There's graupel in the air and the first signs of fall colors on the ground - the seasons are changing! Took an intentionally spiced up, largely ridge direct route up Broken Hand Peak from Broken Hand Pass, hitting all sorts of fun towers and ledges along the way - mix of class 3 and 4 with a few bits of class 5. Vastly more interesting than the ho-hum class 2 route just below the ridge. Then took what I can only call a highly customized route up Crestolita - a mix of nice grass ramps, solid rock ribs and loose gullies. Very fun peak to explore. Graupel started partway down the peak and continued on and off much of the day - enough to coat the ground at my campsite, but it was all completely melted by morning. Others reported graupel the day before I hiked in but there was virtually no sign of it on the peaks except the tiniest little pockets in highly shaded areas that posed no difficulty for climbing. Still time for some delightful scrambling on this stellar Crestone conglomerate before things start to get icy, but might not be a lot of time...
         
|
