Ellingwood Point

Route: South Face
Posted On: 4/14/2015, By: windwaker
Info: We hiked in the day before to Lake Como. There is very little snow and we found it easier and faster to move without snow shoes as there were very little spots where snow completely covered the trail. We started out at about 4am from Lake Como for the Ellingwood Point Summit, at this early in the morning we did not need snow shoes either and opted for micro spikes or crampons on the crusty snow. We hit the bowl right below the summit at about 530am. The snow was in good condition, but there were obviously previous avys that mostly looked like wet slab. The summit push was ice axe and crampon necessary (although we had one in our party that managed to jump from rock patch to rock patch with just his axe. The way down (8am) we were able to chose "ski" paths that we glissaded down for decent. All around beautiful hike. Heavy melt occurring every day! 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/19/2015, By: ulvetano
Info: We parked at around 8,500ft and threw on skis at around 10k where the snow became more consistent. After camping on the bench just about Como Lake, we departed for Ellingwood in the morning around 7. After checking snow conditions we picked a beautiful couloir to gain access to the SW Ridge, continued to the summit, and descended via the South Face. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 1/6/2015, By: ap snow
Info: Parked in the same spot as last weekend (8900ft) and camped at Como. Winds had destroyed the line I skied on Blanca but Ellingwood Point was good although a tad thin off the top. After that section it was deep! 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 11/7/2014, By: Nelson
Info: I hiked to Lake Como on the 6th and climbed Ellingwood today. Snow starts at 10,200 and at 10,700 it is pretty much is continuos. It is only a couple of inches. By 12000 ft it is three or four inches. The crux of the climb for me was from 13,000 to 13,400. Here there was significant trail breaking, and crossing some steep sections with hard snow. I put on microspikes,here and kept them on to them on to,the summit. They were not necessary above 13,500 but there were enough patches of snow that it was easier to stay on snow than transition and climb talus. It is my opinion that there is currently a huge difference between south facing and north facing. I would not try Blanca without crampons and ax. The temperature at Lake Como was below 10 degrees. My water froze at night and my IPhone would not power up in the morning to send a SPOT message. I took two Nalgenes for,the climb and they froze as well. At 10300 I saw bear tracks, at the Lake there were no signs of life. No bears, no mice, no people. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 9/11/2014, By: addrock528
Info: Trail is in great shape up till S. Zapata Lake. The C2 Couloir was horrendous (predictably), especially coming down, with no snow. Still now snow on trail at any point. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/6/2014, By: Unknown
Info: Great conditions on the SW ridge today. There were ice covered rocks the last 200 ft. or so before the summit until midday sun got to it. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 9/7/2014, By: glenmiz
Info: We climbed Ellingwood via Zapata Creek trail yesterday. Overall, this was a great route. We saw three other people all day. The lower part of the trail is in outstanding shape and well maintained. This is surprising as I understand this is a seldom-used approach to Ellingwood. The north ridge is challenging and has a short knife-edge that are all very fun and good for folks like myself that enjoy a thrill but not too much. The ridge itself is narrower than I expected but there are two basic options as described in the route description. The shady spots above about 13,700' were icy early. The icy part we couldn't avoid was just a flat part of the SW ridge with talus. This made it challenging for footing (but doable) in that part. The ice forced us onto the north ridge proper (the challenging part) which was in the sun. The ice had melted by the time we descended so we had the ridge and slightly below the ridge options which were now in the sun without ice. Of note, and the primary reason for this report, as this is the part of the route I didn't like. We ascended C2 and our group split and we descended both C2 and C3. Neither are good options (unfortunately, they are the only). C2 is steeper with fewer rocks all of which are loose in the upper half. When one breaks loose, it can roll a long way. With seven in our group this made it challenging on the ascent. We tried to stay on either the left or right side of the gully where there is solid rock for hand and foot holds. At the top, definitely, go right as one in our group went left and found it icy and very steep. The traverse along the ridge from the top of C2 to C3 seemed longer than the half mile in the route description and we almost