Climbing the Crestones

July 14, 2016 -

Trailhead: South Colony Lakes
Start: 9,950 feet
Summit: 14,165 feet
Total Gain: 5,900 feet starting at upper 4wd TH (9,950)
7,050 feet starting at lower 2wd TH (8,800)
RT Length: 14.50 miles starting at upper 4wd TH (9,950)
20 miles starting at lower 2wd TH (8,800)

Trailhead

Take Colorado 69 south from Westcliffe. Drive 4.5 miles and turn right on Colfax Lane. Drive 5.5 miles to the end of Colfax. Turn right and drive 1 mile on a dirt road to a junction. Continue straight up the 120 Road for 0.3 mile to the Lower 2WD Trailhead at 8,800'. To reach the Upper 4WD Trailhead, continue 2.7 miles to parking/camp spots before the first river crossing, near 9,950'. In 2009, the South Colony Lakes road was permanently closed here (gate) and this is the current trailhead. The trail starts next to the trailhead kiosk, in the parking area.

Route

This is not the standard route on Kit Carson Peak but it's a fine way to climb Kit Carson from the South Colony Lakes area. Just be aware that it's a tedious route, with some Class 3 & 4 climbing and plenty of elevation re-gain.

From the gate closure at 9,950', pass the trailhead sign, cross the foot bridge and walk 2.5 miles up the old South Colony Lakes road to reach a signed junction. Turn right to follow the standard Humboldt Peak trail through the forest - Photo #1After 0.6 mile on the trail, cross a rocky area - Photo #2. After nearly a mile on this trail, exit the trees and continue through willows to the north of Lower South Colony Lake - Photo #3. Continue toward Upper South Colony Lake (hidden) and locate a trail junction above the lake - Photo #4. Turn right and continue on the Humboldt trail as it zigzags up a steep slope to reach 12,850', on a saddle just west of Humboldt Peak - Photo #5.

Walk west along the ridge to reach the base of a 13,290-foot point and hike nearly 400' up the somewhat-loose ridge (Photo #6) to gain the top of the point where you'll have an excellent view of the route ahead - Photo #7. Staying on or near the ridge crest, scramble 0.4 mile along this rugged ridge (Photo #8 and Photo #9) to reach a large, flat area called "Bears Playground" - Photo #10. Enter the playground near 13,100', turn right and hike northwest toward the top of unnamed point 13,799', also known as "Obstruction Peak" - Photo #11 and Photo #12. Avoid the temptation to hike directly up the rocks by hiking north for a few hundred feet before angling northwest toward the ridge. Once on the ridge crest, turn left and continue to Obstruction's summit - Photo #13.

Your next goal is to gain Kit Carson Mountain's eastern summit which is actually made up of two points - Columbia Point (13,980') and a slightly lower one, often called "Kitty Kat Carson." Like Kit Carson's western summit, Challenger Point (14,081'), Columbia was named after a U.S. Space Shuttle accident. Leave Obstruction's summit and continue west down the Class 2/2+ ridge to reach the saddle between Obstruction and Kitty Kat Carson/Columbia Point - Photo #14. Staying near the right side of the large "bowl" on Kitty Kat's east face, ascend steep Class 2 terrain (Photo #15 and Photo #16) for 600' to reach the top, where you'll see the summit of Columbia Point only 0.1 mile away - Photo #17. Continuing west, drop 50' on the south side before ascending to the top of Columbia - Photo #18.

The next portion of the route is more serious and this is a good place to assess the weather to determine whether or not it's prudent to continue. To reach the summit of Kit Carson Peak, you must descend some serious terrain on Columbia, climb to the summit of Kit Carson and then return via the same route. This is not trivial. Taken from Kit Carson, Photo #19 shows the somewhat-complicated descent of Columbia's west side. Notice the large ledge that's detached from Columbia's west face - it's the key to this descent. From Columbia's summit, descend southwest along a narrow ridge and begin looking for cairns - Photo #20. After descending approx. 100' and before reaching a gendarme on the ridge, locate a tiny notch in the ridge, which probably has a cairn nearby. Turn right (Photo #21), drop slightly from the ridge and descend left on Class 3 terrain (Photo #22) to reach the start of the ledge - Photo #23 and Photo #24.

Scramble west down the ledge, pass the 1st of three gullies that drop to the left (Photo #23) and continue to a point on the ledge - Photo #25. Scramble over this point to see the next and final point on the ledge - Photo #26. This is where your descent off Columbia becomes more difficult. A 2nd gully descends from this location but there's also a 3rd gully which drops from the other side of the final point. To keep the difficulty at Class 3, use this 2nd gully and descend (Photo #27 & Photo #28) nearly to the bottom of it before turning right and scrambling across easier Class 3 rock to exit into the upper South (Cole's) Couloir, just below the notch/saddle between Columbia and Kit Carson Peak. For some extra fun, you can traverse past the point and into the 3rd gully. Whether you go over the point or descend a bit before traversing to the 3rd gully, you will be forced to make some Class 4 moves. Once in the 3rd gully, descend (Photo #29 & Photo #30) until you are near the bottom and turn right to drop direclty into the notch/saddle between Columbia and Kit Carson Peak. This notch is also the top of the Outward Bound Couloir, which drops to the north. Taken from the Kit Carson side of the notch, Photo #31 shows the descent from both the 2nd and 3rd gullies.

From the area of the 13,700-foot notch, you must now pass a rock rib (Photo #32)which blocks access to the final face on Kit Carson and you have a couple of options: 1) Drop below the end of the rib to intersect the standard route, near the end of Kit Carson Avenue (Photo #33) or 2) angle up from the notch and climb ~80' and scramble through a nifty passage on the rib - Photo #34 and Photo #35.

