Crestone Needle

Route: Crestones Traverse
Posted On: 9/12/2021, By: jeffh7
Info: Please be EXTREMELY cautious when attempting this traverse. The headwall is no joke.

There was a search and recovery mission on a section of the traverse between the black gendarme and headwall today. I summited the Peak and Needle, but SAR requested that nobody take the traverse today to prevent rockfall from hurting any SAR members. We did watch as the helicopter rescued the body, but sadly (correct me if I'm wrong) the hiker did not make it.

Here is more official information for those curious: https://www.facebook.com/CusterSAR/posts/2965272360407853 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/13/2021, By: E_A_Marcus_949
Info: Clear all the way. Wouldn't want to be in either East or West gully with any snow melt/water/rain. We took the class 4 variation up, which was a lot of fun with bomber rock and took the west/east class 3 route down. The dihedral cross-over is the crux overall and took some careful placement and trust. You can tell the minimal hand/footholds are getting used and are smoothing out some. 

Route: Crestones Traverse
Posted On: 9/4/2021, By: soundchaser2112
Info: Just wanted to recommend ascending/descending the class 4 east gully direct variation instead of messing with the confusing east/west gully crossover, especially when doing the traverse or arete. Not really sure why the top half of the east gully is rated as class 4, maybe the occasional 4 move is needed but nothing sustained and I never had to face in to downclimb. Very easy to locate when following the summit ridge east (the east gully is wide and the west gully is narrow) and the east gully just funnels you back down to the trail to Broken Hand Pass. No difficult route-finding, no getting lost, no threatening exposure, no cliffing-out, no requiring SAR! This should be the standard route. 

Route: Ellingwood Arete/Ledges
Posted On: 8/9/2021, By: ptylman3
Info: Great and dry conditions on Ellingwood Ledges. Windy and cold start to the morning and smoke blew in and hung around the entire day. Awesome route.

We gave a lift in our truck on Sunday to 2 guys from the 4wd TH to the 2wd TH and they accidentally left your trekking poles in the truck bed. If you happen to see this post shoot me a text and I can get them back to you. 7274170606 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 8/8/2021, By: Dignus
Info: Should go without saying that the trail is in full summer conditions, but lest you are more confident because there is no snow be aware that also means many more climbers. Even though the rock is solid there are small loose stones here and there so be mindful of climbers above and below you. Anything dislodged will tumble down the length of the gulley. Fairly dry at the moment with just a little running water in the notch between the east and west gulleys. There is plenty of mud and standing water however between the junction with Humboldt and the bottom of Broken Hand Pass. Mosquitoes are plentiful by the lakes and aways downstream. Several deer and mountain goats also patrol the area. Smoke from the west coast obscured the more distant views and according to forecasts isn't going away anytime soon. Also take note that the forest service is requesting that people pack out their poo due to sanitation issues. Admittedly I did not notice this until too late but still did my best to leave no trace.
https://youtu.be/7TsIVY8y6oU 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 8/1/2021, By: Msbaker
Info: Left our campsite about 7 miles in (Near the Crestone Needle Standard Route Sign) at 4 AM and climbed Crestone Peak first. We were the first to summit the peak on the day. We didn't feel ready for the traverse so we returned to Broken Hand Pass and then ascended Crestone Needle. The standard route puts you in the East Gully for a while until you reach the dihedral. This is the point you crossover into the west gully (this requires a difficult class 3 move). Once you cross over, there is a short climb followed by a significant drop into the West Gully. You then climb the West Gully all the way up to the summit. BE AWARE of your surroundings and take mental notes or pictures of this critical juncture if you are going to take this same route back down. It would be very easy to miss this on the descent (and this is one of the reasons why climbers get lost and have to get rescued every year). The gullies are quite steep with significant exposure. After reaching the summit, I decided to descend the class four variation via the East Gully the entire way down as I was worried I would miss the turn off from the west gully back into the east. The gullies have a fair mixture of solid rock but also loose stuff. I had a large group behind me on the descent and they accidentally kicked down rocks twice. Both times, they yelled and gave me a heads up so I was able to move off to the side and find a shelf to hide under. Rockfall risk is significant on the needle so a helmet is a necessity and I would encourage anyone doing it to leave as early as possible to decrease the likelihood of rockfalls caused by other climbers. Overall an incredible mountain though and the juice is definitely worth the squeeze. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/30/2021, By: ClimberSkierDave64
Info: We climbed the direct class 4 line on Crestone Needle. It seemed that most everyone was taking that route and the dihedral crossing and ledges looked just as gnarly or more than the direct. The class 4 was easily manageable and the downclimb wasn't too bad. We made a mistake by leaving our poles near Brokenhand Pass, and when we returned they were knocked over and chewed up by marmots. This is a wonderful route with some really solid rock! 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/25/2021, By: tortilla
Info: Needle 7/22 and Peak 7/23. No snow left to contend with on BHP. Although it's been moist with the recent rains. East gully on Needle completely snow free, I imagine the western gully for the standard finish is as well. Didn't need to avoid any snow in the red gully. Started on the traverse 7/23 and turned back due to weather concerns. The beginning portion of the down (Peak to Needle) is snow free and very well cairned. 

