Ellingwood Point

Route: Blanca and Ellingwood
Posted On: 7/27/2026, By: backcountrybrodes
Info: Nice stop-over peak for extra credit after completing the LB-Blanca Traverse! Staying high on the ridge between Blanca and Ellingwood makes life a little difficult on one of the towers. Even with lots of confidence on exposure and scrambling, I would still recommend dropping to find the cairned trail near the saddle in the name of efficiency. Once you gain the rest of the SE ridge of Ellingwood, getting to the summit is easy peasy. Luckily weather held out and we were able to tag this one! 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 7/22/2026, By: kmoss2
Info: Absolutely stunning route & we are so glad we took this approach. C2 completely dry and most scree and loose rock can easily be navigated by hugging climber's right on the way up, left on the way down. Seriously, descent only took 30 minutes. Will require some class 3 moves but definitely recommend. What seemed WAY longer than expected was time it took from exiting C2 to summit! Can be tricky to find/follow trail through talus before hooking a right to gain the North Ridge, and that talus is a slog and slow going. Some fun class 3 in the final push to the summit but still, we thought it took way longer than expected when the mileage remaining is such a fraction of the trip! Our total mileage was closer to 14 mi RT and total vert closer to 6,000'. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 6/22/2026, By: RRanger1996
Info: 99% summer conditions with minimal & avoidable snow/ice in C2 couloir. Backpacked into Zapata lake which is a beautiful place to camp. Great day on the mountain overall, but do not underestimate the hike down C2 & the backpack out especially in 85+ degree heat... bring more water / food than you think.

Finding C2 on the way down was harder than expected, so if it looks super sketchy... it's not C2 and keep going. The All Trails marker is dead on for the turn. 

Route: Blanca and Ellingwood
Posted On: 6/6/2026, By: V1per41
Info: Full summer conditions. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 5/10/2026, By: Connor1
Info: Just over 13 miles and almost 6k ft of elevation gain. I’m very happy I chose to do this from Zapata falls. Last time I was here I did little bear - Blanca from lake como rd. The zapata falls approach was much more enjoyable than hiking up lake como rd. It felt much more like I was in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t see anyone until I was halfway back to the parking lot. The trail was dry up until 10500ft where I encountered the first few unavoidable snow spots which will most likely melt in a week. They were small and didn’t make a difference. Then it was dry again all the way up until the C2 couloir. I got a late start so the snow climb was a little mushy. Ice axe required. Crampons required too if you get an appropriate early start and a cold night. Make sure to stay climbers right at the top of the C2. I stayed left going up and it made for some interesting mixed climbing with no good holds and it was very slick. After the couloir the ridge had spots of snow usually around 2 inches deep. It was mostly avoidable. The final summit ridge was also snowy. Just enough to add some extra spice making it slippery and covering good footholds. On the way down I was able to glissade down the C2 and then hike back on all dry trails. Would recommend waiting a little bit for the upper section to dry out on the summit ridge. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 4/26/2026, By: davisrice4
Info: Conditions on C2 as seen from the lake. There was no snow of significance getting to this point. The rest of the North ridge looks mostly dry, but the couloir is holding on with potential for a good snow climb. 

Route: Lake Como Approach
Posted On: 4/19/2026, By: wmagnuson7
Info: See Blanca Peak report posted April 19, 2026. 

Route: Lake Como Approach
Posted On: 4/6/2026, By: Splitboard14ers
Info: I made it 2.6 miles up the Blanca Peak road from the start. The hike to Lake Como was snow free except for 2 small patches near the old cabin ruins. These sections were firm and frozen. The last half mile or so to Lake Como some snow more snow patches were present, but inconsequential. All snow encountered was firm or frozen. This could change if conditions warm.

Be aware that this road is rocky and the approach is laborious, as steps occur on rock, not a nice trail. From Lake Como upward towards Blue Lakes there was consistent snow coverage. Once again the snow was firm and fully frozen, and I chose to continue in boots rather than skinning, as it changes from snow to rock too frequently.

I traveled easily across the frozen snow to the base of Ellingwood. There is a route to Blanca from here, or to the Southwest ridge of Ellingwood. I chose to climb the "Promenade Couloir" The first 150 feet or so was technical as I climbed up through the ice falls, a mix of ice, firm snow, and rock. I used crampons, an ice axe, and hands. Once in the gut of the couloir, I removed crampons and climbed in boots. The new snow amounted to 4 or so inches on top of mostly rock, and occasionally frozen snow pack. The couloir is mostly melted out of snow, but it was a mix of surface conditions to the top of the couloir.

At the top of the couloir significant rime had coated everything on all aspects. I navigated a route away from the ridge crest and over to the North facing aspect of the peak. There was about 150 vertical feet to reach the Summit, which I cris-crossed back to the West ridge to reach the Summit ridge. I walked across the ridge the remaining 50 feet to stand on the Summit.

The descent was done in the same route as the ascent. I did snowboard down a few sections of continuous snow, but they were meaninglessly short. Once descended I remained in boots for the entire duration of the exit. The snow remained firm, and I never post holed one single time.

