Ken got the idea to do Pawnee Ridge a couple of years ago when we did Mount Audubon and Paiute Peak in October and had great views of the ridge. The ridge looks very intimidating but was only class 3 according to Gerry Roach’s book. So, we decided to take a nice, “easy” day hike and traverse Pawnee Ridge to Little Pawnee and then on to Pawnee Peak. As always, when we’re expecting something easy, it turns out to be brutally hard.
We decided to hike up the Mitchell Lake trail past Mitchell Lake then look for a place to bushwack over to the ridge. We found a great spot and left the trail. Soon, we were in very boggy terrain and had to jump from dry spot to dry spot. At one point we were in the middle of a field of willows that was crisscrossed with several swift moving streams. It was kind of treacherous to cross but we managed. Eventually we crossed some snowfields then began the grassy hike up to the beginning of the ridge.
At the top of the ridge we strolled along wide open and easy class 2 terrain. We had great views of both drainages. Soon, we were into some fun class 3 scrambling and before we knew it we were on top of Little Pawnee Peak. Believe it or not, there was a summit register on the top. There had been four other people the week before and one person who climbed it in January (that’s an accomplishment!) but those were the only climbers for 2001. I think there were even less in 2000. The register went back to the 70’s. We stayed on the summit maybe twenty minutes then began the very difficult remainder of the traverse.
The main problem with this ridge is the routefinding. There must be 4 or 5 major notches and cliff systems that cut perpendicularly into the ridge which really slowed us down. We’d walk along then suddenly come upon a sheer cliff and had to scout in either direction to find a way down. In all cases, we found a way down though not without some effort. There’s a large tower after Little Pawnee that you top out on that looks impossible to downclimb. Ken spotted a circuitous ramp route that started on the left side and wound it’s way down to the base. We repeated this procedure more than a few times and sometimes we opted for a slightly more difficult climb instead of dropping down very far and climbing back up. Along the way, we had been watching two side-by-side rock towers that looked like rabbits ears. These two towers mark the very difficult part of the climb. We bypassed them fairly easily on the right (north) side but then came upon the final ridge.
The final ridge is a terrifying, very thin, and very exposed ridge. There is no such thing as 3rd class here. First of all, at the notch right below the beginning of the final ridge, it’s impossible to get up onto the ridge without ropes and some excellent rock climbing abilities. We decided to bypass this on the right. However, as soon as we could we decided to try to climb up to the ridge. We started up a very steep but solid gully. About thirty feet up though, we realized we were on a bona fide 5th class route. The exposure was very high too so we wisely turned around but not without a bit of a scare. We bypassed this entire part of the climb on easy 3rd class terrain then, after passing a small gully, regained the ridge which had since become much easier. We strolled along to Pawnee Peak where we took a well deserved break.
We were pretty beat by this point and Ken had been entertaining the thought of climbing Mount Toll but abandoned that. I’d climbed Toll a few years ago so didn’t feel like climbing it either. With this climb of Pawnee, I’ve completed all of the major eastern Indian Peaks. The only notables missing are Sawtooth and Arikaree. We started down and looked for places to glissade. We started out glissade at the Pawnee/Toll saddle. We only had our thin summer hiking pants on so glissade down was more of a painful chafe! Eventually, we arrived at Blue Lake as the weather turned bad and began to rain. It was kind of a relief actually. I took some time to set up a nice slow shot of the waterfall that dumped into Blue Lake. The rest of the hike out seemed pretty long. Somehow I had bruised my left interior ankle bone and hiking was becoming very painful. Fortunately, it alleviated near the end, but we ended up arriving back at the car nine hours later! This was no walk-in-the-park!
Posted 8 years, 8 months ago. Add a comment
via the North Couloir, East Ridge Traverse to North Apostle
Ken and I headed out on Saturday June 2nd for our first overnight of the season. Ken had been talking about doing Ice Mountain for a long time. Ice Mountain has a long, steep couloir on it’s north side that was to be our route. We were wondering if we would be able to drive all the way up to the Huron Peak trailhead. It had been so warm lately that we were both pretty sure we’d be able to. Sure enough, we drove up the entire way without even a hint of snow. The meltoff was really speedy this year apparently.
