Little Bear Peak Trip Report 09/11/2007

Peak(s):	Little Bear Peak - 14,041 feet
Date Posted:	09/11/2007
Date Climbed:	09/07/2007
Author:	emfortin

Little Bear, including a baby bear sighting (twice)
Route: West Ridge (Hourglass) Hikers: Eric, Rich, & Ariel (14er.com aka emfortin, montysep, and chefrel, respectively) Date: 9/7/2007--Start Time: 6:05 am - End Time: 5:10 pm Miles: 15.5 I responded to Rich's (aka montysep) post looking for someone to take on Little Bear with him. I had wanted to hit one of the harder class 4 standard routes all summer, and the timing of his post and my availability were right on. I was in California working all month (which meant no hiking) and desperately needed an intense hike to clear my mind. Over a week or so we exchanged a few emails just to make sure that we were like-minded in both safety and speed. We both knew Little Bear was a serious undertaking and coordinated a full meeting, summiting, and bailout plan (if necessary). Up front, Rich and I decided a third person would be a good addition. I knew Ariel (the infamous chefrel-- we have hiked a few times together), and suggested we invite him along. Ariel has gotten quite a bit of heat lately in the forums and, I believe, created and received an unjust and misleading characterization. Rich agreed to invite Ariel after some short discussion on our hiking experiences together. We decided to meet somewhere near the trailhead around 5:30 am Friday. Rich departed Aspen late Thursday afternoon to scope out the situation, and once he found an easily findable car-camp spot, texted me of his whereabouts. Ariel and I met close to I-25 and Lincoln at 2:30 am, after which we drove fast and made it to the 150 turnoff (and Rich) by 5:35 am. Using my 4 Runner, the three of us started up the 4wd Lake Como road and continued in the darkness about a mile (not even to the trailhead) before deciding to hike the rest of the way in. Como is one mean and nasty road and would take a lot of time to navigate. We could have made it further (in the light), but not easily and not without risk of vehicle damage. (Note: we saw a Nissan Pathfinder make it to about a mile from Lake Como. How that driver did it (or how long it took), I'll never know.) Near the Nissan, we found some bear scat. 200 yards later, I saw the large rear-end of something scamper around the corner and behind a rock outcropping on the side of the road. I figured it must have been an elk but Ariel thought the fur was too dark. We kept hiking and by the time I passed the outcropping, my mind had wandered elsewhere. After walking another 30 yards, I thought back to the 'elk', turned, and to my amazement, found a young black bear staring at me! I'd never seen a bear in the wild, and I had to double take to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. We took a few pics and marveled at the good fortune of seeing something so special along the route. We hiked another mile to Lake Como and finally Little Bear came into view. What a sight! Ariel and I explored a little while Rich grabbed a quick bite to eat. We headed up the trail and climbed the first gully; it reminded me of a much shorter version of the trek up to Broken Hand Pass. After the notch we spent some time doing a little route finding and ended up navigating a little more than was necessary. Here's Ariel marveling at the view just beyond the notch. After some relatively easy hiking, we made it to the base of the hourglass. Rich hollered loudly up, "Climbing the hourglass." Moments later, we received a response and the people above waited patiently for us to ascend. Even as they were sitting there unmoving, a sole, small rock tumbled down past us. It is extremely important to move fast and be audible to other climbers while in this section. This section should be done one group at a time. No exceptions. There is too much potential for injury from rock-fall. Because of water, we all took the left, steeper route to just below the smallest point of the hourglass. Good feet and hand holds abound if you look carefully. Just below the crux move, which comes at the slimmest point of the hourglass, we traversed over the ropes to the right side and then up through the hourglass and back left over the ropes. For me, the two moves up and through the hourglass were the hardest. My body was in an awkward position, and there was almost nothing for hand or footholds. I was never worried and never felt in danger thanks to my slab climbing experience and confidence in my smearing ability. After the center of the hourglass, the rock gets steeper but if you choose a good line it's solid with great foot and hand holds. After we were all above the rope anchors, the two climbers waiting for us began their descent. We took a little break until we heard them yell 'Clear' and restarted our ascent. All three of us were cognizant of the seriousness of rock-fall and chose the steeper, solid rock up instead of the loose stuff. Because of this, it was slightly more strenuous but allowed us to gain elevation without throwing any rocks down the hourglass. After more elevation gain, another group (of three) began their descent through the hourglass. From the summit they descended the right gully, and had to traverse back over to the left side where we were. I wasn't over there, but I think staying on the left (right on the way down) is much easier. We remained careful to not toss any rocks down. For the final pitch, pockets of fog rolled in, and we moved quickly up a line of red, solid rock. Just below the summit, there is a lookout where you can see the exposure. I took a pic And then gained the summit. What a great feeling. Amazingly, it was the first 14er ascent for one of the previous summitors. What a mountain to be inducted on. The Little Bear/Blanca traverse looked great! Ariel was game, but I was not mentally prepared. We had a quick bite to eat, took a few pics, and then began our descent, following nearly the same line down as we took up. We were careful to not unleash any rock-fall coming down. It was unlikely there was anyone below us, but we took no chances. At the top of the crux pitch, it looks very steep. Rich traversed over to the rope anchor to check it out, and apparently there is an old piton over there. He also said one sling (of many) was on its final threads. We called through the hourglass numerous times, just to make sure no one would be caught below us. I led the down-climb, which seemed significantly easier than the ascent. Rich followed right behind and descended below me through the slimmest part of the hourglass and waited out of the range of rockfall. Once we were out of the way, Ariel descended to the crux. I down-climbed the steep right side, and Ariel and Rich descended the left (opposite of the ascent). There were no issues, and the rope wasn't touched by any of us on the ascent or descent. Through the crux I committed to a certain line that ended up having to leave my hand in the water but that was the worst of it, both up and down. Rich followed the obvious trail back and Ariel and I traversed the ridge. We descended the gully, staying close together, to Lake Como. Ariel and I watched the lake brookies, which were everywhere, while Rich filled his water. As we headed down Lake Como road, I led while Rich and Ariel hung a short distance behind, engrossed in conversation. I heard some branches crack and looked through the trees, expecting to see people but shocked to find the Bear again! This time it was about 30 yards from me. I waved Rich and Ariel up, motioning to remain quiet. The bear watched us playfully, becoming more interested every moment. Finally it started heading down toward us and I decided it was time to head off. The next 4 miles down Lake Como Road where uneventful except for the pain in the feet (and what a pain it was) Little Bear was strenuous but rewarding; it was one of my best hikes to date. It was also my first official 4th class route, and as such removed much of the unknown anxiety/anticipation I've carried with my goal of summiting the highest mountains in the state. I had a great time, learned something about myself, made a great leap forward to one of my goals, and even got to see a bear in the wild. What an awesome day! Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Little Bear, including a baby bear sighting (twice)