The exit is as long as the approach, and the miles wind on. I started at 4:33am, I reached Summit at 1:25pm, and I finished at 6:45pm. My GPS got reset midday and numbers were not accurate, so my best guess is that my mileage total was between 15-17, vertical between 5700-6000, and total time was 14hours and 12 minutes. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 3/29/2026, By: shaines90
Info: 5:45am start yesterday, was the only person on seemingly the entire Blanca group all day. Trail before treeline is mostly dry, but snowfields of different size/stability/tracked-outness start occurring after the dry creek crossing, and get much more common after the second creek crossing. As usual for spring, they were stable in the morning, rotten and postholey in the afternoon. There are numerous downed trees at different parts along the trail, most requiring small detours around that are pretty obvious.

I opted to directly ascend the C2 couloir, which is well-filled in and has benefited from some great overnight freezes recently. The snow in the couloir was by and large bulletproof, so crampons and ice axe definitely needed for safety, but there are some rotten spots higher up where I punched through to my knees and had to hurriedly locate a safer path. Didn't notice any signs of instability both going up and coming back down later either.

Ridge is almost entirely summer conditions, minus one or two small patches of snow just before the summit that climbers can avoid easily enough. Trail on the ridge is pretty hard to follow, but there are some cairns interspersed throughout to help guide - generally, staying higher on the ridge is better and more stable.

Did not traverse to Blanca because I moved slower than I was expecting and saw some clouds building up, but I'll attach a picture of the connecting ridge - once again, looked to be pretty much summer conditions. 

Route: Lake Como Approach
Posted On: 3/18/2026, By: Chipmunk
Info: Zero snow on Lake Como Road to the switchback at 9,850', where we parked. You could drive another ~0.4 miles to where the road begins to descend, but I wouldn’t recommend going farther at this point. There are many bare patches on the road, and where snow remains it’s well packed. Snowshoes are not necessary to reach Lake Como, especially in the morning when conditions are firm. Beyond the lake, we appreciated having them due to punchy snow.

We climbed the Promenade Couloir, a south-facing line that leads nearly to the summit. The name comes from a Reddit post (https://www.reddit.com/r/14ers/comments/1jyn2fn/climbed_an_unkown_couloir_up_ellingwood_point/) - feel free to remove if needed, but it’s a useful reference for seeing the route in a better snow year than what we currently have.

We cached snowshoes near the standard Blanca/Ellingwood trail before branching off toward the couloir. The initial choke involved a short stretch of ice climbing, followed by roughly 1,000 feet of sun-cupped but generally supportive snow. The couloir joins the SW Ridge route just below the summit. From there, a bit of Class 3 scrambling on dry rock and a short ridge walk brought us to the top.

We descended the standard route on Ellingwood, which is abysmally dry for mid-March and mostly a talus hop. Any sun-exposed snow had already turned to mush. Snowshoes were helpful exiting the basin, though we still experienced some postholing. Based on existing tracks, others have recently completed this route without snowshoes by linking dry patches and tolerating the occasional posthole. 

Route: Lake Como Approach
Posted On: 11/10/2025, By: gillacrusha
Info: Same report I put under Blanca. Only saw one other soul all day, and it must be the guy who posted the other trip report!
Parked just below Jaws 1. We have a lifted 2-door wrangler but chickened out. That road is brutal. Summited Blanca first, used spikes the last 200 ft or so but hardly needed them. Didn't need my ax at all - just poles. The traverse to Ellingwood is fun and well marked once you are off Blanca, but I got mixed up and first headed down Blanca in the wrong direction. Pretty windy and shady up Blanca, but the sun was shining on Ellingwood and it was beautiful. I did wish I had my helmet, but at least there were no other climbers around to kick rocks. Lots of loose rocks on both peaks. 

Route: Blanca and Ellingwood
Posted On: 11/10/2025, By: notidealbutfine
Info: Traversed from Blanca. Both the ridge from Blanca as well as the South Face are totally dry and in full summer conditions still. See my LB and Blanca condition updates for more info. Amazing views of Blanca, Little Bear and the Spanish Peaks. 19.22 miles / 8,307' gain / 12 hours, 45 minutes 

Route: Lake Como Approach
Posted On: 9/27/2025, By: seoulman
Info: Summer conditions. Dittos for the neighboring peaks. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 9/26/2025, By: mdecola
Info: Beautiful approach. The C2 couloir had some snow from the night before, and it made the final few hundred feet borderline treacherous - unstable, obscured footing that was slick. Up on the ridge the route is an easy follow, we held far left on the ridge for more Class 4 exposure. Again, couple inches of snow on the final Class 3 section, leading to a couple Class 4 moves and dangerous footing. Overall beautiful, not another soul on this trail. Very low winds, which was a gift, but the mountain is fast-approaching winter conditions. Our watches clocked 13.25 miles RT. 

Route: Blanca and Ellingwood
Posted On: 9/20/2025, By: AndrewJCraigie
Info: Ellingwood / Blanca traverse - dry