Ellingwood Point

Route: Blanca and Ellingwood
Posted On: 7/16/2019, By: ironman1942
Info: So much mosquito on the way to Como! Bring repellent! Route is mostly clear of snow - big snow field on the way up from Crater Lake. Microspikes made it much easier. Completely clear of snow, ice, and water for most of the scree field and the entire saddle both ways to Ellingwood and Blanca. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/13/2019, By: Pika_wanderer
Info: Conditions are mostly the same as the last trip report. I wanted to add that we were asked a couple times on our trip back if ice axes are required for this route. We found ours helpful on one alternative snowfield shortcut as well as two optional glissades. Microspikes were also helpful in the early morning. However, the majority of people today on both Ellingwood and Blanca standard routes were able to summit just fine without any equipment. I wore trail runners the entire route with no issues. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/11/2019, By: Alan Ellis
Info: Climbed on Thursday, 7/11. Approach is wet with all the runoff but manageable. There are 3-4 snowfields above the upper lakes. In the early morning before sun hit, these are all a sheet of ice, so microspikes would be helpful. After sunhit, they're soft enough so they're not needed. The upper route is snow free. Photos are looking west towards Como Lake from above the upper lakes. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 7/12/2019, By: Cranfillpe
Info: I hiked up to S Zapata Lake on Wednesday afternoon then camped. On Thursday I summited Ellingwood Point and Blanca then retraced my route back to the car. Conditions for traverse at bottom, and under Blanca Peak. Why are we not talking about the mosquitos on the approach??? Maybe this is typical, but they were SWARMING from the trailhead to the lake. Didn't let up until I was ascending C2. It's possible I'm just ornery, but I do not want to understate this. These were some of the worst mosquitos I've ever experienced. Biting me through my clothes, right on my face, in my shorts (how???), despite my constantly being slathered in bugspray. The approach was dry. C2 has a few hundred feet of snow coverage. (see pics) The couloir, prior to the snow coverage, is pretty loose, and contains scree of all sizes, from "ball-bearings," to refrigerator-sized rocks. The snowy section at top went great at 6am. It could theoretically be done with microspikes instead of crampons (ice ax REQUIRED) but that would involve some brutal kick-stepping and balls of steel as a fall would probably be catastrophic. With crampons and ice ax, it was golden. I had been a bit concerned at first due to very warm conditions the night before. It was not ~quite~ a rock-solid freeze, but I had no slippage whatsoever with crampons and ice ax. From the top of C2, the route to Ellingwood summit is completely dry. Last several hundred feet are WORLD CLASS. Great exposure and easy scrambling. Glissade down upper section was brilliant at 11:30am. Consider traversing down to the lower snowfield (see pics; yellow is the descent) then glissading another 100' or so vertical towards the lake. --- The traverse to Blanca Peak -can be- completely dry. I was not very diligent about following the official "route." Fro what I saw, it is not much better than taking off and finding ones own way. On the return to Ellingwood, I followed much of the ridge proper. I think I gained the ridge prior to the recommended gulley as I found some class 4 moves and maybe one or two easy 5s. Lots and lots of flexibility - B lines, C lines, etc.. This traverse was definitely the highlight of my hike. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 7/9/2019, By: kansasgirlclimbs
Info: Snow halfway up the C2 couloir. Slushy in some spots. I needed spikes and poles ascending with an axe for the way down. Above that, trail is clear 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 7/4/2019, By: Sbenfield
Info: Went to the lake to camp with no intention of climbing, but it looks like the c2 gully has snow. The way up to the lake was snow free 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 7/5/2019, By: JaredJohnson
Info: Hiked to the lake Monday and climbed EP via C2 on Tuesday, then descended to Como Lake via the standard route. Got onto C2 around 9:30, even with the late start the snow was very doable; crampons (not spikes) mandatory and had to stay clear of areas near rocks where it was softening up. From the C2 exit to the summit was snow free. Descended the standard trail and with the late time had to take even more care on entrances and exits to 3-4 snow slopes, however once away from the rocks it was good with spikes. A nice fast and safe glissade on the last big snowfield going down the route. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 6/29/2019, By: Pcypher
Info: Trail is in great shape to the Couloirs. C2 holding snow still. Crampons and axe necessary. C3 holding snow too. Traverse to Blanca required crampons for a couple snowfields. Snow was soft by afternoon. Waist deep a couple times crossing snowfields. Blanca summit has a stable cornice but snow is unavoidable on the summit. It's a short section. No crampons necessary. Downclimb of Couloir late afternoon was stable. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 6/16/2019, By: bangerth
