Shawn, Mandi, and Kali

Mt. Sherman (August 2009) was my second 14,000 foot summit and was much easier then Mt. Elbert. The total elevation gain was around 2,500 feet and it only took about 3 hours to reach the summit. Still, any hike at that altitude is somewhat difficult and one must pay close attention to weather when hiking that far above treeline because there is no shelter from storms. On average, about 3 people are killed and 13 injured each year in Colorado from lightning strikes.

This is the view of the Iowa Gulch which is the first climb of the mountain.

From the top of the saddle, this is looking West toward Mt. Elbert & Mt. Massive.

A small snowfield near the summit. Even though it was August it was still cold at that altitude.

Climbing the ridge spine toward the summit. It's kind of narrow in spots.

My shadow shows the steepness off the trail. Parts of the trail are very exposed with a steep drop off the mountain.

Just a reference pic to put the altitude of the summit in perspective. The gray area is actually the trail head parking area. Click to enlarge and you'll notice a very small dot in the gray area which is a car at the trail head.

GPS reading from the summit. It was around 45F with a very strong wind gusting into the 30 MPH range.

View near the parking area looking toward the town of Leadville, CO. It's a beautiful place.