For exhilaration of an alpine climb, there's nothing like Dream Weaver

By Steve Lipsher
THE DENVER POST

ESTES PARK, Colo. -- In the world of alpine climbing, there are nightmares and there are dreams.

Fitting, then, that one of the classic climbs in Rocky Mountain National Park is known as Dream Weaver, a 1,500-foot vertical slash up the north face of Mount Meeker.

The climbing "window" on Dream Weaver spans a scant two to three weeks each year, part of its allure to serious mountaineers seeking a truly wild experience.

Snow conditions have to be just right -- too much, and the deadly threat of avalanche looms; too little, and the route turns impassable on steep scree slopes.

"It is a timing thing, but right now is the time, and it looks like the time is going to last this season," said Jason Anderson, a guide at the Colorado Mountain School who recently led a climb up the route.

Not for the faint of heart or inexperienced climbers, Dream Weaver is a technically challenging climb over snow, rock and ice faces in a steep, narrow "coulair," or chute cutting through the mountain face.

"It's a good way to get a real good taste of mountaineering because it is such a mountaineering-type route," Anderson said. "So many routes in Colorado really aren't mountaineering routes. They're walks. But Dream Weaver is one of the classic alpine routes in the park."

Leading a team of five climbers as part of a clinic offered by the Estes Park climbing school, Anderson pointed out the route, a thin ribbon of snow snaking up the face that prompted "oohs" and "ahs" of excitement and disbelief.

"A lot of the appeal is the aesthetics of the line," Anderson said. "When you first see the route on the approach, you go `Oh my god, this thing is gorgeous. Look at the cleanness. Look at the natural line.' "

For Bob Scott, a Denver investment adviser and strong intermediate climber who accomplished the route with Anderson's team, it prompted a different response.

"I was thinking, `You can't climb that,' " he said with a laugh.

The climb begins after a six-mile approach to Chasm Lake, where the Dream Weaver coulair spills out into a fan of snow accumulated through a winter's worth of avalanches. The route runs just to the left side of a spectacular flying buttress of rock that juts from Meeker.

Putting on helmets, harnesses and crampons over heavyweight climbing boots there, climbers are bombarded by baseball-size chunks of ice and snow rolling down the chute as sunlight first hits the mountain.

It provides a cautionary note that spring and early summer are uncertain seasons for alpinists: Weather, avalanches, rock fall and general climbing conditions all are uncertain factors that can test mountaineering skills.

Roped together and using ice axes like canes, the climb is fairly straightforward up the dramatic coulair. Quickly the chute narrows to three feet, bounded by rock faces that funnel falling snow and ice -- always a hazard.

In a couple of spots, intermediate rock-climbing skills are needed, and each member of a climbing team should be adept in self-arresting -- using their ice axes to stop a fall by themselves or other climbers sharing the rope.

"There's not a single move there that was all that difficult," Scott said. "Technically, it was not that difficult, but the climb as a whole was very demanding."

As the climb approaches the summit of the 13,910-foot peak, altitude and fatigue begin taking their toll, at a point where climbers need to retain their mental sharpness.

"I like to remind people at the top that we're only halfway done," Anderson said.

Even the descent down another route proved difficult, as it involved traversing a 70-degree snowfield twice, including about 30 feet of facing-into-the-mountain down-climbing.

But it ends with a long, wonderful sitting {5glissade -- or slide -- down a glacial remnant and back to the trail for the long hike out to the Longs Peak trailhead.

While Dream Weaver can be climbed in one long day, camping also is available in the Chasm Lake area.

Not much is written about Dream Weaver, which is known to climbers mostly by word of mouth and is wonderfully lonely.

While the route frequently is attempted by private parties, inexperienced climbers would benefit from taking classes from the Colorado Mountain School, covering everything from basic rock climbing to some of the most advanced climbing skills.

Mike Donahue, owner of CMS, talks philosophically about how climbers must focus every move on the "right here and now," not worrying about their lives back home or anything else other than the immediate task at hand.

The peace, the physical challenge and, ultimately, the sense of accomplishment all prove freeing, he said.

"We could have been in the middle of Nepal, for all I was concerned," Scott echoed. "We were out in the middle of nowhere."