and "timber"... interspersed with laughter, shouts, and cheers. The forest became our domain, the two of us grandparents and grandchildren. YiRu and the two mainland female students were long gone.

17:05 Amidst shouts and cheers, we finally returned to the trailhead. The group ahead had already returned to their rented accommodation. BeiBei and I waited for almost half an hour before YiRu and the two mainland students came down the mountain. It was a tough but meaningful day. I want to say, "DouDou, BeiBei, Grandpa is so proud of you two brothers!"