Craig
New member
This year’s trip to Colorado would include an itinerary of 10 – 14ers over 13 days in the Sangre de Cristo range. With the fantastic weather and a little luck I was able to tick 12 peaks off the list for a total of 30/54 complete.
I'll try to hit some of the highlights of the exciting climbing, spectacular views, abundant wildlife and dramatic landscape of this, my favorite range so far.
But first, for some acclimation.
Front Range:
The Front Range extends from Wyoming to the Arkansas River valley. It is the first range you see when flying into Denver rising abruptly from the valley.
This range contains 6 – 14ers of which I'd climbed 4* from previous visits.
Pikes Peak – 14,110'
The day after flying into Denver I hiked Pikes Peak. This was more of a acclimatization hike than anything.
Pikes Peak is like Mt Washington in the since that there is a toll road to the summit, a railroad to the summit, a gift shop on top and lots of crowds. On a clear day the views are still spectacular from this 14er.
Sangre de Cristo Range:
The Sangres, located in the south eastern part of the state are 220 miles long, start south of Salida and run to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Sangres contain 10 - 14ers of which 9 would be my objective for this trip.
The 10 - 14ers are clustered into 3 groups, Crestone Group, Blanca Group and solitary Culebra Peak. Culebra Peak was not on the itinerary as this peak is on private property and the owners are charging a fee to climb it at this time.
Sangre de Cristo means “blood of Christ” in Spanish after the red rock that is so pronounce in this range.
Mt. Lindsey – 14.042'
What a beautiful area and fun peak to climb. The access road to the trail head meanders through a valley that is part of the Huerfano Wildlife Area. Deer appeared to be the abundant wildlife in this area but with the open meadows and luscious alpine environment, I'm sure there are many more animals to be found.
I opted for the class 3 Northwest Ridge to climb. This was a sweet scramble to the top with a couple of class 4 sections along the way. The views over to the Blanca Group heighten the anticipation of future climbs.
On the descent I took a small side trip to an abandoned mine to check it out. I only ventured in about 20’ before I got scared.
Little Bear Peak, Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Point – Group
This was to be the highlight of my trip and it didn't disappoint.
This group of 3 peaks sets 5 miles into the Sangres. The trail head is one of the lowest of all the 14ers at 8900' and it overlooks the San Luis Valley. The road from the trailhead to Como Lake is nationally known as Colorado's toughest road and is passable on foot or by modified 4X4 only. On my trip in/out of Como Lake I did see a rock crawler ferrying loads to the alpine lakes for a research group from Ohio.
The plan was to pack in to the plateau above Como Lake, set up camp, hike the 3 peaks the 2nd day and pack out the 3rd day. This 3 peak foray included the infamous Little Bear – Blanca ridge traverse, noted as the toughest of the 4 great 14er ridge traverses.
As it turned out the weather was fantastic, the wildlife abundant and I had a pristine alpine environment all to myself.
Little Bear Peak – 14,037'
The route I chose for Little Bear was the non-standard semi-solid class 4 Northwest Face. The standard route takes you up a shallow class 3 gully that was wet on this morning. I improvised by climbing the slight ridge to the right of this gully to the Little Bear/Blanca ridge. This modified route was 2180’ of class 4 climbing with 3 class 5 moves.
Once on the ridge I needed to ascend/descend one of the cruxes of the traverse, Little Bear Summit.
Blanca Peak – 14,345'
The ridge traverse to Blanca is 1 mile of class 4/5 climbing with no bailout. Once you've committed to this double exposure traverse you’ve committed to between 2 and 6 hours of class 4/5 climbing. It took me 3.5 hours to complete the 1 mile traverse peak to peak. I remember about half way through thinking, I don't want to be on this ridge anymore. I think after 4 hours on class 4/5 terrain the concentration required, started taking a toll on my psyche.
There were 2 double exposure knife edges along the way. The second is called the cat walk. This was truly a terrifying 30' span. Butt hopping across this 1' wide ridge required complete concentration as gravity viciously tugged at both of my feet.
This traverse was truly mind numbing.
Ellingwood Point – 14,042'
By the time I reached the summit of Blanca I was emotionally spent. Taking a break I contemplated my route to Ellingwood. The cleanest path to would require another ridge traverse that was horribly exposed on 1 side. I tried to stay at least 6 feet from the ridge crest, but several sections required a closer line to the abyss. When I reach Ellingwood’s summit I retreated under a slight overhang as a respite from the sun’s rays.
Looking back at the Little Bear/Blanca ridge you can see the horrendous chimney that needed to bypassed.
Descending Ellingwood and walking back to camp gave me the opportunity to explore the pristine alpine setting I was camped in. I really hated leaving this area.
