Sawtooth vs. Kelso ridge for class 3 introduction?

[Cruiser]

A bumper sticker that said "Elite Mountaineer" on it would be tits. Bonus points if it had that green and white CO mountain silhouette on it.

[forwardbias]

A bumper sticker that said "Elite Mountaineer" on it would be tits. Bonus points if it had that green and white CO mountain silhouette on it.

I assume you wanted to include the quotes

http://www.zazzle.com/pd/spp/pt-zazzle_ ... ocial=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[PaliKona]

Sawtooth question: it seems most do the loop from Guenalla Pass by hiking Bierstadt first, then over the Sawtooth, then down the gully on Evans. What about doing it in the reverse? Any pros/cons?

Also, based on the discussion above: is the Keyhole route truely less exposed than Kelso Ridge?

[ezabielski]

Sawtooth question: it seems most do the loop from Guenalla Pass by hiking Bierstadt first, then over the Sawtooth, then down the gully on Evans. What about doing it in the reverse? Any pros/cons?

Also, based on the discussion above: is the Keyhole route truely less exposed than Kelso Ridge?

At their maximum exposures, the Keyhole route has less exposure than the knife edge on Kelso, in my opinion. The knife edge is two sided and very narrow (duh), but the most significantly exposed parts of the Keyhole are mostly easy class 2 with a big drop on one side (the Narrows). The exposure in the actual class 3 parts of the Keyhole isn't that big, but the class 3 is more sustained and steeper on the Homestretch than any section of Kelso ridge.

[AlexeyD]

Sawtooth question: it seems most do the loop from Guenalla Pass by hiking Bierstadt first, then over the Sawtooth, then down the gully on Evans. What about doing it in the reverse? Any pros/cons?

Also, based on the discussion above: is the Keyhole route truely less exposed than Kelso Ridge?

At their maximum exposures, the Keyhole route has less exposure than the knife edge on Kelso, in my opinion. The knife edge is two sided and very narrow (duh), but the most significantly exposed parts of the Keyhole are mostly easy class 2 with a big drop on one side (the Narrows). The exposure in the actual class 3 parts of the Keyhole isn't that big, but the class 3 is more sustained and steeper on the Homestretch than any section of Kelso ridge.

True - but one important difference is that on the Keyhole, you have to go back the way you came, whereas on Kelso, you just hike down the walk-up trail. Many people will have little difficulty running up the Homestretch, but get nervous descending the slabs (though they're truly not that bad). Also, the Keyhole is about twice as long as Kelso...consider that, by the time you've even started the class 3, you've already hiked at least as much as the entire Grays/Torreys loop, and about 4000' of gain. Exposure aside, in my opinion any route on Longs makes for a considerably harder day than Kelso.

[ezabielski]

Sawtooth question: it seems most do the loop from Guenalla Pass by hiking Bierstadt first, then over the Sawtooth, then down the gully on Evans. What about doing it in the reverse? Any pros/cons?

Also, based on the discussion above: is the Keyhole route truely less exposed than Kelso Ridge?

At their maximum exposures, the Keyhole route has less exposure than the knife edge on Kelso, in my opinion. The knife edge is two sided and very narrow (duh), but the most significantly exposed parts of the Keyhole are mostly easy class 2 with a big drop on one side (the Narrows). The exposure in the actual class 3 parts of the Keyhole isn't that big, but the class 3 is more sustained and steeper on the Homestretch than any section of Kelso ridge.

True - but one important difference is that on the Keyhole, you have to go back the way you came, whereas on Kelso, you just hike down the walk-up trail. Many people will have little difficulty running up the Homestretch, but get nervous descending the slabs (though they're truly not that bad). Also, the Keyhole is about twice as long as Kelso...consider that, by the time you've even started the class 3, you've already hiked at least as much as the entire Grays/Torreys loop, and about 4000' of gain. Exposure aside, in my opinion any route on Longs makes for a considerably harder day than Kelso.

