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Base Camp
Up
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: June 5, 2005
- Miles Hiked: 12.2
- Elevation Gain: 5,480'
- Hiking Partner(s):
- John Brookhouse
- Rebecca Hove
- Brian Kooienga
- Mark Richardson
- Sara Richardson
- Kevin "Steve" Smith
- Description:
- We climbed the left (and right) branch of the Y Couloir on the north
face of Pikes Peak from the Crags Campground Trailhead. I can't
speak for the others, but this was a big day for me that left me totally
wasted. Jerry Roach refers to this climb as the premier
mountaineering route on Pikes Peak.
- I was up at 1:30 am, out the door at 2:00, and off to our designated
meeting point. Brian, Kevin, and John picked me up around 2:30 and
we were at the Crags Campground shortly after 4:00. Mark, Sara,
and Rebecca quickly arrived, and we were hiking by 4:40. The Crags
Trail to the Devil's Playground was in generally good condition and was
only covered by snow in a couple of sections. We made good time
and soon found ourselves on the 13,110' saddle near Rumdoodle Ridge.
- Unfortunately, we weren't able to preview the conditions of the
Railroad and Y Couloirs as well as we expected from the saddle.
Rebecca had previously decided to complete the northwest slopes route
and started towards Pikes. The rest of us dropped north off the
saddle, gained Rumdoodle Ridge, and had a fun 0.7 mile scramble on solid
class 3 rock to Saddle 12070. Route finding wasn't as difficult as
expected, but it still took us approximately 1 hour to make the
descent. From the saddle is was a short scree ski to the
Bottomless Pit at 11,640'. At this point, we had gained
approximately 3,000' and just gave half of it back.
- The amphitheater that surrounds the Bottomless Pit is quite
amazing. Although many people look into the pit from atop Pikes
Peak, far fewer actually get to look up at the incredible cirque.
We felt fortunate. The climbing team regrouped at the base of
Pikes' north face and started our final ascent. The first
500'-600' was melted out on the bottom, so there was a lot of boulder
hopping. We reached consistent snow at the site of an old car that
must have been pushed off the summit of Pikes many years ago.
Everyone quickly changed into crampons and pulled out their axes anxious
to see what conditions were like.
- I would say that the snow was fair. A recent light dusting of
snow that covered portions of the previously existing snow field was
melting and caused our crampons to ball up significantly. Leading
and kicking steps was the most difficult position to be in. Once
the first person removed the soft layer, it was easier for the following
climbers. John and Kevin led for the first portion of the climb as
Mark had some initial mechanical difficulties with his crampon. We
hung a right at the first branch to enter the Y Couloir. The
Railroad Couloir is easier and less steep, and it didn't look as though
it had much snow left in it.
- The Y Couloir got steeper, and we finally took a group break at around
13,200' below where the Y Couloir branches again. I led the next
section as we front pointed with our axes in a high dagger position much
of the time. We had decided to climb the left branch of the
couloir, but wanted to avoid the ice bubble blocking its entrance.
At this point, we split the Y thinking we could climb the rock and gain
the couloir again above the bubble. Almost immediately, I was on
low class 4 rock with mountaineering boots and crampons. As we
contemplated our situation, the group divided. I found a way to
reenter the left branch. Brian, Kevin, and Mark followed.
Sara and John down climbed approximately 100' and started up the right
branch.
- After I found a relatively obvious way to pass the bubble in the left
branch, Brian took over kicking steps and leading us. Sara and
John were paralleling us in the opposite branch as we climbed them
simultaneously. We topped out in the Pikes Peak parking lot after
8 hours and 10 minutes of hiking. We walked over and watched Sara
and John finish the last few hundred feet of their climb. The left
branch was melted out about 100' from the summit, while the right branch
held snow almost all the way to the parking lot.
- The souvenir shop was open, so we all went in and ate and hydrated
while the tourists stared at us as if we were aliens. Rebecca had
been waiting on the summit for quite some time and was very happy to see
that we had safely made it. The hike out was difficult, but we
covered the standard route in 2 hours and 50 minutes. Counting our
1 hour and 20 minutes on the summit, it was over a 12 hour day with most
of us only getting ~2 hours of sleep the night before. This was a
great group of hikers/scramblers/climbers/people that I feel privileged
to have spent the day with.
| Leg |
Description |
Start |
End |
G (L) |
Grade |
Miles |
| 1. |
Crags Campground - Saddle 13110 |
10,100' |
13,110' |
3,010' |
12.4% |
4.6 |
| 2. |
Saddle 13110 - Bottomless Pit |
13,110' |
11,640' |
(1,470') |
|
0.9 |
| 3. |
Bottomless Pit - Pikes Peak (Via Y Couloir) |
11,640' |
14,110' |
2,470' |
46.8% |
1.0 |
| 4. |
Pikes Peak - Crags Campground (Via NW Slopes) |
14,110' |
10,100' |
(4,010') |
|
5.7 |
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Cumulative Elevation Gain/Grade/Miles |
|
5,480' |
17.0% |
12.2 |
- Maps:
- Click
here to view a 2D
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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www.
just
hiking
.com
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