Wednesday morning I climbed to the summit of Kendall Mountain, a peak that rises to 13,066 feet, towering directly over the small mountain town of Silverton, Colorado. When sitting in most homes and shops in town, this mountain fills most of the entire view looking out the window. When looking at Kendall you can’t help but notice the unique “Y” shaped avalanche chute on the face of the mountain facing town. Being a runner and someone who enjoys climbing mountains, when looking at Kendall, I can’t help but wonder how fast I can get up to the top and furthermore how fast someone has EVER gotten to the top. I’m not the only one to ponder this question and the idea of climbing mountains fast certainly isn’t a new one. The history of speed ascents (some may refer to an FKT or “fastest known time”) on Kendall dates way back to 1908 and quite a history it is.
The view of Silverton from the Avalanche Chute
It was August 1908 and Silverton was a mining boom town. A conversation about mountain climbing between a saloon owner and another man in town moved towards Kendall. The one man said he knew a man who could ascend and descend the mountain in an hour and a half. A wager was made ($200) and local 53 year old miner Neil McQuieg was recruited to attempt the feat. He climbed straight up the face of the mountain (presumably up the avalanche chute) and made it to the top in one hour seven minutes and 40 seconds. He blasted himself back to town to finish in one hour thirty-one minutes 42 seconds. Although the bet was lost, it was quite an achievement and word spread through town like wildfire. Labor Day of that year another miner, Myron McWright who was 21 years old successfully lowered that mark to 1 hour 27 minutes 25 seconds. Not satisfied with his time, Myron attempted to lower his time just 4 days later on a rainy afternoon after drinking at a saloon and accepting a wager for $60.
Just the beginning
He failed to return to town by nightfall and a rescue party found his body near the summit. He either fell off a cliff on his descent or succumbed to the elements (it was snowing at the top of the mountain). This quickly snuffed any known attempts at speed climbing Kendall until local Ouray mountain runner Rick Trujillo shattered the existing record in 1975 by running a 1:23:07 which still stands today. Inspired by Trujillo’s run and his own running of the Pike’s Peak Marathon, Bill Corwin came up with an idea for an annual run up Kendall (but instead using the road and a minor scramble to the peak at the top). Thus the Kendall Mountain Run was born in 1978 and has been held each year since.
Silverton & the chute
After reading about the history of speed climbs on Kendall up the avalanche chute and now taking over the direction of the Kendall Mountain Run, I am intrigued to see what I can do on the mountain. I climbed the chute last summer several times, just to get my bearings on the lay of the land. The chute runs up to tree line and is relentless. I’m talking hands on knees hiking, sections where I’m literally using trees and branches to pull myself upwards. Within minutes I’m already high above town and focused on my breathing and an efficient rhythm. At the “Y” there is the choice to go left or right (I haven’t figured out the quickest or most efficient route quite yet), this time I go left and find a fairly easy path up along the trees up to tree line. Above tree line is where the really technical scrambling begins. Giant boulder fields, loose scree and cliffs litter the landscape above 12,000 feet. I slowly but methodically make my way up a large boulder field to a ridge on the left side of the peak which I have used before with success. The boulder field isn’t settled well and each step is potentially unstable. I reach the ridge in about 45 minutes and think I will have no problem going under an hour until I reach false summit after false summit.
Boulder field near treeline
Unstable boulder & scree field
My lungs are screaming and I savor every time I momentarily stop for a sip of my water. Eventually I catch sight of the radio towers on top of the lower summit and make the final grunt to them. It’s about another minute over a couple of snow fields to the actual summit of Kendall (where the Kendall Mountain Run goes to as well) where I stop my watch in 1:05:57 and collapse on the ground. There was no way I was going to go for a speed descent with Hardrock looming in just over 3 weeeks, but I am really stoked on my time. It was almost two minutes faster than McQuieg’s time from 1908. I think with a little better route selection and some more acclimation I can set my sights on breaking an hour. Then to work on the descent which I think will be the toughest part!
On the top!
Looking down on Silverton from the top of Kendall
Final snowfield at the top
Radio equipment near the top