descended the couloir to the east of C3 thinking we had made C3. I'm glad we didn't ascend this route which was our original plan. We didn't follow the ridge the whole way but it was definitely more stable than contouring. C3 was not as steep as C2 and shorter. It contained LOOSE talus, larger at the top than the bottom. There was NO WAY to prevent it all from sliding/rolling. Descending was, essentially, sliding with the rock. Wouldn't have been any fun ascending either. At the bottom of the couloir, we crossed the rock glacier rather than going around it above the small lake. The north side of the rock glacier was also very loose and unstable. In retrospect, I would have gone below the rock glacier and hiked just above the lake. A recent post compared these two couloirs to the West Slopes of Columbia and Columbia was the preference. I think I agree and but never thought there would be a less-desirable route than Columbia West Slopes for me. Again, I like most of this route. C2 is the best option as it saves considerable distance and C3 is really not any better than C2. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 7/4/2014, By: esagas
Info: Summer conditions in the Zapata Lake area and on both Ellingwood and Blanca. The snow on the C2 couloir is gone, except for a tiny, insignificant patch near the top. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/13/2014, By: bbass11
Info: Did the traverse from Blanca to Ellingwood today. Trail is basically clear of all snow; well any snow can be avoided for the most part. On the way to Ellingwood, we did have to cross a few snowfields, but they were only about 6 feet wide in the places where we crossed. We did not have ice axes or crampons or any ice/snow gear at all. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 6/10/2014, By: Firechap31
Info: South Zapata Creek trail is clear all the way up to South Zapata Lake. Be prepared with crampons and axe if you‘re attempting C2. Alternate route C3 is 1/2 snow covered but doable. 

Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek
Posted On: 5/13/2014, By: druid2112
Info: Snow starting about a mile before the lake. Above treeline patchy but pretty snowed in by the time you reach the lake. C2 in great shape. Snow off and on from the saddle to the last ridge. Enough snow on the final push to keep it interesting. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 2/17/2014, By: Mickeys Grenade
Info: We were able to drive 4 miles in from the highway on the Lake Como Road. I have a stock 4WD 4-Runner. There is snow and mud on the first flat section of road. We had to drive in the brush next to the road to avoid it. If you care about your car, you would stop at 8,800 feet. We continued to around 9,700 feet, but it beat my car up and I got some damage. Multiple difficult rocky sections where a spotter helps or having a modified 4WD would do the trick. Lake Como Shed is in good shape. We covered the door with a tarp that we brought. It is still there. Snowshoe and boot track to the summit. Multiple steep snow slopes in the upper basin. There was a lot of snow. The snow seemed stable. No obvious avalanche signs were identified, however, it was scary being in avalanche terrain. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 2/2/2014, By: Mickeys Grenade
Info: I drove 1 mile in from the highway with a stock 4WD on the Lake Como Road. People have been getting stuck on the snow covered road. There were tire tracks next to the road in the brush that I used. I stopped after a mile. I didn‘t want to push my luck in the dark. I car camped at 7,800 feet. Things went well all the way to the cabin at Lake Como. Above that there was a lot of wallowing trying to break trail. I made it to the Blue Lakes at 12,150, except everything was white and I couldn‘t see a thing. It was snowing hard and visibility was poor. I decided to turn around. There was more snow above Lake Como then I was expecting. It was a long tough day for me. I left the car at 3 a.m. and got back at 4:30 p.m. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 11/2/2013, By: BrentRichter
Info: 10/14 peak conditions report was about the same that we experienced today 10/25, 5" or so of solid snow above 12k, which turned to soft powder above 13k, at which point I found microspikes helpful; some waste deep post-holing above 13k when descending Ellingwood via a gully, quite unpleasant. It snowed on us most of the day. Road was snow covered and icy in spots above 11k as you enter the forest/shade. We had camped at 10k just before the steepest part of the road switchbacks up to the right. If we had gone another 0.25 miles or so and few hundred feet in elevation, then we would have found some more suitable space to park and camp. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/6/2013, By: stoopdude
Info: Totally dry. Some very small and inconsequential packs of snow on the SW ridge. All avoidable. The Lake Como approach is damp and muddy in a few places, but no big deal.