SAGUACHE COUNTY — Colorado is blessed with some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world. The local Sangre de Cristo Mountains constantly remind us of this gift that we experience and share with visitors from around the globe.
The mountains near Crestone have several 14,000-foot peaks that are challenging to climb and are considered world-class hikes and climbs.
Crestone resident Adam Kinney, a long-time admirer of the Sangre Range, embarked on an adventure on the weekend of September 7-8. Alongside Pete Van Horn, he conquered Challenger Point, a 14er that had long been on his bucket list.
Kinney is a business owner, member of the Crestone Board of Trustees, and Mayor Pro Tem. He said he and Van Horn are "lovers and appreciators of our natural surroundings here in Crestone."
For over 20 years, Kinney has gazed at the peaks yet has never summited one. Finally, on Sept. 8, he summited his first 14,000-foot mountain, Challenger Point with Van Horn.
The ascent of Challenger starts at the Willow Lake Trail No. 865 trailhead at the end of Forest Road 949, about two miles from downtown Crestone.
Many people who climb Challenger and nearby Kit Carson hike the 4.5 miles up to a popular backpacking area near Willow Lake, which is at an elevation of 11,580. Most climbers spend a night at this base camp and make their final ascent early the following day. The hike to the lake is spectacular and affords people a riot of wildflower colors in summer and aspen in the fall. As of last weekend, the aspen are beginning to turn, and hikers will be treated to this in the next several weeks. The three-hour-plus hike to the lake is strenuous, with a gain in elevation of about 2,000 feet.
Above an elevation of about 11,500, the trees start to disappear, and the minute mountain plants of the Alpine tundra dot the landscape.
The gear required to make the ascent is minimal; Kinney said his pack weighed a light 28 pounds. "I was looking for the mix of having a lightweight pack and being comfortable sleeping."
After spending a night under the stars at base camp, the following morning at first light, the duo began their ascent of Challenger, a climb of about an additional 3,000 vertical feet. The steep and arduous climb lasted about three hours.
Kinney shared his experience of summiting Challenger with the Valley Courier, and here are some of the highlights of that conversation.
Regarding being at the summit, Kinney said, "I couldn't believe how calm and quiet it was. I was expecting extreme winds. We were drenched in sweat; I expected to be cold and wind-chilled. It was so calm and so quiet, serene.
"I couldn't comprehend how high up we would be; looking down on the [San Luis] Valley, we could see the Wet Mountain Valley to the east. It felt like being in an airplane, but we were perfectly still, calm, and on top of the world.
"One of the most enjoyable aspects were the people on the summit. I was the least fit person on the mountain that day. There were a few people who had started at the trailhead and summited. They passed me on the way up; they had hiked an additional 4.7 miles or so and were going that much faster. We met many amazing people who were all equally encouraging; they saw me practically crawling up the mountain and would say, "Hey, you are crushing this, keep going, you are almost there."
"On the summit, I could look over and see Kit Carson Mountain, see it in detail, and see how people get to it from Challenger. It was great to see them climbing from Challenger over to Kit Carson. [Many people summit both peaks on the same day.]
"Pete was fit and competent to do the hike, and his patience and graciousness were comforting and calming. He didn't rush me at all. He told me this was a beautiful day; we had plenty of time, no rush. His being gracious was meaningful and helped me get up there. For me, it wasn't easy to get oxygen and my out-of-shape 47-year-old body didn't help. It has been twenty years since I got up to even 13,000 feet.
"I was surprised at how beautiful and wonderful it was to be up there."
Kinney said he saw pikas, bighorn sheep, and deer on the expedition.
Kinney said that he experienced nausea and vertigo while making the last third of a mile, and that dissipated on the summit. "I would say the degree of awe of seeing the Valley from that perspective and feeling accomplished reinvigorated me. It even grounded me.
"The whole time I have lived here and looking up at these mountains, I've never been able to know the names of all the peaks that are so much a representation of Crestone. Once I've been to a place, I feel differently about it. Now I know which peak is which. This was really meaningful to me to be up there and know this is Challenger, Kit Carson, and those are the Crestone Needle. I have not been down on the T Road driving into Crestone, but I'm excited to look up and know I've been there.
"At different times in my life, I've been connected to prayer, and over the last ten years, I've been so invested in making a place for my family that I've drifted away from my connection to prayer. On the final 1,500 feet of elevation gain, it was so steep and so hard I started praying again. This was a different version of prayer than I've ever had access to, and it was a sweet opportunity to connect with the mountain, the Earth, and my mother, my birth mother. I really needed that. The level of the authenticity of my prayer was so different because of the physical challenge. I was the physical exertion was also a detox.
"When I came down, I was so exhausted, I could barely walk, and my wife of sixteen years said there was something different in my eyes — a light in my eyes."
Regarding time in the mountains, Kinney said, "For so many of us, this is a way to treat the potential for depression or anxiety that many of us experience in our daily grind. I can't believe how lucky we are to live here."
