This morning was a chilly start but we expected it to warm up through the day and there was not a cloud in the sky. An ideal day to go to the top of a 14,000 foot peak! Pikes Peak rises 14,110 feet above Colorado Springs. It is one of 50 peaks in Colorado over 14000 feet – in fact it is number 31 (the tallest is only about 14350 feet). There are several ways to the summit; walk, car or railway. We chose the latter. The route by car is interesting, the road is a dirt track that snakes its way up the top the mountain around a series of hairpin bends. Every year there is race held, which is a time trail, to reach the summit. This year the record was broken by a Japanese gentleman who got to the top in just over 10 minutes at an average speed approaching 80 miles an hour. When you see the series of bends that you need to transverse you realise what a feat this was.
The railway that climbs up to the top of Pikes Peak is another example of a cog railway. In fact there are only 3 in the USA and we will have done 2 of them after this trip (we did Mount Washington back in September). The average gradient on Pikes Peak is 25 degree and takes about an hour an half to get to the summit. As with the other cog railways traction comes from a rack and pinion as opposed to rolling along a track as with traditional railway locomotives. In our (well at least Mark's) great wisdom we had not booked our tickets ahead of time and of course when we arrived there were a great number of people there already. It was Veterans Day weekend and lots of schools were closed for a long weekend and of course and this being a gloriously clear day the crowds had turned out – and unlike us had bought their tickets in advance. We had to go on standby and sat their nervously, not expecting to get on. Fortunately we did manage to squeeze on but we separated out a bit along the car.
The trip up Mount Washington was driven by a steam locomotive and was incredibly bumpy, like going across a cobble stone street on a bicycle with solid tyres. This was a whole lot smoother, which is just as well because the seats were not too comfortable. The locomotive on this occasion was a diesel, so wasn’t quite as atmospheric but was certainly much quieter. The initial part of the trip passes through a gorge with steep granite cliffs rising either side of the mountain, with large boulders lying at the base from years of weathering. On the trip up to the summit we get a story of the mountain’s geology and history from the conductor.
The granite peaks of the Rocky Mountain Range were formed by volcanic action millions of years ago and like the sandstone peaks of the Badlands these are eroding, but at a much lesser rate. Granite is porous rock, and the freezing and thawing of the absorbed water breaks open the granite – resulting these gigantic boulders tumbling down the mountain. We climb upwards and the land opens up to sprawling forests, lakes and grass land. Pikes Peak is a major source of water for Colorado Springs, providing 30% of the cities water requirements which is evident by the man made lakes. This mountain has always been a major landmark and received its name from the pioneer Zebulon Pike, who was sent West after the US government acquired lands through the Louisiana Purchase. Pike tried to climb the mountain but failed
At 12,000 feet the trees disappear and the landscape turns to grassland and scrub and that is.jpg)
the way it remains. Finally we reach the summit and leave the train for 40 minutes or so. The views are spectacular from the top and today we can see summits of mountains over 150 miles away and Colorado Springs is clearly visible below. We stand outside for a few minutes, but it is cold (as testified by the fact that there is snow on the ground). We beat a retreat inside and settle down for a cup of hot chocolate and high altitude doughnut (the process does not work so well at 14000 feet). The thing that we do notice is the thin air, we are all struggling a bit with breathing and Jack and Karen suffer from headaches (Karen nearly passes out in the restroom). All too soon it is time to leave and we start our descent. As the conductor passes through the train and asks for tickets he picks up Mark's accent and asks him where he is from and he provide my usual off pat answer – “England”. He then goes onto say that he has visited England several times and loves the railways there and has a friend who runs a railway in a small place called Leighton Buzzard. Of course Karen’s ears prick up and tells the conductor Mark lived there and his parents still do. We spend a few minutes exchanging pleasantries about the various steam railways around the UK. Finally, 3 ½ hours after starting we reach the bottom – it is a good deal warmer and breathing is easy once again. It was a worthwhile journey.
After this we go into downtown Manitou Springs to check out the shops. We wander into a few stores – as it is 5pm most are closing for the day. We do find one gift shop open and find it is run by a British woman (they get around these British women), who like some old world siren, lies in wait for unsuspecting, passing Brits to lure them into her web with some delicacies as Heinz baked beans and HP sauce. Having been in the US for sometime now and weaned off these foods we resist her temptation and move swiftly on.
The trip up Mount Washington was driven by a steam locomotive and was incredibly bumpy, like going across a cobble stone street on a bicycle with solid tyres. This was a whole lot smoother, which is just as well because the seats were not too comfortable. The locomotive on this occasion was a diesel, so wasn’t quite as atmospheric but was certainly much quieter. The initial part of the trip passes through a gorge with steep granite cliffs rising either side of the mountain, with large boulders lying at the base from years of weathering. On the trip up to the summit we get a story of the mountain’s geology and history from the conductor.The granite peaks of the Rocky Mountain Range were formed by volcanic action millions of years ago and like the sandstone peaks of the Badlands these are eroding, but at a much lesser rate. Granite is porous rock, and the freezing and thawing of the absorbed water breaks open the granite – resulting these gigantic boulders tumbling down the mountain. We climb upwards and the land opens up to sprawling forests, lakes and grass land. Pikes Peak is a major source of water for Colorado Springs, providing 30% of the cities water requirements which is evident by the man made lakes. This mountain has always been a major landmark and received its name from the pioneer Zebulon Pike, who was sent West after the US government acquired lands through the Louisiana Purchase. Pike tried to climb the mountain but failed
At 12,000 feet the trees disappear and the landscape turns to grassland and scrub and that is
.jpg)
the way it remains. Finally we reach the summit and leave the train for 40 minutes or so. The views are spectacular from the top and today we can see summits of mountains over 150 miles away and Colorado Springs is clearly visible below. We stand outside for a few minutes, but it is cold (as testified by the fact that there is snow on the ground). We beat a retreat inside and settle down for a cup of hot chocolate and high altitude doughnut (the process does not work so well at 14000 feet). The thing that we do notice is the thin air, we are all struggling a bit with breathing and Jack and Karen suffer from headaches (Karen nearly passes out in the restroom). All too soon it is time to leave and we start our descent. As the conductor passes through the train and asks for tickets he picks up Mark's accent and asks him where he is from and he provide my usual off pat answer – “England”. He then goes onto say that he has visited England several times and loves the railways there and has a friend who runs a railway in a small place called Leighton Buzzard. Of course Karen’s ears prick up and tells the conductor Mark lived there and his parents still do. We spend a few minutes exchanging pleasantries about the various steam railways around the UK. Finally, 3 ½ hours after starting we reach the bottom – it is a good deal warmer and breathing is easy once again. It was a worthwhile journey.After this we go into downtown Manitou Springs to check out the shops. We wander into a few stores – as it is 5pm most are closing for the day. We do find one gift shop open and find it is run by a British woman (they get around these British women), who like some old world siren, lies in wait for unsuspecting, passing Brits to lure them into her web with some delicacies as Heinz baked beans and HP sauce. Having been in the US for sometime now and weaned off these foods we resist her temptation and move swiftly on.
1 comment:
Well written article.
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