Originally, this trip had four members, but due to scheduling changes and trying to doge adverse weather systems it was reduced to two. The road to the trailhead was marked well directly in the center of the town of Alma. We headed up the road passing a few houses along the way with hard-packed snowy roads all the way there. Then we reached a section of road were apparently the snow plows decided to plow in the last house on the road with a 15ft bank while simultaneously blocking the only road to the trailhead. This little hiccup added 6 miles round trip to the hike which was already 8 miles to start out with. To add to this, my partner in crime decided to bring snowshoes whose only method of securing it to the user’s foot would best be described as a single, adjustable rubber strap. This can best be described by imagining buying yourself a pair of flip-flops two sizes too big. It goes without saying…well yeah it goes without saying. But, for the astute reader, one may notice from the pictures that he is still carrying his snowflops (trademark pending) all the way to the top. I honestly have no idea why he did this. Anyway, we walk along the road to the trail through this beautifully majestic valley, which ends at an almost dead center view of the summit. It was a fairly intimidating site, Mt. Democrat and the surrounding 14ers are much less climbed than some of the more popular ones in the area and, on a Tuesday in March we were completely on our own. We could see the wind whipping at the top, creating its own micro-weather system. We trudged on. Passing an old mine building and cabin on the way to the trailhead. We made the decision that day to climb Mt. Democrat, partly because it was more snow covered and generally badass looking and partly because it was a shorter hike. Now let me add a note here, our decision may not have been the best due to the moderate avalanche danger that day, but like fools we thought, “Nah we’re good,” and carried on. We decided to take the steepest side of the mountain for our summit route; it was a relatively thinner snow pack with scree field rocks sticking out from it. This, at least in our inexperienced minds, meant that it was less likely to slip on us. It was grueling; I had spikes on my snowshoes which allowed me to hike up the snow with little problems. My associate on the other hand had problems; every step there was a chance he would slip, careening down the mountain face being shredded into a fine pile of man-bacon on the way down. A couple of times I had to assist him on the more exposed areas. We pushed to the top, giving all the strength we had left into getting over that ridge. We made it, ha, yes. What a great view, to south you could see where we had come from, to the west you could see the long expanse of snowcapped mountains stretch on for miles; and to the north you can see…oh, oh no. It was a false summit. We were devastated. I made a wind blocker in the side of the mountain and we pouted for a good 30 minutes. Eating and drinking, not saying a word to each other. We didn’t quit, we left our packs and trudged up the last 400 vertical feet to the summit, took some nectar profile pics, and headed down; the short way down. We galloped, pranced, frolicked and slid our way back down; trying to avoid avalanche prone spots as much as possible. We got back to the car as the sun dived behind the mountains. But we weren’t done, not yet. Like (insert a “we were tired metaphor here”) we slung our gear into the car and like old men we sighed as we sat in the car. I fished for my keys; all I found was partially melted snow. I fished again, searched, scavenged; this wasn’t good. I tore apart my backpack, clothing and every nook and cranny in the car. I couldn’t find those damn keys. They must have fallen out. I am not going back to find them. I’d rather walk back to town. Grumpy in the passenger seat wasn’t all that happy with me and neither of us were ghetto enough to know how to jump a car. To add to this we had no cell service. So, thanks to the wonders of manual jeeps, I was able to coast down the road back to the town of Alma where I then tried to park it near a snow bank. But like a metaphor for my life, the steering locked up and sent us into it at a 45 degree angle. Not suspicious at all. Finally cell service, and after a few choice words my mommy agreed to drive 3 hours to give us the spare key. On the upside we ate at a cozy restaurant called South Park Saloon which had great pizza and very nice staff. But honestly, anything edible would have tasted great at that point.

Things I learned:

1.      Camelbacks freeze on a winter 14er trip and then you have to mooch off others

2.      Don’t confuse snowshoes with snowflops

3.      Never trust a summit

4.      Secure your keys

5.      Always have a spare key somewhere in your car

6.      14ers are always more beautiful in winter

Our trip began with everyone meeting up to load all of our gear into my friend Tanner's vehicle. We then set off on the road trip to Kevin's home in Evergreen Colorado where we would spend the night before the hike. Along the way we made a stop at Red Rocks Amphitheater.  Then we proceeded onto to Kevin's house where we set to deciding what was for dinner by creating Leist. The meal was of epic proportions and by far one of the best meals I have had while away at College. What followed were just some college guys goofing around: games of pool, listening to music, and playing some GTA to unwind before the next day's main event. An early wake up call 5:40 AM and another college meal consisting of "Sugar" milk with bacon and eggs was a great way to start the day. Final gear preparations were made and then we began the drive to Quandary. Once we arrived most everyone stripped down to just pants and t-shirts and we began. The hike was fairly easy through the trees, but it was another beautiful hike so far. Then the real work began as we left the shelter of the trees behind. The wind picked up as we ascended the mountains. It switched up as the 3/5's part of the title began as Luke and Tanner pulled away from the "crippled crew"; that included: Tom, Kevin, and myself. The hike began to become complicated with: myself having trouble catching my breath possible altitude sickness, Tom still recovering from a knee injury having his left leg tire out, and Kevin almost getting frostbite on his hands; All of the preceding occurring at some elevation above 13,000 feet. After one of our breaks Luke and Tanner who had reached the Summit descended and meet back up with us. We then made the difficult decision to take some photos and descend to live another day. My first ever lose to the outdoors. We then began our descent which provided better views due to the fact we were no longer just looking at the mountain. Go in a few more photos and finally after another 2 hours made it back to the vehicle and drove back to Kevin's house. His awesome parents brought us some pizza for dinner. All in all it was a great trip and experience and has taught me to pack lighter and train harder for any future 14er attempts.  3/8-3/9/2014

Likability 9.5/10 Only slighted for how much the trail winds through the trees. Otherwise the views are amazing and trail is relatively safe from avalanches.