Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

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Aug_Dog
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by Aug_Dog »

Scott P wrote:
That said, what is the best approach for Eagles Nest?
Probably Cataract Lake/South Ridge (at least if "best" means easiest):

http://www.summitpost.org/cataract-lake ... ute/160648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is probably the easiest route. The East Ridge is more rugged and the Elliot Ridge is longer. I haven't done the Piney Lake route, but it is probably harder than the Cataract Lake/South Ridge route.
Any thoughts on Peak C and its class?
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by Scott P »

I haven't done Peak C yet, but it's on the list.
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by kaiman »

Aug_Dog wrote:
Scott P wrote:
That said, what is the best approach for Eagles Nest?
Probably Cataract Lake/South Ridge (at least if "best" means easiest):

http://www.summitpost.org/cataract-lake ... ute/160648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is probably the easiest route. The East Ridge is more rugged and the Elliot Ridge is longer. I haven't done the Piney Lake route, but it is probably harder than the Cataract Lake/South Ridge route.
Any thoughts on Peak C and its class?
Peak C is a definite Class 4 with mixed climbing on snow and rock. I climbed it from the Piney Lake side (along with Mount Powell) a couple of summers ago. The hardest part is actually getting to the base of the mountain as you have to scramble along a side creek, go over a saddle to get to the small basin with some unnamed lakes below the start of the route. See the route description here: http://www.summitpost.org/southwest-couloir/161340
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by boudreaux »

Chicago Transplant wrote:You can start up Powell before you get to Kneeknocker and follow some grass ramps/ledges until you can get to a break in the ridge, cross it, and pick up the upper standard route and avoid kneeknockers snow and keep it 2+/easy 3. Kiefer and I picked up the ridge somewhere along there as the ridge right out of the pass is harder. We ended up going down one of the gullies Floyd mentions as a possible snow climb, it was a loose mess dry.
I've done that route you describe, but only as a descent with Steve Knapp about 20 years ago. I attempted the ridge over to Eagles Nest, but dropped down into the upper Cataract basin after bailing off the ridge and then reclimbed Powell via a nasty couloir west of the summit to retreive Steve off the summit and descend your route. One of the dumbest things I ever did, telling Steve to wait at the summit of Powell, when he could have waited at the north pass. Hey, live and learn, young and dumb, whatever! Plus side was we saw a lot of goats at that pass!

That north pass is definetly a 2+ climb with views of both Piney and Cataract drainages, Pk C & Eagles Nest westside problems!

Scott P: Peak C is gonna blow your mind. I didn't do it from the classic snowclimb, but it is a great climb from any route!

Palikona: Whatever you end up doing, this is gonna be an epic trip for you, The Gores are that beautiful and rugged!
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by mtnmaneric »

I'd say Peak C is only 3rd Class. Some decent exposure, but the route is amazing and worth every effort!
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by CORed »

Scott P wrote:
That said, what is the best approach for Eagles Nest?
Probably Cataract Lake/South Ridge (at least if "best" means easiest):

http://www.summitpost.org/cataract-lake ... ute/160648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is probably the easiest route. The East Ridge is more rugged and the Elliot Ridge is longer. I haven't done the Piney Lake route, but it is probably harder than the Cataract Lake/South Ridge route.
Point 13099 on the East Ridge route to Eagles Nest is a worthwhile destination if you don't want to tackle the difficult route from there to the Eagles Nest summit. It's just a long, steep class 2 climb, and the views from there are fantastic.

For Eagles Nest itself, the North Ridge is also a possibility. In 1992, I took this ridge, and the couloir to the north of it onto the main ridge of Eagles Nest, and encountered nothing worse than class 3. I didn't summit, as I got chased off the main ridge by lightning, so I'm not sure what the rest of the climb was like, but the East Ridge route also traverses this section of the main ridge.
Last edited by CORed on Sat Aug 03, 2013 7:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by CORed »

boudreaux wrote:
Chicago Transplant wrote:You can start up Powell before you get to Kneeknocker and follow some grass ramps/ledges until you can get to a break in the ridge, cross it, and pick up the upper standard route and avoid kneeknockers snow and keep it 2+/easy 3. Kiefer and I picked up the ridge somewhere along there as the ridge right out of the pass is harder. We ended up going down one of the gullies Floyd mentions as a possible snow climb, it was a loose mess dry.
I've done that route you describe, but only as a descent with Steve Knapp about 20 years ago. I attempted the ridge over to Eagles Nest, but dropped down into the upper Cataract basin after bailing off the ridge and then reclimbed Powell via a nasty couloir west of the summit to retreive Steve off the summit and descend your route. One of the dumbest things I ever did, telling Steve to wait at the summit of Powell, when he could have waited at the north pass. Hey, live and learn, young and dumb, whatever! Plus side was we saw a lot of goats at that pass!

