Crestone Peak Conditions?

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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cindyh
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by cindyh »

Broken Hand Pass is a snow climb, with ice in spots. An ice tool and points are a good idea. Not sure on current conditions on the Red Couloir, but it's been melting. Running water and verglas might be the bigger concern. It was still holding snow on the 29th, when several folks turned back due to falling rock and ice. If anyone has any recent update - I'd in interested to know as well.
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michaelgrundy
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by michaelgrundy »

I am also interested in the current conditions. Unfortunately, the weather report for this week doesnt look very promising so that stinks...
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telemarkdude
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by telemarkdude »

Was just up there yesterday. Here are some shots I took:

http://www.summitpost.org/crestone-need ... 4/c-150434" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.summitpost.org/crestone-peak ... 6/c-150435" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.summitpost.org/broken-hand-p ... 5/c-153003" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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jdorje
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by jdorje »

There's almost no snow up there, but what snow there is will be right on the route. I have no idea how much that will be. Yes it will make the route more challenging.
"I don't think about the past, and the future is a mystery. Only the present matters."
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Kiefer
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by Kiefer »

Thanks for the updates! Might be heading up there tomorrow pending I get enough done around the property today.
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michaelgrundy
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by michaelgrundy »

Thanks for the update... might have to scrap my plans for next weekend unless the weather forecast changes. (I wish I could go during the week but I am stuck). If the weather changes and Wed, Thurs, and Fri yield no snow... I will be doing this. Otherwise, on to Ellingwood and Blanca I go.

Kiefer - If you end up going tomorrow, would you mind sharing the conditions with the rest of us?!

Thanks!
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atalarico
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by atalarico »

I was up there last Wednesday and Thursday, and it definitely got more precip this past weekend. If you go, bring an axe and 'pons if you're going up Broken Hand Pass. It was hard snow with a ton of ice all the way up the pass. Red Gully was full of ice that melted while we were climbing, and the Needle had one beautiful looking ice flow coming down it's South East aspect. I'm not sure if it's on the standard route, but it's safe to assume there are other hidden gems on both the peak and the needle.

This is from Red Gully. It was doable to climb around the ice, but my thought is that if it ices up any more then it'll be pretty difficult to climb around without a rope and rack. Also, the ice presented it's own hazard as it heated up and fell down.
Image

I don't have much from BH Pass because we were trying not to fall. We had boots and axes, but left the 'pons. It was fine because we're both pretty experienced climbers overall, but it definitely wasn't for the faint of heart.

Have fun! It was one of the longest days I can recall in the mountains. We were pretty beat by the time we got back to the car.
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falcon568
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by falcon568 »

Gah, so tempted to try for it this weekend, right on the fringe of ok conditions. Foiled on Crestones planning all of September, hard to let this one go until next season...
"Of course, inside each one of us is the ambition to reach the summit, to realize that you are stronger than obstacles, that it is within your power to do something uncommon and indeed impossible for most people. But one must be prepared to face those obstacles..."-Ed Viesturs

"When I was a child, I felt there was something I had to find before I died. I imagined it as some lost, golden country, glittering on the other side of the mist across our neighbor's fields, hidden within the shadows behind our stone wall—some place beyond the fixed patterns of society, the grey chronology that led inexorably to death. In my twenties, on my first free solo, the light seemed to shatter through me, and the sky pour down the rock. Like so many climbers, immersed in that sudden, radiant awareness of now, I've had that brief and total conviction that each moment is both fleeting and eternal"-Katie Ives
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Dancesatmoonrise
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by Dancesatmoonrise »

telemarkdude wrote:Was just up there yesterday. Here are some shots I took:

http://www.summitpost.org/crestone-need ... 4/c-150434" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.summitpost.org/crestone-peak ... 6/c-150435" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.summitpost.org/broken-hand-p ... 5/c-153003" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for the great pics. The Ledges route actually looks pretty doable right now. I wonder how it holds into November... December? [-o<
falcon568 wrote:Gah, so tempted to try for it this weekend, right on the fringe of ok conditions. Foiled on Crestones planning all of September, hard to let this one go until next season...
Well, 80% snow forecast for Thursday, but "less than one inch accumulation." Doesn't sound like NOAA thinks there's a lot of available moisture in that region this week. You might do ok. Keep an eye on it. Good luck, be safe, have fun!
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GeezerClimber
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Re: Crestone Peak Conditions?

Post by GeezerClimber »

We did it 7/4 and it was a much tougher day than anticipated. With days getting short, this is something to consider. There was some snow and ice on BHP and some snow in the red gully when we went which made it tougher but I think the ice now would be much trickier. If there is a little more snow this weekend, the ice will be worse yet in the gully.

Dave
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