Crestone Needle Trip Report 07/12/2011

Peak(s):	Crestone Needle - 14,196 feet Crestone Peak - 14,299 feet
Date Posted:	07/12/2011
Date Climbed:	07/09/2011
Author:	Ski4me

Broken Hand Pass X2
Corinne and I left Colorado Springs at about 3:15pm to head down to the South Colony Lake Trailhead. We made it to the trailhead at about 5:30 and started to backpack into the campsites located about 1.5 miles below the first Colony Lake. Our plan was to wake up at about 3 am and attempt the traverse, but sometimes Mother Nature makes you alter your plans. At 3 am my alarm went off and light rain was pattering the tent. Then bright flash followed too quickly by a loud boom and we knew that attempting the traverse was out of the question. We woke back up at 5 am with a new plan to do the standard route on the Needle on Saturday and wake up on Sunday and go back over Broken Hand Pass to gain the summit of the Peak on Sunday. Corinne and I are both training for the Pikes Peak Ascent so we figured going over the pass twice would help our conditioning. By 5:30 am we regretted not attempting the traverse as the skies were clear. Nevertheless, we tend to always err on the side of caution so we savored the moment of being in the mountains and the climb ahead. The walk up to the lakes was peaceful as the sun hit Broken Hand Mountain. Sun on Broken Hand We turned the corner and were able to see our goal in the distance. Needle in the early sun Although Roach's description in the 2nd Edition says to find a strong hikers trail, the 14ers Initiative must have done some work over the last 5 years because there is a sign that takes hikers going to the summit of the Needle to the left before the lakes are reached. The route up the pass had some snow on the right side, but the braided trail system up the pass misses all the snow. We carried crampons and ice axes for the entire climb, but they could have been left at home. When we reached the top of the pass a strong wind met us and would accompany us for the rest of the climb. At the top of Broken Hand Pass The route finding is difficult after the trail through the tundra is lost. Roach talks about the east and west gullies, but identifying them proved difficult. My advice after hiking is "think big." I was convinced that we needed to stay right and go into a small gully system until we saw two climbers pop out from the ridge to our left. We ascended about 150' more, crossed the trickling creek in the east gully with a 3+ move and jumped over into the west gully to gain the summit. Again, totally snow free. The last push to the summit is a snap, just go up and use the good rock. Up the right side of the east gully Corinne near the summit The summit of the Needle is now one of my favorites. Having climbed almost all of the surrounding peaks, it is fun to look at them with a sense of accomplishment. Three other climbers from the St. Anthony Hospital joined us on the summit and were nice enough to snap a photo of Corinne and I with Kit in the background. The summit The tricky part of the hike down is to locate the notch that takes you back to the east gully. It is marked by cairns and also there is a patch of green tundra in the middle of the gully that marks the left turn. The rest of the down climb is fun, sometimes a low hand placement is necessary. Down-climbing the Needle The walk back to camp was uneventful, however we had company as quite a few marmots and picas were out gathering food for the upcoming winter. A local The next morning we were met by light rain again. However, we decided not to wait as getting to the summit of Crestone Peak would be a long journey from our camping spot. We donned our headlamps and rain jackets and were on the trail by 4:30 am and soon found ourselves heading up Broken Hand Pass again. The light drizzle stopped, dark clouds still clung to the sky. Our hope was that the sun would burn off these clouds and the big ball of fire came through for us. Dawn We dropped off of the pass and went around the lake and crossed into the next basin. The red gully was easy to identify. However, for the vantage point at the bottom of the basin, we did not realize how long the hike up it would be. The Red Gully (left 1/3 of the picture) Roach says to stay to the right; however, we felt that the climbing on the left offered a more solid alternative. The climb would have been less difficult on the right and there were more class 3 moves on the left, but far less loose rock. Plus, we enjoy the scrambling more than shuffling on loose dirt and stone. We thought we had the mountain to ourselves, but we did not want to kick rocks down the confines of the narrow gully. Solid Rock on the left The tundra path leads to the entry point of the gully. From that point forward the route is simple, up, up, up. Just keep climbing until you hit the saddle at 14,100'. Then, just follow the cairns on the climber's left to the summit. Summit (back left) Once again the views were breathtaking. The sand dunes, the Blanca Group, Kit & Kat, Adams... the list goes on. Sand Dunes Looking down the red gully The hike back over the pass tested our training program for the Pikes Peak Ascent and we felt the burn on the way back over. I guess if we really wanted to train we would have hit up the Needle again, but alas I did not have the time as my 9 to 5 approached too quickly. Starting the hike back up Broken Hand Pass Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Broken Hand Pass X2

