Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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skystrings
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Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by skystrings »

Does anyone have any recent data on conditions for the Blanca Massive area? We are planning on climbing Blanca, Ellingwood and possible Little Bear or Lindsey the weekend of the 26th. We are planning on camping at Lake Como and are wondering what to expect for road conditions as well as possible snow. I would think that by now crampons wouldn't be needed and most snow can be avoided. Can anyone confirm?
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unclegar
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by unclegar »

Here is a shot of Ellingwood/Blanca on 6/4/10 but it sounds like it has possibly melted quite a bit (see Little Bear thread). As for the road... :shock: No snow, but plan on walking if you're talking about Lake Como Rd. unless you have a modified vehicle.
Ellingwood and Blanca
Ellingwood and Blanca
Ellingwood Blanca.JPG (39.86 KiB) Viewed 2026 times
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skystrings
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by skystrings »

This is the info we are looking for. Does anyone have any info on access to Lindsey or Little Bear? I read a previous trip report about the creek crossing situation on Lindsey. Any additional information on that?
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by unclegar »

Little Bear access would normally be from Como Rd too. The previous pic was from the summit of LB. Lindsey is accessed from another TH and I don't know about that one. I definitely needed crampons on 06/04 but as I mentioned it sounds like it has melted a lot. There was also definitely a lot of snow still on Ellingwood and Blanca when I was there but I didn't actually go over there so my previous pic was the best I can do to show the snow (especially on Ellingwood). The Blanca route, I believe, would be on the L side of the ridge to Blanca in the pic. So this didn't show it, but I think it was similar to the coverage you see on Ellingwood.

Just noticed a new report that has basically the same pic in it that I took. That will show you how much the snow has melted. Here is the link to the report. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but you might want to before you go.
http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=8160
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by jf32 »

Blanca from lake Como could be done easily by avoiding snow. Lindsey from Lily lakes/Huerfano doesn't require snow shoes or crampons if you take the nw ridge - not sure about the std route gully as no one in my group ascended it (on Sat) and the cloud cover/fog prevented me from getting a view of it. The creek crossing on Lindsey did get a boot or 2 wet or 2 as it was pretty high.

Here's a pic of Ellingwood from Blanca as of yesterday 6/14:
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Eliingwood 6-14.jpg
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HikerDan75
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Blanca, Lake Como Conditions

Post by HikerDan75 »

Does anyone know the Lake Como conditions? Also, are there any good hammock trees or is it a tent only? Trying to save weight any way I can.

Thank you for any help!
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by Wentzl »

Wow! dusting off an 11 year old thread. Some sort of record for that?

There are trees. You can sling a hammock.
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by HikerDan75 »

Thank you. Reduce reuse and recycle on the threads. :-D
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by nmjameswilson »

We were up there two weeks ago and there is no snow. The road is still rough but you can part around 9700 feet if you have 4x4 as I did in my Tundra. There are plenty of trees to hang a hammock.
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by HikerDan75 »

Thank you. Any word of Bears in the area by chance?
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Re: Blanca,Little Bear Conditions

Post by swadmin »

HikerDan75 wrote: Wed Sep 15, 2021 10:32 pm Thank you. Any word of Bears in the area by chance?
We camped at the lake Sunday night, no sign of bear.
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