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Four of us left Colorado Springs at 1:00am, Saturday morning. After a stop at Walgreen's for some supplies and a bit of getting lost on the drive to the trailhead, we finally began hiking at 5:30am.
A nice shot of Crestone Needle early in the morning:
The hike up to Broken Hand Pass involved patches of ice on the trail and moderate snow on the final 200' feet (can‘t see all the snow in the picture, but it is there) in the picture to the top. Crampons or snowshoes would have been worthless for this section. On the way down, this section was more challenging than climbing the entire Red Gully. One wrong move, and one would be sliding right down to the lake!
Looking up at Broken Hand Pass:
Once over Broken Hand Pass, there was virtually no snow! Here is a picture to show the condition of Crestone Needle's Standard Route:
Cottonwood lake is completely frozen and we took advantage of it! PLEASE don't give me a sermon on the danger of walking on alpine lake ice
Almost the entire Red Gully was free of ice and snow. The few patches that existed were COMPLETELY avoidable! Here's a shot to show the condition of the Red Gully:
Another Photo:
Of course, I drop my camera case and it slides right into the middle of the only sizeable piece of ice in the entire Red Gully!
The sky was almost entirely blue until our descent. The temperature was quite warm as well. Absolutely perfect conditions for a rare November Crestone Peak summit.
We were't alone out there, though. This bird was enjoying the day as well...
Here is a picture from the top of the Red Gully looking at the start of the ledges that lead to Crestone Peak's sweet summit:
A nice shot of Kit Carson from the summit:
This hike definately ranks up there as one of my personal favorites. A huge "Congrats" goes out to Big "V"! You move to Colorado from "flatland" just a few weeks ago, have never hiked in your life, and you summit Crestone Peak in November! Not too many people can say that!
Driving down the S. Colony Lakes Road was at times "interesting".
Plenty of ice lines the road and it can make for a slippery, sliding ride. The last creek crossing before the upper TH parking lot was especially exciting. My truck broke through the ice and barely made it out of the water and up the other bank to the parking lot. Oh, the fun of being the first person to a trailhead!
Heath
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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