Your picture of the Big Buck on Summit Post made my day!!! URL: http://www.summitpost.org/sill-polemonium-dayhike-8-6-06/214701
2005 or 2006 my buddy and I were climbing Sill and Polemonium from Sam Mack Meadows. (Side note: My buddy & I climbed all the 14ers, climbing only one or two peaks a year so we had an excuse to get in the high country at least once a year.) We climbed Sill and Polemonium and then on our way back along the ridge, my buddy who was hiking ~50 feet higher on the ridge then myself yelled, "Gary, You will not believe this - get over here!" Down in the rocks, between two giant boulders was this hung dead buck. Apparently, he had been dead two or three years, but because of the elements at 13.9k elevation he hadn't disintegrate or dissolved very much. Our guess was... 1) the buck may have been trying to cross over the pass late in the Fall(maybe in the snow) and couldn't make it due to the drop on the other side. He may have gotten under the rocks for protection during the night or during a storm but because of the cold, lack of food/water, high altitude elements he died.(he may have been very old as well). 2) He could have been trying to cross the pass (possibly running from something) couldn't cross and then slipped on the ice or a rock broke a leg then died. (???...my best guesses)
Anyway, my buddy John took a picture and said, "let's go". I told him, Hey, I got an Idea! I wanted to share this incredible find(mystery story) with others and maybe SHOCK a few unexpected climbers waling by and get a few priceless looks..even if I wouldn't be around to see them. (LOL) We dragged the head & neck ~ 30 feet down the ridge along the marked trail and propped his head up (& yes, make a one-of-a-kind trial duck) along the trail from Sill to Polemonium.
Currently, I have another friend who started climbing the 14ers and needed a guide to help him climb both mountains next weekend (Oct 13 & 14th 2012) weather permitting. As I was glancing through Sill/Polemonium articles/web sites to refresh my memory, I came across your posting w/ the picture and instantaneously recognize my Buck! (I love it!)
gswanson - Oct 4, 2012 7:49 pm - Hasn't voted
mystery of the buck solved...Graham,
Your picture of the Big Buck on Summit Post made my day!!! URL: http://www.summitpost.org/sill-polemonium-dayhike-8-6-06/214701
2005 or 2006 my buddy and I were climbing Sill and Polemonium from Sam Mack Meadows. (Side note: My buddy & I climbed all the 14ers, climbing only one or two peaks a year so we had an excuse to get in the high country at least once a year.) We climbed Sill and Polemonium and then on our way back along the ridge, my buddy who was hiking ~50 feet higher on the ridge then myself yelled, "Gary, You will not believe this - get over here!" Down in the rocks, between two giant boulders was this hung dead buck. Apparently, he had been dead two or three years, but because of the elements at 13.9k elevation he hadn't disintegrate or dissolved very much. Our guess was... 1) the buck may have been trying to cross over the pass late in the Fall(maybe in the snow) and couldn't make it due to the drop on the other side. He may have gotten under the rocks for protection during the night or during a storm but because of the cold, lack of food/water, high altitude elements he died.(he may have been very old as well). 2) He could have been trying to cross the pass (possibly running from something) couldn't cross and then slipped on the ice or a rock broke a leg then died. (???...my best guesses)
Anyway, my buddy John took a picture and said, "let's go". I told him, Hey, I got an Idea! I wanted to share this incredible find(mystery story) with others and maybe SHOCK a few unexpected climbers waling by and get a few priceless looks..even if I wouldn't be around to see them. (LOL) We dragged the head & neck ~ 30 feet down the ridge along the marked trail and propped his head up (& yes, make a one-of-a-kind trial duck) along the trail from Sill to Polemonium.
Currently, I have another friend who started climbing the 14ers and needed a guide to help him climb both mountains next weekend (Oct 13 & 14th 2012) weather permitting. As I was glancing through Sill/Polemonium articles/web sites to refresh my memory, I came across your posting w/ the picture and instantaneously recognize my Buck! (I love it!)
Thank you,
Gary Swanson
Colfax, CA