That north pass is definetly a 2+ climb with views of both Piney and Cataract drainages, Pk C & Eagles Nest westside problems!

Scott P: Peak C is gonna blow your mind. I didn't do it from the classic snowclimb, but it is a great climb from any route!

Palikona: Whatever you end up doing, this is gonna be an epic trip for you, The Gores are that beautiful and rugged!
I'm pretty sure that when I climbed Powell, I actually crossed the ridge above Kneeknocker Pass. I also took a descent rout that would make a good ascent route, if you could find it. My climbing partner and I went from the main summit to the lower west summit. From there we saw what looked like a continuous grassy slope from there to the floor of the valley that leads to the pass to the Catarcact drainage. Much to our chagrin, when we got lower on that slope, we discovered a cliff band about 200 feet high at the bottom of it, which was not visible from above. Fortunately, we found a ramp that got us through the cliff band. I suspect finding this ramp from below might be fairly difficult and time consuming. It's been about thirty years since I descended the route, so I doubt I could find it easily myself.
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by jibler »

Hyper specific followup:

what is the easiest mountain to climb from any of the following Vail-side drainages:

Bighorn Creek
Pitkin Creek
Booth Creek


and and - do these Vail side trailheads get crowded? Run out of parking??

____

I once climbed to Deluge Lake - on what I thought was my way to Valhalla - but in busting my ass up to the lake the remaining rather rough looking ascents from then up were too much. The Gores have proven a formidable group all around.

BUT - I also feel if I just throw my ass into one of the above drainages I should be able to get something done.

Thanks!
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by Scott P »

what is the easiest mountain to climb from any of the following Vail-side drainages:

Bighorn Creek
Pitkin Creek
Booth Creek
BIghorn = Probably 12,485 as far as ranked peaks.
Pitkin = Outpost
Booth = Bald

and and - do these Vail side trailheads get crowded? Run out of parking??
I don't know if they run out of parking, but they do get crowded.
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by Chicago Transplant »

Booth trailhead would be the worst as far as filling up, Bighorn is a small lot as well with not much space. Pitkin lot is small, but has more convenient overflow parking than the other two. Overnight parking is also limited, look at the signage. The parking lots are all Town of Vail property next to residences, none of the trailheads you are asking about are Forest Service lands, so keep that in mind.

In all honesty, none of the Gore peaks from Vail are that easy because of trailheads below 8500' and no class 1 routes. To climb Bald from Booth you have to bushwhack a lot, leaving the trail past the falls and heading up the drainage that wraps towards its north ridge. Otherwise its normally done from Spraddle Creek.

Outpost from Pitkin is almost entirely a bushwhack and very steep at the beginning. You leave the trail near the Wilderness boundary and go straight up steep aspen groves for like 1400' before it mellows out on the south ridge. You can get to it from higher up the basin, but that would be a steep talus grunt.

Solitude might be the easiest Pitkin peak, but no cake walk either. Leave the trail near the second "falls" marked on the map, and head up the SW slopes, the "crux" is getting through the willowy headwall. Then there are some steep grassy slopes and eventually some talus near the ridge. Its a steep grunt for sure, but I kind of like that route. Probably someone has a TR here for it. 10 RT and about 5k vert.
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by jibler »

muchos gracias

now I'm thinking about just punching up above Booth creek towards the Spider -- and/or whatever that is south of the Spider.

I don't really need to be on the tallest thing around anyway. But the whole west side of gores is pretty much untapped.

also - my appetite for the bushwhack is waning these days!!
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Re: Easier Gore peaks or passes/saddles?

Post by Jorts »

Class 2 or less from Vail side; from north to south; further sorted by TH...

FROM PINEY:
Eagles Nest - south ridge
Powell
Dwarf Pyramid - west ridge
UN 12,225 (SW of C) - south ridge
Peak D - south ridge
UN 12,361
Peak H

FROM BOOTH:
Peak P - south ridge
Peak U (West Partner) - west ridge

FROM PITKIN:
Outpost - south ridge
UN 12620 (Graduation) - east ridge
Peak W - south slope
UN 13075 - west slope
Climbers point - west slope

FROM BIGHORN:
North Traverse - north ridge

FROM DELUGE:
Traverse - south slope
Valhalla - south ridge
Snow peak - north ridge

FROM GORE CREEK:
Hail Peak - SE ridge
Zodiac View - north ridge
Silverthorne - SW side... better to approach from the east
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