Info: I can't report about anything past South Zapata Lake as that's as far as I got. But up to that point: Snow patches start to block the trail occasionally at 11,250 ft. The first dozen or so one can get over unaided -- they're typically 3 ft deep and 10 ft wide -- but eventually one has to bite the bullet and make a decision: (i) switch back and forth between shoes and snowshoes frequently; (ii) go high on the left/east to stay on the talus above the snow fields; (iii) go low along the creek to stay on the snow fields and use snowshoes. I took option (ii) on the way up until the last ridge before South Zapata Lake. It's feasible to keep the snowshoes off for the most part, but it's excruciatingly slow to navigate the steep talus. The rocks are also not always stable. I opted for (iii) on the way back and moved far faster. Snowshoes are definitely needed. It did make me uncomfortable that one has to stay low below steep snowfields at times to avoid taking off the snowshoes all the time crossing rock fields. Low also means one occasionally has to cross the creek running below the snow, and hope that the snow is stable. But at least it's much faster than hopping rocks. C2 and C3 are still deeply covered in snow. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 6/10/2019, By: desertdog
Info: We climbed the C2 in great styrofoam snow conditions. With the warm temps, I would try to be at the bottom of the C2 no later than 5am. There is continuous snow from about a half mile below the lakes. There is a boot packed trail through the snow to the left at the last stream crossing (where you would normally go up the slope on the summer trail). No snowshoes needed. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 5/30/2019, By: Tim A
Info: Backpacked to Zapata Lake on 5/29. Patchy snow transitioned to full snow about a half mile from the lake. In late morning no traction needed to reach treeline. It snowed half an inch in camp that evening. Climbed C2 couloir on 5/30. Base of couloir at 630am, reached the ridge at 8am. Variable conditions. Bottom 2/3rds alternated between good punchy styrofoam that was excellent for kicking in steps against bulletproof snow that would only accept frontpoints. Top 1/3 had a storm or windslab a few inches deep and below that very soft snow, knee deep in some places. Ridgeline was straightforward with some spice. A few places had steep snow that was bulletproof and would have made for impossible arrest conditions in the event of a slip. Made it to about 13,100 before turning around in the face of rapidly building storm clouds south of LB. Back at C2 around 930, plunge-stepped the top hundred feet and glissaded the by-then soft snow back into the basin. Spent another night at treeline enjoying the solitude and another inch of snow that evening. Didn't see another party on 5/29 at all, this is such a better experience than the Como circus on the south side. No snowshoes needed at all. The snow in the basin is soft midday but not deep enough to require flotation. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/26/2019, By: rudyking69
Info: No snow on lake como road until 2 miles from lake where we were able to park on my friends modified 4x4. Snow starts about 1 mile from lake. we camped the night started at 5:30am. Snow was nice and firm the whole way took snowshoes but did not use, deepest snow from 12-13k was less than 1ft deep. Summit by 10:00 am was a little windy but beautiful day. We wanted to do Blanca too but breaking trail got the best of us. Snow was slushy around lake como basin on our way back at 12:30pm. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/19/2019, By: JulianSmith
Info: Climbed and skied the south face of Ellingwood Point today. For me it was a pretty nasty ski. There is some sun cupping just starting to form on the face, and lots of wet slide activity. Combine that with a hard overnight freeze and a reluctant sun this morning; it made for a really icy, chattery descent. At the top it was really steep, and a little scary too. Lots of recent wet slide activity all over the valley in general. Just about everything has slid except for the NW face of Blanca, which still looks pretty good. The road is getting pretty melted out too. About 1 mile below the lake is where the snow is continuous now. On a lark, I skied out on the south side of the valley, which with a little finagling, I was able to ski down almost to the cabins. I wouldn't recommend it this time of year though, as you must fight to maintain enough elevation to connect everything together. It was interesting to ski out that side of the valley as I have looked at it a few times as I was trudging the jeep road. 

Route: Lake Como Approach
Posted On: 11/28/2018, By: Eagle Eye
Info: I reached the summit of Ellingwood Point yesterday, starting from 4.6 miles on the Lake Como Rd. I wore snowshoes :(off and on) but a lot of the way, starting approx 2 miles below Lake Como. Leaving Lake Como in the woods was probably the longest stretch of deep snow. I went up high, aiming for the saddle and then passed under the short cliff section on the Ellingwood side of the Ellingwood-Blanca connecting ridge. I re-gained either the ridge or slightly left-of-ridge for the rest of the way to the summit. I used microspikes for most of the ridge. The wind howled through the ridge and on the summit! I returned in my own tracks to meet the road, and no one else had come up on this day. Image #1 Little Bear from Ellingwood Point Image #2 Some cloud formations from the summit, for a reference point Lily Lake is well-hidden near the shadow. Image #3 Blanca Peak and Mt Lindsey in the distance. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 11/5/2018, By: bxiao
Info: 1-3ft sugar snow around the south zapata lake basin. C2 is covered by mostly thigh high snow and no ice underneath. Crampon is useless and sometime dangerous. Floatation might help but met two climbers down from twin peaks saying snowshoe won't help much. I went up from the right side of C2 which probably is not a good idea, deep wind drift snow and large boulders. Came back down the right way which the underneath talus was more predictable.