| Peak: | Challenger Point (Unranked) |
| Route: | Willow Creek Approach |
| Range: | Sangre de Cristo |
| Posted By: | the_hare |
| Date of Info: | 1/17/2024 |
| Date Posted: | 1/18/2024 |
| Condition Update |
|---|
|
Did not summit. Looking at precipitation reports & webcams, the KC/Challenger area looked like it missed the huge dump over the weekend & didnt have too much snow overall. . . or so I thought. I parked at the end of Pine Cone Way to bypass some road closure miles for the standard TH. Enough space for 5 or so cars, many tracks up rejoining Willow Lake Trail. Trail is bootpacked, traction useful. Flotation useful past tight switchbacks at 10,400ft; required after creek crossing at 10,960ft. Theres exposed, flowing water to fill at the crossing. I climbed up the rocks and hardpack snow between them to ascend the headwall. The forest after the headwall is heavily drifted and has much more snow than the valley below. I got lost here since the standard trail was drifted over until I noticed some coyote/fox prints in the snow. I followed these and incredibly they matched the standard trail exactly and marched over an old trench that had been covered over for quite a ways. I only sank to my ankles over the tracks; otherwise the snow was knee or thigh deep. After the tracks darted off into some deadfall I followed the trench by Braille for a little farther until I was too tired to take another step. Made it within 0.4mi of the lake. I believe the hidden trench continues from there to the lake; not sure about past there.         
|
| Comments or Questions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