Route: West Ridge (Hourglass)
Hikers: Eric, Rich, & Ariel (14er.com aka emfortin, montysep, and chefrel, respectively)
Date: 9/7/2007--Start Time: 6:05 am - End Time: 5:10 pm
Miles: 15.5

I responded to Rich's (aka montysep) post looking for someone to take on Little Bear with him. I had wanted to hit one of the harder class 4 standard routes all summer, and the timing of his post and my availability were right on. I was in California working all month (which meant no hiking) and desperately needed an intense hike to clear my mind.

Over a week or so we exchanged a few emails just to make sure that we were like-minded in both safety and speed. We both knew Little Bear was a serious undertaking and coordinated a full meeting, summiting, and bailout plan (if necessary).
Up front, Rich and I decided a third person would be a good addition. I knew Ariel (the infamous chefrel-- we have hiked a few times together), and suggested we invite him along. Ariel has gotten quite a bit of heat lately in the forums and, I believe, created and received an unjust and misleading characterization. Rich agreed to invite Ariel after some short discussion on our hiking experiences together.

We decided to meet somewhere near the trailhead around 5:30 am Friday. Rich departed Aspen late Thursday afternoon to scope out the situation, and once he found an easily findable car-camp spot, texted me of his whereabouts. Ariel and I met close to I-25 and Lincoln at 2:30 am, after which we drove fast and made it to the 150 turnoff (and Rich) by 5:35 am.

Using my 4 Runner, the three of us started up the 4wd Lake Como road and continued in the darkness about a mile (not even to the trailhead) before deciding to hike the rest of the way in. Como is one mean and nasty road and would take a lot of time to navigate. We could have made it further (in the light), but not easily and not without risk of vehicle damage. (Note: we saw a Nissan Pathfinder make it to about a mile from Lake Como. How that driver did it (or how long it took), I'll never know.)

Near the Nissan, we found some bear scat. 200 yards later, I saw the large rear-end of something scamper around the corner and behind a rock outcropping on the side of the road. I figured it must have been an elk but Ariel thought the fur was too dark. We kept hiking and by the time I passed the outcropping, my mind had wandered elsewhere. After walking another 30 yards, I thought back to the 'elk', turned, and to my amazement, found a young black bear staring at me!

I'd never seen a bear in the wild, and I had to double take to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. We took a few pics and marveled at the good fortune of seeing something so special along the route.

We hiked another mile to Lake Como and finally Little Bear came into view. What a sight!