We arrived fairly early at the trailhead when I realized that I had typically forgotten something this trip although this time it was a little more serious. I’d forgotten our dinner which we were planning to cook before heading to our campsite. Ken said he’d stuffed himself at Wendy’s recently so he was fine with it but I hadn’t eaten hardly anything all day. So, this was to be a study in lack of food for me. Oh well, that was my punishment. I also had mysteriously forgotten to bring my harness. Now that was a much more serious error. To this day I have no idea how that didn’t even dawn on me. Fortunately, we solved that problem with a piece of webbing that made an excellent makeshift harness.
After eating what was to be my lunch for tomorrow, we headed out. I started getting really excited about this trip as we approached the Three Apostles group which loomed ahead of us. These three towers were quite different from the other Sawatch Peaks; they were rugged and craggy on all sides and certainly looked out of the ordinary for this range of gentle giants. They were indeed beautiful and imposing. We were wondering if we should camp in Hamilton but because it was so early in the day, we opted for a small basin just below treeline beneath at the peaks. Near Hamilton, the trail branches off at a sign. The right and better maintained fork headed for Lake Ann and the left headed for Apostle Basin.
The Apostle Basin trail was a bit faint in spots but we didn’t have much trouble following it. At one point, the trail crossed a creek on a spooky log (above) and then started climbing steeply up. The trail was on the top of a neat ridge that had small gorges on either side. We could look over either side and see raging creeks. After another hour we arrived at our stunning campsite. The ground was soaked from the spring meltoff but we were able to find a great campsite on the edge of a precipice with great views of the Three Apostles. From here we had a pretty good view of the entrance of the north couloir. It looked steep from here.
We ended up staying up until 10, enjoying a comfortable fire, and watching the full moon rise between North Apostle and Ice Mountain. We woke up at 5am, if my memory serves me correctly. Our first job was to cross the swift creek. We found a snowbridge not far from camp and crossed there. We had to wander through willows and around more inlets and small tarns. Eventually we came upon a steep grassy incline that lead to a talus field just above treeline. After the tedious talus, we arrived in the Ice Mountain basin and were in snow. We put on our crampons immediately and started up to the couloir. The hike to the couloir was pretty steep itself. Very oddly enough, we spotted dead moths every few feet…we probably stopped counting around 30 or 40. I have no explanation for that weird mystery.
The couloir starts rather wide and is steep from the onset. It’s about 50-55 degrees consistently and the entire couloir is never gentler than 50 degrees. As the couloir narrowed we saw our first landmark: an offshoot couloir to the left. The correct couloir to continue on is to the right and it’s pretty obvious. Past this branch, the couloir becomes very narrow. You can virtually spread your arms and touch either wall. The steepest consistent section is through here, pushing just above 55 degrees. I had not really looked back until we took a break in this section. When I did, I realized how steep this couloir really was. This climb was a lot different from some of the couloir climbs last year; I wasn’t nervous or uncomfortable at all. I guess all those steep climbs culminating in Cotopaxi paid off. Anyway, there was no denying the steepness of this couloir and this would probably have been a lot scarier last year.
Eventually we were able to see the top of the couloir and it appeared to be blocked by a cornice. I was up for trying to bust through, I’d never done that before. It turned out, however, that the couloir turned hard to the left as another obstacle appeared – a steep section of snow that had formed due to the angle of the couloir. Ken started up the steepest section of this snow wall which was 70 degrees. I opted for an easier section and climbed higher and ascended a 60 degree section. After getting on top of this snow wall, we were on very gentle ground about 20 feet below the notch where the couloir topped out. We could easily bypass the cornice on the left. The notch is very small, thin, and feels very alpine. It was pretty exciting. From here, we could see the top of the peak. It lay about 100 feet away along a 3rd class ridge.
The ridge was fun and not too hard at all. The summit of Ice Mountain is really small and is a tiny bump along a fairly short ridge. We rested here for a good amount of time and charged up for the tough downclimb to the North Apostle/Ice Mountain saddle and the impending climb up North Apostle.
