A Grumpy Day on Mount Lindsey

I didn’t like Mount Lindsey and it didn’t like me either.

After Crestone Needle we’d backpacked down the South Colony Lakes Road in a rush to be able to drive & find a campsite near the Lily Lake trailhead before it got dark. We did make it with daylight to spare, but just so. We got a nice drive-in site and pitched camp in the sprinkling rain.

I originally planned to stay up at South Colony Lakes and climb Humbolt. My personal rule is to have at least one partner for a class 3 scramble, and two for class 4. Since I could do Humbolt (class 2) on my own, I decided to switch and climb the class 3 Lindsey with Georgia & H while they were with me on this trip.

From the start the climb felt off. The 03:30 wake-up seemed unusually early. For some reason I just didn’t feel like climbing that day. There are some mountains that feel like a job, and Lindsey was one. And like a job, you just push through, however irritated.

I was annoyed by the route. At first flat, flat, flat. Then steep, steep, steep. Then too flat, then too steep.

I was annoyed by the rock. Instead of Crestone Needle’s steep pitch with great holds, Lindsey felt like just trying to walk over boulders. For. Ever.

The sun annoyed me. Climbing the NE ridge with the sun directly in the SW so that no hat adjustment could block it.

My GPS battery died — annoyed by that too.

The summit was pleasant enough, but there were enough clouds to hurry us back down. We passed a surprising number of people who were going up as we descended. They weren’t wearing helmets. Annoying.

Then as a reward for all my irritation, my feet went out from under me on a steep dirt-covered part of the path and I slipped & landed on my butt. It had happened a number of times in the past, only this time I pulled my right hand up and saw my middle finger bent about 30° from straight. I dislocated a finger. I pulled, popped it back into place, and wrapped it to keep the swelling down. Fan. Tas. Tic.

The rest was unremarkable, if a bit painful. The rain only came after we’d broken camp and were heading out on the road.

I do wish that I would have liked it. The Upper Huerfano River Basin was quite pretty and you can’t get a better view of the Blanca Group. And the scramble wasn’t all that bad. But I didn’t like Mount Lindsey, giving it the finger all day. And in return Lindsey took my finger, bent it, and told me not to come back. Harsh, but fair.

Mount Lindsey via Northeast Ridge

• When: 31 Aug 2019
• Distance: 8.6 mi RT
• Total Elevation: 3,492′
• Total Time: 8:30 hrs
• Colo 14er Rank: #42
• Difficulty: class 3