As soon as I heard we were going on a ski trip to Copper Mountain, I knew that I was going to have to hit at least one Colorado 14er while I was out there. Being that close to the mountains was just too tempting. Since I was going to be climbing solo, and I didn't have a lot of extra space in my luggage for gear, I decided to go for something not too difficult. I have a copy of Dawson's guide to 14ers and it recommended Quandary Peak as a good intro level winter 14er. It was also less than an hour drive from our condo to the trailhead, so it was the perfect choice.
After an entire week of cold, windy, cloudy weather, the very last day of the trip, the day I planned to attempt Quandary, turned out to be absolutely gorgeous weather. Crystal clear skies all day long. The climb itself was not too difficult, but climbing at that altitude is always a workout.
The summit views were spectacular, I almost didn't want to leave. I met up with one other climber near the summit, but other than that, we had the mountain to ourselves. Really surprising that with such easy access there weren't huge crowds, but I guess it was my lucky day.
I've got a more detailed trip report up on SummitPost, for those who are interested.
I also posted my pictures on Flickr.