Route: Crestones Traverse
Posted On: 7/19/2021, By: joemcglinchy
Info: Route is in dry condition, with the following exceptions:

Avoidable snow patches in crestone peaks red Gulley, with wet patches throughout
one small snow ridge on the traverse if you stay high near photo 10. Up and over is quick though..

There has been a lot of overnight and afternoon rain in the area, at least over the last few days. Stay careful out there. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/12/2021, By: jakesoren10
Info: Camped at South Colony Lake (absolutely stunning). Trail to Brokenhand Pass was good (summer conditions) except for one decent size snow field that was easy to cross in the morning, a little slushy coming back down.

Trail from Brokenhand pass was good, no snow at all on the south face route. That being said, it is a somewhat technical route, DO NOT underestimate it. If weather is even slightly a consideration turn around. Route finding is a real thing too, pay attention to where you are, and where turns are, otherwise you will pay dearly.

Got the summit, #39 for myself...road into the TH was ok, mostly pickups, Jeeps and 4Runners there. 

Route: Ellingwood Arete/Ledges
Posted On: 7/11/2021, By: slawrence2011
Info: Great conditions! A little moisture in P2 of the direct start, but still very climbable and protectable. Headwall pitches and scramble were completely clear. Descent was challenging to follow cairns. I know we started in one of the correct gullies because of the cairns, but I am guessing we took the nonstandard, as they were few and far between. The eventual escape we took to the left was not marked by an obvious cairn, and looked like the grass on the other side had hardly been walked on, but it worked. Snow below broken hand is well tromped down, and almost gone. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/2/2021, By: jdobson
Info: I started at the Cottonwood trailhead, due to snow reports on the South Colony side of BHP. Once at the top of BHP I did the east gully the entire way up, then did the west gully on the way down.

It is full summer conditions.

The guys I met at top took broken hand pass, which is still snow covered. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/20/2021, By: RETEP 1
Info: Thought I'd add something since i would've loved to see something more recent before I gave it a shot today. Started from the 4wd trailhead at 7:15 am. There's a few lingering snowfields above the fork from Humbolt, but nothing to worry about. There's about a 50 yard stretch of snow on broken hand pass that is melting fast! I wouldn't have wanted to attempt it without my ice axe and traction but there probably won't be enough snow to get any purchase in about a week. Above that stretch it's all dry the rest of the way except for some lingering snow in the dihedral where you cross the center of the gully, it makes that move a little more challenging. I still don't know how to do any pictures on this thing but feel free to reach out with questions. 

Route: South Face - East Gully Variation
Posted On: 6/21/2021, By: csu-peter
Info: Broken Hand Pass still had a fair bit of snow, but far softer than last weekend (I bailed halfway up BHP on 13-July due to very hard snow and no ice axe). There was still some lingering snow at the center of the east gully, but easily avoidable. I spoke with a few groups who were descending (I was late going up as I did Crestone Pk. first) and they all found the route finding very confusing when taking the standard route. I highly recommend just taking the easy gully all the way up. Down climbing was a little tedious in just a few spots but overall, the Class IV variation was nothing crazy.

*I'm going to try and get a more detailed trip report up soon. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/20/2021, By: Haydenblack3
Info: Crestone needle was amazing. The road up to south colony lakes from the trail head is mainly dry, with the occasional snow. Once at south colony lakes there are a few snow patches but mainly dry. Apart from the initial pitch up to broken hand pass (60 degree postholding and snow climbing), the trail was all dry up to the summit. The rocks were intact and dry besides for the occasional loose hand hold. Once you summit the trail is hard to follow back down so make sure to retrace your steps and don't follow the map too closely because it led me to down climb class 4 and 5 pitches for 1000 feet.

Helmet is definitely required due to some loose rock on the mountain.