An Alpine Trifecta
Mts. Chapin, Chiquita, and Ypsilon in RMNP
July 12, 2008
Now that the training is over and the race has been run, I can enjoy some mellow days in the mountains! Eric, Kevin, and I saddled up and headed up to the Mummy Range for some peak bagging. The Mummy Range has been on my list for a long time now and yet I've never really ventured in there. The full "Mummy Mania" traverse of 5-8 peaks (Chapin, Chiquita, Ypsilon, Fairchild, Hagues, both Rowes, and Mummy) is a pretty tall order, but we planned to the first three in the less-well-known CCY traverse.
 Kevin and I excited about Mt. Chapin (photo by Eric) |
 Quintessential summer! |
The day was beautiful and the weather mild as we drove up Old Fall River Road and started from the Chapin Pass TH at 11,000'. After a mile in the nice forest, we broke into the open and began slabbing across the west face of the lumpy Mt. Chapin. Reaching the Chapin/Chiquita saddle, we turned right and climbed 500' to the summit of Chapin and took in the fantastic views of Trail Ridge, Sundance Mountain, and points south. Then back to the saddle for the grueling 1000' climb up to Chiquita. After a quick bite, we dropped a bit to another saddle and then tackled a shorter climb up Ypsilon.
 Atop the spectacular east face of Ypsilon |
From the west, Ypsilon doesn't look like much. I was expecting a similar experience as we'd had on the previous summits; dozens of marmots, scattered rocks, decent wildflowers, great views, and a nice time spent at 13,000'. Thus I was utterly unprepared for the stupendous and sudden drop-off on the east side of the summit ridge! Suddenly, there was nothing but 2000' of air and steep rock and snow between me and the Spectacle Lakes down below! A wicked cornice guarded the top of both branches of the Y-Couloir. Fatigue forgotten, we scampered around taking photos and gaping before meandering over to the true summit for a second lunch.
 The Spectacle Lakes and Blitzen Ridge (photo by Eric). |
 Eric descends west off the summit of Ypsilon toward Desolation Peak |
The rest of the Mummy Range was Right There and I was sorely tempted to just keep going and bag a few more peaks. The weather was still good and, in fact, visibility was improving. But we were looking at a long and mostly-trailless retreat to the car and the point of the day was to be a mellow mountain trip, not a huge peakbagging epic, so we regretfully left the amazing Mt. Ypsilon and made a bee-line for the trailhead, avoiding both intermediate summits on the way out.
All in all, it turned out a bit less mellow than I'd expected with 8.5 miles in seven hours with a stout 3200' of elevation gain over three summits. It was nice to finally explore the Mummy Range and I am eager to return for more next season.
 Adventure Library |  Neithernor |