1 is a distant view of the route. Hike up the nasty
Lake Como/Blanca Peak road to reach Lake Como
at 11,750'. Following the road, walk around the lake (
2) and up through more forest to reach tree line, at 12,000' -
3. Continue on the road until it ends near Blue Lakes, at 12,200' -
4. A trail starts at the end of the road and your next task is to ascend a headwall with a waterfall, just beyond the lake -
5. Staying left of the waterfall, follow the trail as it switchbacks 300 feet up the headwall -
5. After reaching easier terrain, continue to 12,600' to reach a small lake and pass it on the right -
7. Pass another small lake at 12,650' (
8) and then around a corner to reach Crater Lake
, at 12,800' -
9. Above Crater Lake you'll see another headwall ahead, near 13,000' -
10.
Follow the trail through talus to reach the base of the headwall and swing right to begin climbing it -
11. The trail zig zags through ledges before traversing to the right side of the headwall beneath some cliffs -
12. Near 13,300', turn left as you approach the top of the headwall -
13. Just above 13,400' you'll reach a corner with a couple of cairns -
14. The Blanca trail continues up to the right and the less-defined trail for Ellingwood starts to the left, near one of the cairns. If you are only climbing Ellingwood, you'll want to return to this junction
, so it's good to mark this spot on your GPS or smartphone mapping app. If you're having trouble finding the Ellingwood trail, here's a good landmark: In
15 locate a mining hole
ahead, below the ridge. It's the one with light-colored rock below the entrance and slightly higher than your position at the junction. The route traverses left, below the mine hole.
Once you identify the route, continue toward Ellingwood's south face -
16. Look for trail segments and a cairned route that passes below the difficulties of the Ellingwood-Blanca connecting ridge -
17. Near 13,500', the terrain eases a bit after you've passed below steep terrain -
18. Continue a bit farther onto Ellingwood's south face before turning right to climb directly toward the ridge -
19. The easiest way up is to carefully follow cairns as you aim for a notch that will become more obvious as you climb higher. Once you reach the ridge at or near the notch
, turn left and continue along the ridge crest -
20 and
21. Gain a false summit (
22), drop into another notch and climb to the summit
-
23 and
24. On your descent, return to the 13,800-foot notch -
25. If you are not traversing to Blanca via the Class 3 route, descend via your ascent route and return to the Blanca trail, near 13,400'.