Sangre de Cristo Range - Colorado

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Those are mountain goats that can be seen quite often on the slopes and rocks above 10,000'.

On the way down the climbers trail from Challenger Peak, it was very noisy from a stiff upslope wind. As I descended, a nannie and lamb appeared about 30 yards in front of me feeding on grasses. I quickly took position behind a large boulder where only my head and shoulders were visible to the pair.
I stayed motionless as they worked their way uphill, closer to me while feeding.
The wind was blowing toward me so they couldn't smell me and they hadn't seen or heard me.
When the nannie got within 25' of me, she stopped and stared at me even tho the only portion of my body showing was my head and shoulders. I may have been blinking but I don't believe I moved my head at all. Within 10 sec the nannie had somehow informed the lamb of my presents because now they were now both staring at me.
I remained motionless but they knew something was up. They quickly moved up and around my position until they were both above me on the slope. Once they had gained the high ground and a little more distance they returned to feeding on grasses while minding my position.
At that point, I went on my way happy with the small amount of interaction they had allowed me.

AMS is Acute Mountain Sickness
The symptoms I experienced were, wicked headache, loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue.
This picture shows my brother ahead of me on the boulder field with Longs Peak in the background. Despite the fact this area is almost flat we were struggling to continue. (notice his head down and his slumped shoulders)
We were both toast at this point from AMS.
When you go, be sure to leave a couple of days at the beginning of your schedule to acclimate to the altitude.

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Wow, wonderful post. Congratulations on your adventures on the 14Ks. I've never been up one of those. Your post inspires me to head out there one year and try to do one. :) Great pictures!
 
Thanks, Craig. I really like your experince with the goats. It's exactly what I'd do. Nice!

happy trails :)
 
Great trip report. That was a killer juant!

I just did my first 14er on 8/24...Longs Peak. Sorry to hear you just missed the summit. Like I said, it was my first one and the word of the day there for me was "EXPOSURE!" Holy S! That is some killer stuff. I definately want to get some more. I managed to see Blanca and Crestone as I spent some time in the dunes. Beautiful country.
Congrats again and I hope you get back to Longs and finish the rest of them as well.
 
AMS is Acute Mountain Sickness
The symptoms I experienced were, wicked headache, loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue.
This picture shows my brother ahead of me on the boulder field with Longs Peak in the background. Despite the fact this area is almost flat we were struggling to continue. (notice his head down and his slumped shoulders)
We were both toast at this point from AMS.
When you go, be sure to leave a couple of days at the beginning of your schedule to acclimate to the altitude.

2392027490097082051S500x500Q85.jpg

Nice shot of the Boulder Field with Long's east face (the Diamond) in the background (the top half or so, anyway). Did you get AMS on Longs before you headed to the Sangre's, or was Longs a different trip?
 
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Congrats again and I hope you get back to Longs and finish the rest of them as well.

Nice shot of the Boulder Field with Long's east face (the Diamond) in the background (the top half or so, anyway). Did you get AMS on Longs before you headed to the Sangre's, or was Longs a different trip?

This was a separate trip I did on the 4th of July weekend, this year.
Flew in on Saturday, climbed Longs on Sunday and flew out on Monday.
The original plan was to sleep at the TH to help acclimatize but that didn’t work out.
I can give you all kinds of (good :rolleyes:) reasons for the attempt but the bottom line was, it was a sketchy attempt at best. At least I was smart enough not to get hurt.
On the positive side, I learned a lot about how my body reacts under those conditions.
The negative side is, it cost me about $1200 and I have to go back and do it again. :)

I can tell you that altitude sickness sucks when your 8 miles up a mountain and you just want to lay down and make it all go away. :(
 
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