Definitely. I agree the Keyhole is a more physically demanding route, even though it has less exposure. I think if you feel fine on one you will probably do fine on the other on the technical side of things, however. The knife edge on Kelso, while very very short, demands more attention than any part of the Keyhole, even going down.

[polar]

Sawtooth question: it seems most do the loop from Guenalla Pass by hiking Bierstadt first, then over the Sawtooth, then down the gully on Evans. What about doing it in the reverse? Any pros/cons?

Someone asked about doing the Sawtooth traverse from Mt. Evans parking lot a while back. This is kind of similar. I've done the Sawtooth in both directions, here's what I can offer:

Cons:

• The start of the traverse from Evans side will be a little hard to spot, unless you've done it before, or you happen to run into people coming the other way.

• You will be going down the loose, exposed part of the traverse (what many refer to as the low path/high path section). It's not difficult, but going down it certainly adds more spice to the spiciest section of the traverse.

• Going from the Sawtooth saddle to the top of Bierstadt felt really tiring for me. Maybe I had been hiking for too long that day, but it felt really steep (not class 3 steep, just thigh-burning lung-busting steep). Going down it felt much easier.

Pro:
About the only pro I can think of is that once you're on top of Bierstadt, it's cruiser back to Guanella Pass.

Personally though, if you're going to do the Sawtooth only (and not the Tour de Abyss), do it from Bierstadt to Evans. There's a good reason why most people do it in that direction.

[benlawson1983]

Kelso's ridge

[greenonion]

Have not done Sawtooth, so cannot give a comparison. But just did Kelso on Sat. There are a few icy sections from recent t-storm toward the top of Kelso and around the knife edge on the right side while going up. Might melt off soon, but...?? Definitely take it slow and deliberate. After crossing the knife, we climbed over the top of the white rocks - more manageable than it first appears and this avoids ice/slush on the right side of that area. Fun ridge overall!

[GregMiller]

There are a few icy sections from recent t-storm toward the top of Kelso and around the knife edge on the right side while going up. Might melt off soon, but...??

Hehe, was up on Kelso Ridge on Sunday, guess it did melt off soon, because we only saw one small pile of graupel on the shady side of the ridge, and nothing on the route.

[Jim Davies]

I'm wanting to do Fletcher, Atlantic, Pacific, and Crystal eventually. Are they a good quad combo? Or is it better to/do most people do certain pairs? I've done next to no research on Centennials at the moment.. focusing on finishing the 14ers. But I might start picking them up pretty soon. Some sounds pretty fun, too!

Fletcher to Atlantic has a reputation for being very nasty. I think Spruce Creek to Father Dyer-Crystal-Pacific-Atlantic, with a descent of Pacific's east ridge then down via Mohawk Lakes would be an awesome loop, but haven't done all parts of it (and it's probably too long a day for me personally).

[scvaughn]

Obviously Kelso is a step up but should I be looking elsewhere? Are there bailouts at all in case we're not feeling it? For instance, I thought I read somewhere that if you're not feeling great about the Knife Edge, you can bail out to the north around it?

It's seriously child play. If you can hold a guardrail to get up a flight of steps you have more than enough skill to do the route with ease. Obviously don't be complacent but it's seriously not nearly as hard as you think it is. It's also not exposed enough where you wouldn't be able to do a variety of bypasses...But trust me, when you're up there you'll be having a blast and wont want to avoid the fun stuff. Just go for it. I've known a number of people who have done the ridge as their very first 14er, just in some shorts and running shoes. Maybe take a look at the beta to avoid the optional Class 4 sections if you're particularly lacking confidence about your abilities, but other than that it's a super obvious, totally straightforward route.

I did some minor worrying the night before for what ended up being no reason.

^^^ This. you'll be slapping yourself at the summit for having an anxiety at all during the planning process!

Regarding "child's play," I saw a dad up there with his ~5yo. yesterday. The kid appeared to be having fun, and was doing better than many of the adults. It's a "choose your adventure" situation up to the knife edge, with numerous opportunities to do things more intense than the crux.