Northwest face and Northwest Ridge from Grizzly Gulch

I did this trip solo, waking up very early on August 30th.  Too early – I had to wait at the trailhead a few minutes so that I could have some light.  Even when I started out.  The trail through Grizzly Gulch was very dark and eerie.

The road to Grizzly Gulch is much smoother than the more popular Stephens Gulch.  A 2WD passenger car can make it to the trailhead easily.

I was totally alone on this trip.  I didn’t see a soul until I set foot on the summit.  It was quite pleasant. 

I started out ascending the prominent rock rib above the snow spots on the northwest face.  Actually, I wouldn’t reccommend this route in summer.  It would be a great spring climb with the snow holding the rocks in place, but in the summer it’s too loose.  Going down was an absolute nightmare.  This face is very long too!
 
I’m a lot higher up on the face now looking back in the same direction towards Grizzly Gulch.  If you look closely enough, you can see Insterstate 70. 

The climb got a bit dicey near the top, but nothing too difficult.  When I finally arrived at the top, I had this stupendous view of Stephens Gulch, which is the popular route up Grays Peak.  I could look down and see the pack train of hikers headed up Grays.

After a few minutes, I began my laborious downclimb back to Grizzly Gulch.