Of Pain and Beauty: Mt. of the Holy Cross

-Vail, CO-

Mt. of the Holy Cross has been a place Christians and other hikers have pilgrimaged to for hundreds of years to look up at the snow-filled cross on the peak’s eastern face. Professional photographs of the mountain are breathtaking, but I knew I had to see it in person. I finally got the chance to do just that in the summer of 2018 along with four other friends. In addition to my usual climbing partners Zoe and Stephen, my friends Meg and Rade joined us.

Unlike Pyramid Peak or Capitol Peak, Mt. of the Holy Cross requires no technical climbing maneuvers to reach the summit. This provided the perfect opportunity to bring along others who were less inclined to carefully inch their way across an exposed ledge. The hike would not be an easy one, however. Taking the Halo Ridge route up and the North Ridge down, we would be hiking 14 miles and gaining almost 6,000 feet of elevation. What we didn’t know was that this would be the longest and most physically exhausting day of our entire summer.

Hours before sunrise, we hit the trail with only our headlamps and occasional moonbeam piercing through the trees to light our path. The first hours were easy enough as the trail sloped gently up through the forest. The occasional steep drop-off to our left gave us reason to be cautious, but we pressed on, hoping to reach tree-line before the sun rose. We were just in time.

As we broke through the trees into a flat clearing decorated with mid-summer wildflowers, the sun began to rise above the distant mountain range. With the rising sun came a comforting warmth as we took a break on a boulder in the middle of the clearing. The light of the sun caused the flowers and grass to glow with an orange hue.

As much as I wanted to lie there and soak in the beauty for several more hours, we needed to push forward again to insure we’d be off the summit by noon. I had read enough horror stories about afternoon lightning storms on Holy Cross to know I didn’t want to be there when one happens.

The easy slope gave way harshly to a much steeper, but still well-maintained, path that twisted and turned with countless hairpin turns before finally giving us a glimpse of the cross from Notch Mountain. One interesting feature of Notch Mountain in addition to the views of Holy Cross it provides is a small stone shelter, originally built as a place to rest or spend the night for those pilgrims seeking the cross. Now, spending the night in the shelter is prohibited in order to preserve the site, but it stands as a reminder of the mountain’s rich history.

From Notch Mountain the rest of our journey could be seen. We would have to follow the ridgeline around a round valley known as the Bowl of Tears, summitting three 13,000+ foot peeks along the way. The trial gave way to loose rocks and boulders. The remainder of the route may have only been a quarter of a mile long, but it would take us nearly five hours to reach the top of Holy Cross at 14,005 feet above sea level.

As you might expect, five hours without solid, level ground to stand on while ascending and descending three mountains is physically and mentally exhausting. To some on the trip, bailing and descending into the Bowl of Tears seemed preferable to continuing on toward our goal. However, previous research had warned us that while that route might seem ideal, many people have gone missing and died attempting it. So, we pressed on.

About halfway, I stopped to sit down and rest my legs a bit. To my surprise, one of the typically skittish marmots that populate the Rocky Mountains crawled up behind me and into my lap where it sat for several minutes before scampering off. It’s a shame no one was there at the time to take a picture of the encounter.

Grumpy, tired, and hungry we at last stepped foot on the summit. It was well past noon, but thankfully the sky showed no signs of incoming hostile weather. Typically we would enjoy the summit view for a good while before descending, but we were all so ready to be back at the car that we took a few pictures and immediately began our descent down the North Ridge.

This route provided us a nice trail all the way back to the car, but it was not without its own challenges. Most notably, one section of the trail requires hikers to regain another 1,000 feet of elevation on the return journey. It is essential that hikers keep this in mind when hiking Holy Cross. You have to be adequately in shape and conserve energy for a tough hike back from the summit. It’s not all downhill from there.

Those last few miles back to the car were grueling. Our water supplies were running low as were our snacks. Exhaustion was setting in. All we could think about was putting one foot in front of the other. That, and the food and drinks we would hopefully soon share at a nearby brewery in Vail. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt joy so strongly as in that moment when I saw the car just a few yards down the trail.

Doing the Halo Ridge-North Ridge loop is an all-day, all the energy in your body type of commitment. Many wisely choose to split the trek into two days. I definitely would have enjoyed the adventure more that way. Still, the Holy Cross wilderness area is truly one of the most breathtakingly beautiful I have seen yet. The hike felt like a real accomplishment and I’m glad I got to achieve it with the people I did.

For those who want to see the cross without the extended agony required to reach the summit, the hike to Notch Mountain is very doable and rewarding in its own right. Expect to spend most of the day on the trail and bring plenty of water, but most people in reasonable shape should be able to make it just fine. The view, especially when the snow is still present in the cross, is well worth the journey.