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Rich Davidson Memorial Climb, San Luis Peak

October 4-5, 1997

Leader and Author: Gary Clark

Trip Participants: Gary Clark, Lynn Clark, Norman Hunter, James Hunter, Mark Zander, Matthew Smith, David Rogers

On October 4, 1996, LAM member Rich Davidson died on Annapurna IV when his tent collapsed under the weight of a tremendous snowfall. This climb was the second annual one in his memory. San Luis Peak, a Colorado 14er, is the last peak Rich climbed before leaving for Nepal, and was one of his favorite 14ers.

We left Los Alamos Saturday morning, to arrive at the Stewart Creek trailhead around 1:30. The hike to camp was quick and easy, and several participants even climbed to nearby saddles in the cirque before bedding down. Our camp was at 12,400' on Stewart Creek. From here you can see a subsidiary summit of San Luis, but not the peak itself.

Mark Zander fished in some of the extensive beaver ponds on lower Stewart Creek, and brought some trout up to camp. He ate them all himself.

In the morning, an hour and a half was sufficient to put us all on the summit, where we found unseasonably warm and calm conditions. Views are extensive from this centrally-located fourteener, and we spent quite a while on the summit. We toasted Rich Davidson, took the usual summit shots, then descended via two different routes. We broke camp and got back to the cars about 1:15, making a reasonably early return to Los Alamos possible.

The aspen were still nice, but about 2/3 of the trees are now completely bare. This is as late as one would want to go to see fall colors in Central Colorado.

Particularly given the two-day itinerary and the nice weather, we all agreed this was the easiest fourteener we had done. The remote location and fairly long approach kept the crowds down, though - we saw only 5 other people in two days, and none else camped overnight.
 


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