With stellar weather in the high country Jim, EJ and I wanted to climb a big mountain. The avalanche conditions severely limited our options but we ultimately decided on climbing North Star Mountain along it’s East Ridge route. North Star Mountain is a large peak between two of Colorado’s 14er’s and though we had all seen the peak on numerous occasions we had never climbed it until today. We started from the Hoosier Pass at 7:45 A.M. and made steady progress up the east shoulder of the mountain. The weather was cloudy with slight winds kicking up every now and then. We reached the 1.3 mile long ridge about 2 hours after we left the trailhead and continued along the serrated ridge for another two hours to the summit. The ridge was exposed in spots but what made progress difficult was the powdery snow (with each step we took along the ridge we would sink in the snow 6”-12”).We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the summit and trudged back down to the trailhead for a 7:45 minute round trip. Our time was pretty good but I was personally more tired than I can remember being in a long time! 

Wes & Jim Approaching the East Ridge

Wes Arrives at the East Ridge

Jim Climbs the East Ridge

EJ Climbs the East Ridge

EJ & Jim Descend the East Ridge

EJ & Jim at the Summit

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