The downclimb to the saddle is very tricky and requires good routefinding. The difficulties never exceeded easy 4th class though. I’ve read several trip reports that talked about people running into class 5 and not being able to find their way around. I don’t really see how this is possible; with a decent amount of care and directional sense, you can find a safe route through this complex mountain. We basically stayed on the north face immediately after descending from the summit then traversed over to the ridge proper after about 300 vertical feet.
After Ice Mountain, there certainly doesn’t seem to be much to North Apostle. It’s a climb very similar to many of Colorado’s fourteeners although there’s not much of a trail. Basically, we just picked the slopes that looked the most solid. It didn’t take us long to arrive on the top of North Apostle. After a long hike back down to camp (and an awesome glissade), we rested for a long time and saw the first people we’d seen on this trip. They were hiking along the trail and passed by our campsite. I’m not sure if they saw us. The hike back to the car felt really really long. Although, the hike out was painful, this was a great hike and a great climb.
Posted 8 years, 9 months ago. Add a comment
From South Colony Lakes, traverse from Needle to Peak
Our afternoon hike of Humboldt the afternoon before gave us the extra benefit of sleeping solidly. Even though we were car-camping in a popular spot like South Colony Lakes, we heard no disturbances during the night, no one showing up at 2 in the morning and waking everyone else up. We awoke around 5:30 and were on our way about a quarter after six. Being the middle of September, it was still a bit dark hiking through the woods. We had our headlamps on until we broke out of the trees with great views of Crestone Needle and the setting moon.
The day had a bit of chill in it as fall was almost here. However, September is probably the best all-around month for hiking in the Rockies. Although the days are a bit shorter, the weather is usually more calm. The sun isn’t quite as intense as July and August hiking. September probably offers the best chances for summiting peaks in Colorado
We crossed Lower South Lake in a spot that had dried up and eventually found the climbers trail leading up to Broken Hand Pass. The trail to Broken Hand Pass is at first easy, then crosses a large talus field, then gets considerable steeper. There’s a good bit of scrambling to get through one narrow section. After that, it’s steep grass and dirt slopes and suddenly you’re at the top of the pass which has great views down into Cottonwood Lake basin. From the pass, Crestone Needle looks like a massive leaning rock tower. The hike over to the Needle is along a well-established and very pleasant trail. The terrain is really neat here: lots of grass and giant rocky ridges.
The standard route from this side on the Needle is the South Couloir. The guidebooks talk about two couloirs and switching between the two but we saw no reason at all to change couloirs. The main South Couloir will take you to within 20 feet of the summit and isn’t a scary climb at all. Although the trail leads you around corners and continues on a bit past the couloir, it’s so prominent that it’s almost impossible to miss. We started up the couloir and stayed in it the entire way. The difficulty never exceeds 3rd class and the scrambling is very solid. I don’t recall any serious exposure really (not like we’d been dealing with!). Strangely enough, however, some of the lethargy was leftover from the hike from yesterday and I found myself struggling near the top. As we neared the top, the weather seemed to get worse. It was pretty cloudy and wet feeling though no rain had fallen yet. Rain did appear to be falling over the southern Sangre de Cristo range. Directly to the west though, the weather appeared fine.
Finally, on top , we took in the astounding views all around us. Arriving at the summit and eyeing the traverse suddenly gave me renewed energy and enthusiasm (I’d need it). We stood on top for a few minutes eating when another pair of climbers arrived as well. After talking with them for a while and scouting out our route, we headed down. The climb down to the rappel point is obvious…and one of the scarier sections of the climb. A thin ridge snakes it’s way north, then east and descends about 50-75 feet to the top of a small gully on the massive north face of the Needle. Here, we found several slings around a large, solid spur. As Ken set up the rappel, I spied our route and picked out several prominent rock outcroppings to help guide us as we got down into the maze of steep and rocky couloirs.
The rappel was very long (about 100) feet and went straight off the main ridge. As you rappel, you can look straight down a couple thousand feet to Upper South Colony Lake. The rappel is surprisingly very easy. Although it is steep, there are no vertical or overhanging points. However, I would never downclimb this part without a rope. It’s very steep, long, and exposed. If faced with a downclimb, the safest way would probably be the gully leading down from the top of the rappel point.
