Loaded up the gear and the dogs and hit the road at 06:00. Shortly after I left I realized I had forgotten my traditional Alaska cap and a Ministry CD I planned to listen to on the way to Blank Gulch. No big deal. Then I found I had forgotten my Gerry Roach guidebook - that was a bigger deal, as I needed the directions to the trailhead. I knew I had to take Chaffee County 140 from 285, but after that I wasn't sure. At the summit of Kenosha Pass I pulled over and made several cell phone calls to Donna who was getting ready for work, and once I got a relatively clear connection she found the guidebook and relayed trailhead directions to me.

Turning south at Johnson's Village, I soon came across a nice view of Shavano's east slopes. I could see the Angel snowfield in nice form, with a well-formed body, two arms and a long head. The head was pointy and the Angel reminded me of a Sufi mystic. I pulled over to take a picture, fished my digital camera out of my pack, and tried to take a picture. The camera was flashing a warning, "no card". I instantly knew right where the memory card was, in the card reader attached to my computer at home. No pictures today, and what a shame, it was a nice clear day and I really wanted a good picture of the Angel.

The road to the trailhead was in good shape, a little bumpy but dry and without any big ruts. I reached the trailhead and let the dogs run while I got my gear ready. There were 3 or 4 vehicles there but I didn't see anyone around. We started up the short section of the Colorado Trail at 08:35, then turned west onto the Shavano Trail. Chugging up the hill I could tell it was going to be a warm and pleasant day, and the fleece pants I wore soon became a little too warm. Alas, I didn't bring shorts, but in a clearing I removed the fleece pants and put on my North Face goretex pants with the full length zippers, and improvised shorts with those by unzipping the pant legs and rolling them up. I also stashed an extra Nalgene water bottle in a snow pile for the last mile back to the Jeep.

The trail was devoid of snow until about 10,500', where I started to see small snow piles but they were easily avoided. The only snow equipment I brought was a lightweight ice axe; I figured that with my late start I wouldn't need crampons, and I left the snowshoes in the Jeep after assessing trail conditions from the trailhead. An hour into the hike, at about 11,000', the trail started to switchback north out of the drainage and I started the bushwhack through the woods to the basin containing the Angel. The trees were thick in some places and a stepped over and around many fallen trees, and navigated around the snow piles that grew in size as I gained altitude. For the most part I stuck to the north side of the drainage, until the trees thinned and I found a trail of sorts at the bottom of the gully. After breaking out of treeline, I still had a snowfield or two before reaching the start of the Angel. I ran into a skier who was taking a nap, and we talked about the conditions for a while. He told me there were a few more people who would probably be descending soon.

We reached the start of the Angel at 10:35, I exchanged my trekking poles for the ice axe and got out my snow gloves. The weather was still warm and I encountered gusty winds on occasion, but it was mostly calm. I kept the NF pants unzipped from the top for ventilation. I was feeling a little slow, but I took my time up the snow slope. The slope never exceeds 30 degrees and the snow conditions were pretty good, with a soft layer of 1"-4" depending on your position on the slope. I started up the south side of the Angel but when the soft layer got too thin, I moved over to the north side. After several hundred feet of fun snow climbing up the Angel's body, I had to make a decision to climb the head or either of the two arms. The south arm was the longest and terminated at the saddle between Shavano and 13,360' "Esprit Point". The north arm aimed directly at the summit but petered out soon, while the head seemed like a good compromise, and would point me toward the upper saddle on gentle slopes.

While ascending the snowfield I caught a glimpse of someone snowboarding down the south arm, and I grabbed the dogs before they had a chance to see anyone. I tied a couple short pieces of webbing to the dogs' collars and kept them near me. As I expected, when they saw the boarder they started barking and trying to give chase, but I held them back. Jake and Pepper weren't sure what to make of the boarder, but once he was out of sight the dogs forgot about him and we continued on. I left the 3' red webbing pieces attached to their collars in case we met other people. The red webbing made it easier to spot the dogs at a distance, and didn't interfere with their movement. Pepper especially blends in with the 14er landscape, with his brown and white spots camoflaging him against the rocks and lichen. We repeated the drill again when another snowboarder and a skier went down the south arm, and then I saw no more people.

We reached the top of the Angel's head at 11:35, and postholed a bit leaving the snowfield. From there a short trek brought us to Shavano's south ridge, and I could see that the Elks and other surrounding ranges had more snow cover than the southern Sawatch. Climbing up the talus on the south ridge brought us to the summit at 12:35. My right quadriceps was just starting to cramp up before reaching the summit, so I didn't want to stop long before heading back down. Besides, I wanted to get back in time to make dinner at an Indian restaurant followed by a movie with Donna and some friends. I couldn't find a summit register, though I checked all of the high points on the summit. At 12:45 we started back down, this time heading for the long southern arm of the Angel.

I was able to glissade most of the way down the Angel, making great time though it was a bumpy and wet ride. Jake went ahead of me while Pepper followed my trail behind me. At 13:15 we reached the base of the Angel and I spend a few minutes removing my wet snow pants and putting the fleece back on, and traded the ice axe for the poles once again. The snow in the bushwhacking part of the climb was softer and harder to avoid, but I just plowed through and didn't posthole too badly. Snowshoes would have been an encumbrance here, as the snow patches were short and I frequently had to cross fallen trees. Soon I was back on the Shavano trail, and after finding my stashed water bottle we reached the Jeep at 14:15. We drove back home, I fed the dogs and cats, grabbed a quick shower and made the restaurant right on time...