Ariel and I explored a little while Rich grabbed a quick bite to eat. We headed up the trail and climbed the first gully; it reminded me of a much shorter version of the trek up to Broken Hand Pass.

After the notch we spent some time doing a little route finding and ended up navigating a little more than was necessary. Here's Ariel marveling at the view just beyond the notch.

After some relatively easy hiking, we made it to the base of the hourglass. Rich hollered loudly up, "Climbing the hourglass." Moments later, we received a response and the people above waited patiently for us to ascend. Even as they were sitting there unmoving, a sole, small rock tumbled down past us. It is extremely important to move fast and be audible to other climbers while in this section. This section should be done one group at a time. No exceptions. There is too much potential for injury from rock-fall.

Because of water, we all took the left, steeper route to just below the smallest point of the hourglass. Good feet and hand holds abound if you look carefully. Just below the crux move, which comes at the slimmest point of the hourglass, we traversed over the ropes to the right side and then up through the hourglass and back left over the ropes. For me, the two moves up and through the hourglass were the hardest. My body was in an awkward position, and there was almost nothing for hand or footholds. I was never worried and never felt in danger thanks to my slab climbing experience and confidence in my smearing ability.

After the center of the hourglass, the rock gets steeper but if you choose a good line it's solid with great foot and hand holds. After we were all above the rope anchors, the two climbers waiting for us began their descent. We took a little break until we heard them yell 'Clear' and restarted our ascent. All three of us were cognizant of the seriousness of rock-fall and chose the steeper, solid rock up instead of the loose stuff. Because of this, it was slightly more strenuous but allowed us to gain elevation without throwing any rocks down the hourglass.

After more elevation gain, another group (of three) began their descent through the hourglass.

From the summit they descended the right gully, and had to traverse back over to the left side where we were. I wasn't over there, but I think staying on the left (right on the way down) is much easier. We remained careful to not toss any rocks down.
For the final pitch, pockets of fog rolled in, and we moved quickly up a line of red, solid rock. Just below the summit, there is a lookout where you can see the exposure. I took a pic

And then gained the summit. What a great feeling.

Amazingly, it was the first 14er ascent for one of the previous summitors. What a mountain to be inducted on. The Little Bear/Blanca traverse looked great!

Ariel was game, but I was not mentally prepared. We had a quick bite to eat, took a few pics, and then began our descent, following nearly the same line down as we took up.

We were careful to not unleash any rock-fall coming down. It was unlikely there was anyone below us, but we took no chances. At the top of the crux pitch, it looks very steep.

Rich traversed over to the rope anchor to check it out, and apparently there is an old piton over there. He also said one sling (of many) was on its final threads. We called through the hourglass numerous times, just to make sure no one would be caught below us. I led the down-climb, which seemed significantly easier than the ascent. Rich followed right behind and descended below me through the slimmest part of the hourglass and waited out of the range of rockfall.

Once we were out of the way, Ariel descended to the crux.

I down-climbed the steep right side, and Ariel and Rich descended the left (opposite of the ascent). There were no issues, and the rope wasn't touched by any of us on the ascent or descent. Through the crux I committed to a certain line that ended up having to leave my hand in the water but that was the worst of it, both up and down.

Rich followed the obvious trail back and Ariel and I traversed the ridge. We descended the gully, staying close together, to Lake Como. Ariel and I watched the lake brookies, which were everywhere, while Rich filled his water.

As we headed down Lake Como road, I led while Rich and Ariel hung a short distance behind, engrossed in conversation. I heard some branches crack and looked through the trees, expecting to see people but shocked to find the Bear again!

This time it was about 30 yards from me.

I waved Rich and Ariel up, motioning to remain quiet. The bear watched us playfully, becoming more interested every moment. Finally it started heading down toward us and I decided it was time to head off.
The next 4 miles down Lake Como Road where uneventful except for the pain in the feet (and what a pain it was)
Little Bear was strenuous but rewarding; it was one of my best hikes to date. It was also my first official 4th class route, and as such removed much of the unknown anxiety/anticipation I've carried with my goal of summiting the highest mountains in the state. I had a great time, learned something about myself, made a great leap forward to one of my goals, and even got to see a bear in the wild. What an awesome day!

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Presto	Congratulations and Wow! 9/11/2007 5:42pm Way to go on the successful climb and very neato about the bear sighting TWICE!
Greenhouseguy	Little Bear 9/12/2007 3:10am Sounds like a great day! Congratulations on your summit and on your bear sighting. I think that I would have been looking over my shoulder for a BIG bear for the rest of the day.
doumall	Wow, lucky you! 2/5/2011 12:22am Thats awesome you saw that bear, TWICE? Damn, they are tough to spot, seems like a curious one, hope it doesnt get in trouble. There seem to be plenty of berries round those parts. Congrats!

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