Either way, once you're on the face, intersect the standard Kit Carson route and climb northwest - Photo #36 and Photo #37. As you approach the summit ridge, you can angle to the left, without having to go all the way to the ridge - Photo #38.Gain the summit and enjoy the views (Photo #39 and Photo #40) before returning via the same route.

Starting at the Willow Creek trailhead, 2.2. mi. east of Crestone on road 949 (rough dirt) at 8880 ft. altitude. Proceed east up Willow Creek Trail to Willow Lake (11,564 ft) and around the left side above the cliffs. Fill your water bottles here, as there won't be any more for awhile. Proceed south up the ridge of Challenger Point on tundra at 50% grade and cross the ridge, then turn left and traverse east along a mostly 1 ft. wide ledge (3 inches and broken in some spots) along the 50-60 deg. conglomerate slopes (class 2+) and to the summit of Challenger Point, 14,081 ft, at mile 4.6.

Challenger (front) and Kit Carson (behind) seen from the west ridge looking east.

Left: Kit Carson from the summit of Challenger looking east. "Kit Carson Avenue" circles the mountain around the right side to the back. The Crestones are visible in the distance. Right: Crestones as seen from the summit of Kit Carson looking southeast. The north couloir route (class 3) is plainly visible straight up the middle.

Kit Carson is 1/4 mile east, but to get there you have to descend east to the 13,780 ft. saddle and circle the mountain on the south side on Kit Carson Avenue, a spectacular 6 ft. wide ledge, to the far side, then up a 45 deg. gully (class 3) to the summit at 14,165 ft. (mile 5.8).

Descend the way you came up and then continue east down to the 13,620 ft. saddle and up very steep slabs (class 3) to Columbia Point (a.k.a. Kat Carson) at 13,980 ft. (mile 6.1). There is no easy way around this summit, with cliffs on all sides. Once you descend this, the climbing becomes easier for awhile. Pass below point 13799 on the right (or climb it if you want) and continue east to the Bear's Playground, a broad saddle at 13,140 ft. This is your first escape point. If you have had enough, then descend WSW and pick up the Spanish Creek trail at treeline and return to Crestone. Be sure to radio any other runners in the area to let them know you quit.

If you continue, then run east up the gentle slope along the ridge, over a hump, through another saddle at 12,860 ft, and up to Humboldt (class 2, 14,064 ft, mile 8.7). Return the same way to the Bear's Playground at mile 10.4. You have one more chance to quit before climbing the Crestones. Look carefully at the route you will take.

Crestone Peak and Needle - from Kit Carson in the NW

If you decide to continue, proceed SW along the ridge and around to the right side of Crestone Peak and up the north couloir up to the Red Notch (class 3). This is often filled with snow, ice, and rubble. Depending on conditions, crampons, an ice axe, and a helmet may be recommended. From the notch at the top of the couloir, climb to the west summit at 14,294 ft (mile 11.0). There is an alternate route up the ridge on the left side of the couloir that avoids the ice and rubble, but it leaves you with a difficult class 4 descent from the isolated northeast summit, and a class 4 traverse across exposed slabs to get to the notch and west summit. Take your choice.

Crestone Peak to Needle Traverse (Class 4) seen from the south at Cottonwood Lake

From Crestone Peak you have two choices to get to the Needle (14,197 ft., mile 11.5). You can either take the traverse, about 0.5 miles southeast, or descend the south slope to the easier terrain above Cottonwood Lake and climb the Needle from the opposite (southeast) ridge, about 1.5 miles. The more direct route, shown above, requires a class 4 climb just before the summit of the Needle. Stay on the right side until you are below the 200 ft. high "Black Gendarme", the first and largest of 4 pillars going left to right before the summit in the photo below. Here the climbing gets hard.

Approaching Crestone Needle from the traverse.

Climb the chimney to the right of the Black Gendarme, where easy progress is blocked by a boulder wedged in the middle (class 4). Climb up the second pillar and straddle a short but exposed knife ridge that curves around to the right until you reach a steep gully. Climb a 7 foot wall (V0), then pass below the two upper gendarmes on class 3 terrain up to the ridge. The crux is in front of you. The last 50 vertical feet is a solid conglomerate wall at a 73 degree angle with big knobby handholds and footholds. It is officially rated class 4 but I think it feels more like 5.5-5.6. A slip here means a 1000 foot fall. You will probably find rappel slings at the top. In this photo from a Camp 4 article, "rap" indicates the bottom of the crux.

If you don't like this route, then the alternative is an easier, class 3 downclimb and a class 3 climb back to the Needle on the southeast ridge, using the same route by which you will descend. Most of the climbing is on 45 degree slopes with good handholds and footholds. You also have one more opportunity to quit at the lake before climbing the Needle.

From Crestone Needle, descend the south couloir following the cairns (class 3) onto the southeast ridge and follow it until you are able to descend to Cottonwood Lake (12,310 ft) and fill your water bottles. Record your half marathon time at the lake's edge.

If you are only running the half marathon, then bushwhack southwest following the "escape route" down the right side of the drainage to the Cottonwood Creek trail (5 miles to the trailhead). If you didn't arrange for a car shuttle, then walk or run 5.4 miles north on flat road to Crestone, then 2.2 miles east back to your car at the Willow Creek trailhead.

If you are running the marathon, then return the way you came tagging each of the 5 14,000 ft summits again.

Kat Carson trip report by Tim Briese.