* Not including Longs Peak which I turned back 600’ from the summit due to AMS
Continued:
I'll try to hit some of the highlights of the exciting climbing, spectacular views, abundant wildlife and dramatic landscape of this, my favorite range so far.
But first, for some acclimation.
Front Range:
The Front Range extends from Wyoming to the Arkansas River valley. It is the first range you see when flying into Denver rising abruptly from the valley.
This range contains 6 – 14ers of which I'd climbed 4* from previous visits.
Pikes Peak – 14,110'
The day after flying into Denver I hiked Pikes Peak. This was more of a acclimatization hike than anything.
Pikes Peak is like Mt Washington in the since that there is a toll road to the summit, a railroad to the summit, a gift shop on top and lots of crowds. On a clear day the views are still spectacular from this 14er.
Sangre de Cristo Range:
The Sangres, located in the south eastern part of the state are 220 miles long, start south of Salida and run to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Sangres contain 10 - 14ers of which 9 would be my objective for this trip.
The 10 - 14ers are clustered into 3 groups, Crestone Group, Blanca Group and solitary Culebra Peak. Culebra Peak was not on the itinerary as this peak is on private property and the owners are charging a fee to climb it at this time.
Sangre de Cristo means “blood of Christ” in Spanish after the red rock that is so pronounce in this range.
Mt. Lindsey – 14.042'
What a beautiful area and fun peak to climb. The access road to the trail head meanders through a valley that is part of the Huerfano Wildlife Area. Deer appeared to be the abundant wildlife in this area but with the open meadows and luscious alpine environment, I'm sure there are many more animals to be found.
I opted for the class 3 Northwest Ridge to climb. This was a sweet scramble to the top with a couple of class 4 sections along the way. The views over to the Blanca Group heighten the anticipation of future climbs.
On the descent I took a small side trip to an abandoned mine to check it out. I only ventured in about 20’ before I got scared.
Little Bear Peak, Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Point – Group
This was to be the highlight of my trip and it didn't disappoint.
This group of 3 peaks sets 5 miles into the Sangres. The trail head is one of the lowest of all the 14ers at 8900' and it overlooks the San Luis Valley. The road from the trailhead to Como Lake is nationally known as Colorado's toughest road and is passable on foot or by modified 4X4 only. On my trip in/out of Como Lake I did see a rock crawler ferrying loads to the alpine lakes for a research group from Ohio.
The plan was to pack in to the plateau above Como Lake, set up camp, hike the 3 peaks the 2nd day and pack out the 3rd day. This 3 peak foray included the infamous Little Bear – Blanca ridge traverse, noted as the toughest of the 4 great 14er ridge traverses.
As it turned out the weather was fantastic, the wildlife abundant and I had a pristine alpine environment all to myself.
Little Bear Peak – 14,037'
The route I chose for Little Bear was the non-standard semi-solid class 4 Northwest Face. The standard route takes you up a shallow class 3 gully that was wet on this morning. I improvised by climbing the slight ridge to the right of this gully to the Little Bear/Blanca ridge. This modified route was 2180’ of class 4 climbing with 3 class 5 moves.
Once on the ridge I needed to ascend/descend one of the cruxes of the traverse, Little Bear Summit.
Blanca Peak – 14,345'
The ridge traverse to Blanca is 1 mile of class 4/5 climbing with no bailout. Once you've committed to this double exposure traverse you’ve committed to between 2 and 6 hours of class 4/5 climbing. It took me 3.5 hours to complete the 1 mile traverse peak to peak. I remember about half way through thinking, I don't want to be on this ridge anymore. I think after 4 hours on class 4/5 terrain the concentration required, started taking a toll on my psyche.
There were 2 double exposure knife edges along the way. The second is called the cat walk. This was truly a terrifying 30' span. Butt hopping across this 1' wide ridge required complete concentration as gravity viciously tugged at both of my feet.
This traverse was truly mind numbing.
Ellingwood Point – 14,042'
By the time I reached the summit of Blanca I was emotionally spent. Taking a break I contemplated my route to Ellingwood. The cleanest path to would require another ridge traverse that was horribly exposed on 1 side. I tried to stay at least 6 feet from the ridge crest, but several sections required a closer line to the abyss. When I reach Ellingwood’s summit I retreated under a slight overhang as a respite from the sun’s rays.
Looking back at the Little Bear/Blanca ridge you can see the horrendous chimney that needed to bypassed.
Descending Ellingwood and walking back to camp gave me the opportunity to explore the pristine alpine setting I was camped in. I really hated leaving this area.
* Not including Longs Peak which I turned back 600’ from the summit due to AMS
Continued:
