Paiute Peak (13088 ft), Mount Audubon (13223 ft), and Mount Notabon (12706 ft), 07/30/2005
We parked at the Mitchell Lake Trailhead at 5:46, and started hiking at 5:54, reaching Blue Lake at 6:50. From Blue Lake, Mount Toll looked very beautiful in the yellow morning light.
We roughly followed the point list below in ascending Paiute Peak, going by a small lake at 11833 ft, then southwest to a terrace, and northwest up to a shoulder of Paiute at about 12800 ft. From this Paiute shoulder there was a good view of the treacherous couloir on the north side of Toll. From there we roughly followed the ridge as it goes first east then north to the summit of Paiute.
We reached the Paiute summit at 8:23. There was a new CMC summit register placed there only a few days before, which we signed. On the Paiute summit there is an impressive view of Upper Coney Lake, Coney Lake and the glacier carved valley that they reside in. From the Paiute summit, we headed east, descending to the Paiute-Audubon saddle, then continuing east, ascending along the Audubon ridge to the summit of Mount Audubon. This ridge is rugged, but class 2 the entire way.
Reaching the summit of Audubon at 10:02, it was the first time we say anyone since starting our hike at 5:54. We took a break for a few minutes on the summit, sitting in a rock shelter, before beginning our descent northeast along the Mt Audubon trail.
We decided on the extra credit and ascended Mt Notabon as Roach calls it, reaching the Notabon summit at 10:45. There we left a summit register since there wasn't one. My guess is few people go for this extra credit summit although it's not very far off the main Audubon route.
From Notabon, we headed southeast, eventually meeting up with the trail again. On the east side of Notabon, Stefan found a group of ptarmigans which he took a picture of. We returned to the parking area at the Mitchell Lake Trailhead at 12:45.
GPS data
Place Name Elev [ft] Accuracy [ft]
Mitchell Lake Trailhead 10510 17
Paiute Peak summit 13124 14
Mount Audubon summit 13234 17
Mount Notabon summit 12767 27
Elevation difference from low point (Mitchell Lake TH) to high point (Mt Audubon) = 13223-10510 = 2713 ft
Point list
Paiute Peak summit 40.0983 105.6328Blue Lake north side 40.0903 105.6194
WP1 40.0953 105.6335
WP2 40.0937 105.6336
WP3 40.0921 105.6297
WP4 40.0922 105.6224
Paiute-Audubon Saddle 40.0976 105.6261
Mt Audubon 40.0991 105.6162
Mt Notabon 40.1058 105.6090
Beaver Creek Trail intersection w/ Mt Audubon Trail 40.0976 105.5850
Mitchell Lake Trailhead 40.08303 105.58125