Corinne and I left Colorado Springs at about 3:15pm to head down to the South Colony Lake Trailhead. We made it to the trailhead at about 5:30 and started to backpack into the campsites located about 1.5 miles below the first Colony Lake. Our plan was to wake up at about 3 am and attempt the traverse, but sometimes Mother Nature makes you alter your plans.
At 3 am my alarm went off and light rain was pattering the tent. Then bright flash followed too quickly by a loud boom and we knew that attempting the traverse was out of the question. We woke back up at 5 am with a new plan to do the standard route on the Needle on Saturday and wake up on Sunday and go back over Broken Hand Pass to gain the summit of the Peak on Sunday. Corinne and I are both training for the Pikes Peak Ascent so we figured going over the pass twice would help our conditioning.
By 5:30 am we regretted not attempting the traverse as the skies were clear. Nevertheless, we tend to always err on the side of caution so we savored the moment of being in the mountains and the climb ahead.
The walk up to the lakes was peaceful as the sun hit Broken Hand Mountain.

We turned the corner and were able to see our goal in the distance.

Although Roach's description in the 2nd Edition says to find a strong hikers trail, the 14ers Initiative must have done some work over the last 5 years because there is a sign that takes hikers going to the summit of the Needle to the left before the lakes are reached. The route up the pass had some snow on the right side, but the braided trail system up the pass misses all the snow. We carried crampons and ice axes for the entire climb, but they could have been left at home. When we reached the top of the pass a strong wind met us and would accompany us for the rest of the climb.

The route finding is difficult after the trail through the tundra is lost. Roach talks about the east and west gullies, but identifying them proved difficult. My advice after hiking is "think big." I was convinced that we needed to stay right and go into a small gully system until we saw two climbers pop out from the ridge to our left. We ascended about 150' more, crossed the trickling creek in the east gully with a 3+ move and jumped over into the west gully to gain the summit. Again, totally snow free. The last push to the summit is a snap, just go up and use the good rock.

The summit of the Needle is now one of my favorites. Having climbed almost all of the surrounding peaks, it is fun to look at them with a sense of accomplishment. Three other climbers from the St. Anthony Hospital joined us on the summit and were nice enough to snap a photo of Corinne and I with Kit in the background.

The tricky part of the hike down is to locate the notch that takes you back to the east gully. It is marked by cairns and also there is a patch of green tundra in the middle of the gully that marks the left turn. The rest of the down climb is fun, sometimes a low hand placement is necessary.

The walk back to camp was uneventful, however we had company as quite a few marmots and picas were out gathering food for the upcoming winter.

The next morning we were met by light rain again. However, we decided not to wait as getting to the summit of Crestone Peak would be a long journey from our camping spot. We donned our headlamps and rain jackets and were on the trail by 4:30 am and soon found ourselves heading up Broken Hand Pass again. The light drizzle stopped, dark clouds still clung to the sky. Our hope was that the sun would burn off these clouds and the big ball of fire came through for us.

We dropped off of the pass and went around the lake and crossed into the next basin. The red gully was easy to identify. However, for the vantage point at the bottom of the basin, we did not realize how long the hike up it would be.

Roach says to stay to the right; however, we felt that the climbing on the left offered a more solid alternative. The climb would have been less difficult on the right and there were more class 3 moves on the left, but far less loose rock. Plus, we enjoy the scrambling more than shuffling on loose dirt and stone. We thought we had the mountain to ourselves, but we did not want to kick rocks down the confines of the narrow gully.

The tundra path leads to the entry point of the gully. From that point forward the route is simple, up, up, up. Just keep climbing until you hit the saddle at 14,100'. Then, just follow the cairns on the climber's left to the summit.

Once again the views were breathtaking. The sand dunes, the Blanca Group, Kit & Kat, Adams... the list goes on.

The hike back over the pass tested our training program for the Pikes Peak Ascent and we felt the burn on the way back over. I guess if we really wanted to train we would have hit up the Needle again, but alas I did not have the time as my 9 to 5 approached too quickly.

Starting the hike back up Broken Hand Pass

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

TheKanes	Way to go! 7/12/2011 5:47pm We only got the Needle on our hike a day earlier. We experienced gusts up to 40 MPH. Here is our link to pictures. Great job. (url)https://picasaweb.google.com/RandJKane/CrestoneNeedle#
Ski4me	Looked cold 7/12/2011 5:56pm Rick & Jen... yeah the wind can be solid companion down in that part of the state. We climb Humbolt in late March and ran into the same conditions. Nice job climbing through the wind to make it to the summit.

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