At the bottom of the rappel, we realized there was no turning back and we began the traverse. The most difficult part of the traverse is unquestionably the descent off the Needle. Once you’re past the largest gendarme beneath Crestone Needle (called the “Black Gendarme” even though it’s not black), the major difficulties are over. Getting off the Needle is a matter of picking the easiest route through a enormously complex series of gullies and cliffs. Ken and I cliffed out a few times and had to retrace our steps. At one point, we were faced with climbing back up a 4th class section and descending an easier way. Instead of doing this, we rappelled another section, which was a lot of fun.
The route is impossible to describe. The best advice to give to others is, when still on top of Crestone Needle, look for very prominent ledges that lead all the way to the south couloir on Crestone Peak. Be warned that it is very tough to get to them if you don’t have a good sense of routefinding and memorize the landmarks. When Ken and I were in one of the last remaining gully-crossings, we saw another pair of climbers rappelling. By the time we emerged out onto the ledges, we saw them again but they were WAY off route on the very steep parts of the north face of the Needle. After a while, we lost them.
Once we were through the major difficulties, we had a great view of the entire route. Many parts of it, however, were obscured by cliffs and gullies.
Although I knew we were on the right route, we did manage to find a few cairns. We tried to build them up and construct new ones as we hiked along the ledges.
Once we got onto the ledges, we moved pretty quickly. Eventually, we ended up in the south couloir on Crestone Peak. This couloir leads up to the Red Saddle. On the opposite side of the Red Saddle, the North Couloir tops out. The North Couloir is the standard route on Crestone Peak. The Red Saddle is also the dividing point between the two summits on Crestone Peak, the main summit being to the left or west. The south couloir on Crestone Peak is considerably looser than that on the Needle but it’s much more stable than the majority of couloirs in Colorado. Parts of the couloir and the entire top is covered in red rock, hence the name.
The scramble to the true summit was very easy and rewarding. Although both peaks were individually easy, the traverse was undoubtedly very difficult but we had succeeded in making it without any real problems. From the top of the summit, we had commanding views of all the nearby peaks. In the valleys to the west, the aspens had begun to change. We signed the register and discovered that we were the only people on the summit this day. After staying on Crestone Peak for maybe an hour, we headed back down the south couloir. Our plan was to go down to Cottonwood Lake and back up over Broken Hand Pass and back to the truck. The North Couloir was reputed to be very loose and, to make matters worse, had snow in it. Besides, I wanted to see Cottonwood Lake. The only trick in downclimbing the south couloir was exiting to the left before the couloir got too cliffy. From here, we had some tricky 3rd class scrambling but we eventually found a trail leading down towards Cottonwood Lake. The terrain around Cottonwood Lake was very pretty…this would be an excellent place to camp.
The hike back over Broken Hand Pass was easy. I still had plenty of energy in me. It felt like I was going backwards; the longer I hiked, the more fresh I felt. Ken didn’t feel the same though…probably because it was his turn to carry the heavy rope! As we were hiking down from Broken Hand Pass we heard voices behind us. It was the other two climbers who had gotten way off route on the traverse. Apparently, they had to climb back up the Needle and back down the standard route or had somehow had to abort and traverse around underneath the backside of the summit. We were well in front of them and didn’t stop to find out (they probably weren’t in the mood for talking about it). It was amazing to think that the whole time we were traversing the two peaks, climbing Crestone Peak, and returning to the truck, they were trying to just get back. They spent a long time up on the Needle, but at least they made it down safely.
This was our third major 14er traverse of the summer and unquestionably the most difficult one. Looking back, the Maroon Bells traverse was relatively easy. It required two rappels but was very straightforward and short. The Mount Wilson-El Diente traverse was the longest. Although it didn’t require a rope, it had plenty of tricky sections. The Crestones required a rappel and had routefinding that was considerably more difficult than the others. That was the main challenge of this traverse…but we were up to it.
Posted 9 years, 5 months ago. Add a comment
