KC -
I had heard of you as a mountain climber long before I heard of you as an elk hunter.
I'm guessing that at some time you probably used the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge to access some of those 13K and 14K peaks in the San Juans that are difficult to reach any other way. From most of those peaks (I forget exactly which ones) you can look east toward the Rio Grande Pyramid and notice a notch missing from the solid rock ridge - almost a perfectly square void. On modern maps that notch is labeled as The Window but old timers still know it as the Spanish Window. It is a remarkable landmark and one that few people ever see, let alone pass through, because it is remote and committing. The ridge separates Ute Creek from Weminuche Creek is not easy to cross other than through the Spanish Window. One of the cool things about passing through it is that by default you will descend via a different drainage (Ute or Weiminuche) than you entered and both are epic. Many years ago I stood at the Window, found 2 fully in tact elk skeletons there, but I have yet to pass through it.
Greg:
Yep. I climbed the peaks in Chicago Basin thirty years ago and I've been back a couple of times since then. However, I was concentrating on climbing at the time and didn't really take the time to look at the distant peaks to the east.
I've seen Rio Grande Pyramid and The Window on the map and thought of backpacking up the Weminuche and making these old lungs burn on the summit of the Pyramid. If I get up there, I'll have to pass thru the Spanish window and descend via Ute Creek. I want to see what things look like around Black Lake while I'm at it. I suppose that I'll hitch hike back to Thirty Mile Campground. l probably take five nights for these old legs to make that trip. Wanna come?
KC
