Martha Couloir

April 27, 2019

Mt. Lady Washington 13,281’

Martha Couloir

The list on the fridge has had Martha on it and for several years now but we have for one reason or another – mostly wind – changed plans and not attempted this climb in Rocky Mountain National Park. This weekend, we decided early in the week and said to heck with the wind. Laura, Brian and I left his house in Loveland at 5 am and arrived at the Long’s Peak trailhead just an hour later. Gearing up and heading out, we knew that wind would be a factor today. The approach miles through the forest weren’t too bad, but as we neared tree line, we could tell that we were in for a treat of snow blasting and heavy winds.

As we proceeded toward the Long’s cirque and Chasm Lake around 9:30am, we passed at least five parties who were already turning back and bailing. We decided differently and put on an extra layer and crampons to head for the base of the steep and narrow couloir. I was constantly distracted away from our objective. The diamond was gleaming and I was continually eyeing the approach and the line up the 1000' wall Laura and I are planning to climb in just a few months. Working our way up the snow apron and to the constriction of Martha, I could see that the ice was not really ice. It was more like mush. I guess that’s the trade-off you get for beautiful warm and sunny days in the mountains.

We were okay with the conditions and continued through the first mixed ice and rock section before roping up. I lead through the following 200’ placing just one piece of protection in the rock as I proceeded upward and set a belay to bring Laura and Brian up through the difficulties. 

As they made their way, the wind continued to blow up the couloir ferociously, sometimes limiting my visibility to just a few feet due to the blowing snow. At the belay, we collected ourselves and proceed up the final few hundred feet to the summit of Mt. Lady Washington around 1:15 pm.

The wind was such that I could not stand on the summit without being knocked down. We guessed 60 mph gusts and quickly retreated off the northeast side of the mountains ridge to respite from the wind.
The hike out was slushy and the miles passed quickly as we all reminisced about the many times each of us had been to the area and climbed the surrounding mountains. 9 hours after we had started we were once again back at the car. We were all thankful for a great day in the mountains and warm temperatures despite the high winds. We had a great time and said “These are the days you remember” not because of the climb but because of the experience!