Cathedral Lake / Electric Pass, Aspen, CO

We make it up to even with this snowfield, the actual Pass is just to the left above the snowfield which is the second largest.

Alpine Sunflowers are really short up on the tundra

Switchbacks dug out of the side of the mountain, you can look to the side and see how steep it is.

Gotta switchback up to the top

Columbine

Phacilia, Like the song Cecilia, Your breaking  my heart.

If you are looking for a challenge and incredible panoramic views hike the trail to Electric Pass.  Don't even dream of doing this hike until you are acclimated to the elevation!  This strenuous hike, gaining over 3,600 feet in 5.2 miles, climbs to a spectacular viewpoint on a high ridge running between Cathedral Peak and Electric Peak. From the pass, awe inspiring vistas stretch southwest to the high peaks and ridges surrounding Cathedral Lake and ringing the end of the Castle Creek Valley.  The view at the pass of the other side to the northwest is a quintet of 14ers.  North and South Maroon Peak, Snowmass Mountain, Pyramid Peak and Capital Peak pierce the skyline amid a sea of ridges.  Hmm, that is what the book I"m reading says you are suppose to see. We have yet to make it the last few 75 lateral feet or so to the key hole pass.

The whole hike up to the lake is a real bugger. I will not lie it is steep and rocky.  There are about 97 switchbacks, two of which might be considered a reasonable pitch.  The rest of the 95 switchbacks are real breath takers!  The climb does offer excellent views, that is if you have time to take your eyes off of the trail so you don't trip you can peek at them.  Or perhaps you are sucking air so bad you just stop to catch your breath and take a good gander while your heart gets caught up. When it gets bad I always can find a flower or two I need a photo of.

This trail has the beautiful Cathedral Lake, an alpine jewel cradled in a dramatic cirque beneath the rugged pinnacles and crags of Cathedral and Malamute Peaks. We stopped here first to shoot a few pictures before heading up the last 1,600 vertical feet to the top.  The second half of this trail has some very long and well laid out switchbacks.  One switch back was 1/3 mile long and rose 300 feet in elevation.  This whole part of the hike is above tree line and was filled with wild flowers.  The whole southern slope of the mountain was glowing yellow.  To a city dweller one might think that a mountain side filled with yellow was a yard full of dandelions, but really the slope was filled with blooming alpine sunflower.  Many other flowers were in bloom but the primary flower was the big heads of the sunflower.

We made it up to the top of the saddle and pushed on toward the pass.  The clouds were starting to collect and grow in size so we tried to move quickly.  We are climbing up the side of one of the mountains more frequently struck by lightening in Colorado.  The  mountain actually is made of some interesting minerals that attract lightening.  We are headed to the most difficult part of the trail. The last little bit is a scree filled slope at the angle of repose in which a rock just needs a slight hint to begin rolling down the slope.  This means the trail is in constant movement and difficult to maintain.  The trail is pretty much just a suggestion.  

At one point Kathi takes two steps that I think had nothing below her other than air.  I stop at that point for about fifteen minutes unable to imagine how I was going to take those two steps... I have shorter legs, so it was going to be three steps of faith in which I was going to have to perform some air hiking.  Fear is a point of view which changes with experience.  Was it fear that was stopping me, lack of experience, lack of faith or a good dose of common sense...I had my eye on one hiker in front of Kathi, who was baffled about how to negotiate the snow field which was blocking her on the trail.  A bad move in any of the material we were all standing on meant a quick exit down the long steep scree slope down the side of the mountain.  

Kathi wanted to know if I was coming?  My answer was that if the hiker in front of her could manage to make it around the snowfield I would take those three steps of faith,  otherwise I was going to turn back.  Remember I already had my brush with stupid ideas so I felt I needed proof of the possible. While standing there thinking about faith I heard rocks clanking off of Cathedral Mountain so I turned to watch three mountain goats hopping along on the edge of nothing.  Very amazing to watch what little edge the goats need to walk around.  Back to reality, we are 75 lateral feet from the pass, we all turn back.

We returned to to lower saddle and talked with three people who had just made it to the top of the saddle.  They come every year to Colorado for hiking and climbing a 14'er.  They were positive they were at the top of the pass, and had a difficult time believing that the pass really was a tad bit further to the west.  I took out the topo map and pointed out the details, but they were satisfied in believing they were at the pass...Not.

Well whatever you have to tell yourself, we were close again for the second time, but have yet to peer over the top of this pass and see the astonishing sights the books says we should see.

Returned down, down, down the mountain.  Taking our steps carefully as the trail is extraordinarily rocky.  

6 hours 57 minutes 10.4 miles.Total hiked 54.4 miles

Selfies from the saddle, not the pass.

Cathedral Lake

Cathedral Mountain

The slope of the Mountain is covered in sunflowers

hiking up the long reasonable switchbacks up to the pass.  The pass is in the distance, and the grade of these switchbacks feels better to my heart and lungs.