Access from Boulder, CO:
Take CO 9 south (Breckenridge exit) off of I-70.
Turn west onto County Road 850 (Blue Lakes Road) 8 miles south of Breckenridge.
Drive as far as possible.
Fletcher Peak:
Alek, Luke, and I skinned up Blue Lakes Road and up the narrow hanging valley southwest of Quandary Peak to the Mount Fletcher-Quandary Peak saddle. Alek skied down from here. Luke and I continued up to Mount Fletcher‘s summit (13,951‘). We glissed the south face from the summit back to the Fletcher-Quandary saddle. The snow was heavy powder and the slope angle was about 30 degrees.
Elevation: ~700‘
Quandary Peak:
Luke and I continued up Quandary‘s west ridge (Class 3) to the summit (14,265‘). This was more difficult than when I climbed it on July 14, 2004 due to snow, AT boots and skis. We glissed down the south-facing Cristo Couloir from the summit. The steepest section approached 45 degrees, but was consistently 35-40 degrees. The snow was icy up top, but soon became good dust on crust, then soft and wet, but fully supportive.
Elevation: ~3,385‘
Total Elevation: ~4,085‘
Cristo Couloir. Photo: Luke Kroiss
Skiing Cristo Couloir. Skier: Brian Kalet. Photo: Luke Kroiss
Annotated Map
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