Crestone Peak (1)

Crestone Peak (1)
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Statistics:
- Date Hiked: June 18, 2005
- Miles Hiked: 14.3
- Elevation Gain: 5,390'
- Hiking Partner(s): Aaron Reid, Ferenc Jasco
Description:
- We climbed the Northwest Couloir and descended the South/Red Couloir of Crestone Peak from 9,800' on the road leading to the South Colony Lakes Trailhead. Although Ferenc is listed as a hiking partner, Aaron and I were with him only for the backpack in and approach to South Colony Lakes. His trip report is likely more interesting than mine. After ascending the Northwest Couloir, he completed the traverse to the Crestone Needle and then tagged Brokenhand Peak for good measure too.
- Our blitzkrieg on Crestone Peak was thwarted early by two downed trees that blocked the South Colony Lake Road at 1.5 miles. (They were already removed by the next day as we saw several vehicles at the upper trailhead.) After transferring all my gear to my expedition pack, we started our backpack to the upper 4WD parking lot at approximately 8:00 pm. The few miles to the upper trailhead, although unexpected, went quickly and we set up camp and prepared for the next morning. We planned on waking at 4:00 am for a late alpine start.
- We started as scheduled, and the trail to Lower South Colony Lake was almost entirely snow covered. Once at the Humboldt Peak trail junction, we ascended the switchbacks to the saddle west of Humboldt at 12,860'. At this point, we started hiking west and skirted Point 13290 on its south side. This portion of the hike proved to be more challenging than expected, and we definitely found ourselves in several sections of class 3 scrambling. In addition, the wind was rather strong which unfortunately drains my energy and hindered progress. Nevertheless, we were finally deposited into the Bear's Playground and made the final approach to the base of the Northwest Couloir.
- I previewed the coulior from Saguache (CO) the previous day and it appeared as though it contained continuous snow. Sadly, this wasn't the case and the couloir was melted out for approximately 150' near the base and again about two thirds of the way up for 200'. Irregardless, we had a pleasant climb in the snow and worked our way through the rock when encountered. The initial rock wasn't too bothersome, and the first extended section of snow was great climbing. The larger section of rock was a bit more tricky and both Aaron and I felt there were a couple of class four moves to contend with. After this rock, the snow was finally continuous to the notch at 14,180'. The final section was an exciting ascent as the snow narrowed down to a very small and steep chimney.
- When we reached the notch, 14erworld members Teresa Gergen and Kirk Mallory were there to greet us. We said hello, and as they started their descent down the Red/South Couloir, Aaron and I scrambled to the top of Crestone Peak. Surprisingly, we ran into Mark and Sarah Richardson with whom I had just climbed the Y Couloir on Pikes Peak. We visited a while, and then they were off to complete the traverse with Ferenc. After our summit photos, we went back to the notch and I quickly scrambled up to the East Summit of Crestone Peak.
- Although less steep than the Northwest Couloir, the descent down the Red/South Couloir was relatively challenging based on snow conditions and our fatigue. We glissaded when we felt comfortable, and soon found ourselves at the base of the couloir looking up at a 700' climb to Brokenhand Pass. There is a trail, so it was tolerable for the most part. The northeast side of Brokenhand Pass still contained a lot of snow, so it was back to plunge stepping and glissading. The hike back to the 4WD trailhead seemed much longer that the approach. It ended up being a 10 hour day for us.

Leg	Description	Start	End	G (L)	Grade	Miles
1.	Starting Point - 4WD Trailhead	9,800'	11,060'	1,260'	6.8%	3.5
2.	4WD Trailhead - Lower South Colony Lake	11,060'	11,660'	600'	8.1%	1.4
3.	Lower South Colony Lake - Crestone Peak (Per Roach)	11,660'	14,294'	2,750'	26.0%	2.0
4.	Crestone Peak - Red Notch	14,294'	14,180'	(114')		0.1
5.	Red Notch - Crestone Peak (East Summit)	14,180'	14,260'	80'	15.2%	0.1
6.	Crestone Peak (East Summit) - Base of Red/South Couloir	14,260'	12,200'	(2,060')		0.9
7.	Base of Red/South Couloir - Brokenhand Pass	12,200'	12,900'	700'	22.1%	0.6
8.	Brokenhand Pass - Lower South Colony Lake	12,900'	11,660'	(1,240')		0.8
9.	Lower South Colony Lake - 4WD Trailhead	11,660'	11,060'	(600')		1.4
10.	4WD Trailhead - Starting Point	11,060'	9,800'	(1,260')		3.5
	Cumulative Elevation Gain/Grade/Miles			5,390'	14.3%	14.3

Maps:
- Click here to view a 2D map of the area where this hike is located.
Photographs:
- My preview of the Northwest Couloir of Crestone Peak the day before our climb.
- Crestone Needle on the approach from South Colony Lakes.
- A look at Brokenhand Pass as we ascended the standard Humboldt Trail.
- Crestone Peak from near Point 13290.
- Traversing to the base of the Northwest Couloir. You can see the large west fin of the couloir in the sun.
- Kit Carson and Kat Carson Peaks from the couloir.
- Looking up the couloir after getting into our first continuous section of snow.
- Arron climbing the Northwest Couloir approximately one half of the way up.
- Ferenc entering the second rock section of the couloir which was approximately two thirds of the way up.
- The final section of the couloir became more narrow and steep as you approached the notch.
- A look at the final section of the couloir from the summit of Crestone Peak.
- Aaron's summit photo with the southern Sangre De Cristos in the background.
- My summit photo.
- Looking down the entire length of the Northwest Couloir from near the notch.
- The Red/South Couloir from its base.
- Brokenhand Peak and Pass from near Cottonwood Lake.
- The northeast side of Brokenhand Pass with Lower South Colony Lake in the background.

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