Crestone Needle

Route: Ellingwood Arete/Ledges
Posted On: 9/20/2020, By: slawrence2011
Info: The South colony approach was clear of snow. So was the hike the base of the direct start of the ledges. However, it was a bad idea to choose the direct start, because the crack for protection and handholds was almost completely covered in snow. Could not get to the first bolted anchors, managed to get to the second with a mild snow crossing. The first pitch was almost a free solo, because I had to go way on the slab to the right, and could only place one tricam about 20 feet from the bottom on the entire pitch. After that, we transition to The ledges start which was dry. We ran into our next snow difficulties just after the first mandatory low class 5 pitch where we had to do a 200-foot Traverse to the right on snow, mostly a ledge, kicking in steps. after that, we were able to take the crest of the ridge to the base of the Crux pitches. The first 5.6 pitch again had a lot of snow in the center crack, but managed to get enough gear in with some old fix pitons. For the 5.7 Crux pitch, I found out I was on a 5.7 variation to the right, and it had a lot of snow on it. because of that I had never changed out of my mountaineering boots. This crux required stemming, with thin face holds, so I ended up slipping off, and taking a 30 foot fall, thank God my 2.5 tricam caught me. At this point it was late in the day, and after building an anchor and belaying my partner up, we ended up repelling off that tricam, and staying the night on a ledge. Because I had some significant leg bruising that prevented me from lifting my body weight with both legs, much less one leg, I elected to call a rescue in. That turned out to be an unnecessary decision oh, I only did it because I thought they might be able to make it that night, and didn't think I had enough gear to survive, but both proved false. We found a much better look right facing dihedral that look like the true crux pitch, but my partner doesn't lead Trad. I think it would have been very reasonable for me to give it a go the next day, or go for a rappel. But overall, I was shocked with how much snow was still on the route, and would not have attempted it in those circumstances. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/14/2020, By: LivingOnTheEdge
Info: Didn't go up and over Broken Hand as we were headed for Columbia Point on this day, but figured approach info would be valuable. Broken Hand looked stocked from top to bottom but can't speak to the depth of the snow. Packed snow at the trailhead and decently packed trench up the road to the split at the old trailhead. We broke trail from there up to the Lower South Colony Lake on the Humboldt Trail, but were not prepared for hip deep drifts and constant knee deep slogging. Melting pretty quickly, but I wouldn't be surprised if all of that snow doesn't melt off this year. Plan for the potential of full on winter conditions if you want to ensure your success. 

Route: Crestones Traverse
Posted On: 9/8/2020, By: LindseySarshad
Info: This will definitely peg your fun meter. The entire route is extremely well marked and we hardly had to spend any time route finding. The last pitch is possibly the gnarliest thing I have ever done but once you pass the class five bulge and the knifes edge there really is no turning back. The rock on the last pitch is solid and there are plenty of holds. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/4/2020, By: eichsttl
Info: The entire South Face Route is ice and snow free. Both the East and West Gullies were mostly dry with only a small flow down the East Gully that was easily avoidable. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 8/9/2020, By: durkan
Info: Camped down near and with enough distance from South Colony Lakes. Conditions dry the whole way, minus in the diahedral (avoidable).
Tagged Crestone Needle via standard route. Quite a few people, even early in the morning, so helmets were donned before ascending Broken Hand Pass. Route descriptions were very helpful, though it felt like we did accidentally go too high in the west gully and somehow entered the east gully. You'll realize this quickly and with some more class 2-3 scrambling, you can get back to the standard route. Standard Route is easier to spot on the descent.
Had service to re-verify our weather window for tagging Crestone Peak after, then we went back down to the pass and completed the standard route for Crestone Peak. 

Route: Cottonwood Creek
Posted On: 8/3/2020, By: Hershel
Info: Did not summit. We started after sunrise, so our chances were pretty low to start. Weather turned us around, maybe .2 of a mile from the split between the Crestones.

You. Gotta. Get. This. One! Shhhhhhh! This was lightly trafficked as we might have seen 10 people the entire day. If you're comfortable with some light route finding/bushwacking, then this is a dream route! So beautiful.

The first three miles are a straightforward trail. You'll then encounter a boulder field on your left. You can go through it or skirt it to the right. From here the fun starts through sections of waterfalls. Look for the cairns. Be forewarned that at times there are several cairned routes. Be ready to do some backtracking at times, but there are almost always carins to follow. We found that they all seemed reliable, just pick what's best for you. You're always directly left (north) of creek. Because of the route finding, I'd plan for this taking longer than you expect (based on distance/vert gain). 

Route: Crestones Traverse
Posted On: 8/2/2020, By: MountainBuhn
Info: Cairns on the left side of the red gully going down will indicate the start (about at 13,700). Not bad route finding. Suggest downloading the GPS route for good measure. Class 5 move not too bad (especially if you have long legs). While not as physically demanding, I thought the knife edge ascent out of the class 5 gully was more terrifying due to shear exposure. Same with the final 50-100 of ascent riding the east cliff. SAR rescues occurred the Friday before. Be careful on the descent off Needle.

There are orange flags indicating the exit of the gully, but a hailstorm must've made visibility a problem for the people who were trapped. Pretty interesting to see waves of helicopters flying low over Broken Hand Pass. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/27/2020, By: thomasdds
Info: Forecast called for rain at 2:00 PM. Both the Peak and Needle were cloudy and wet all morning. Very little visibility all day. Heavy rain and T-storms came in about 4:00 PM. On Crestone Needle the crossover from the west to east gully is currently marked by an orange ribbon. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/23/2020, By: LetsGoMets
Info: Took East Gully direct without issues, mostly dry and all snow free on entire route. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/12/2020, By: jryor121
Info: Hiked east crestone, northeast crestone, crestone peak, and crestone needle in a day without the traverse. Once getting to broken hand pass (either after doing the peak, or as the first peak of the day), the ascent gets pretty steep once you get into the gully's. Traversing the dihedral up and into the final gully up to the summit is marked with pink flagging tape to help find the route better. Although it is marked, it's still super easy to have a hard time remembering where to exit the narrow gully off the summit so remember where you exited/entered the gully.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3750559860 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/12/2020, By: lifewithcare
Info: There are patches of snow with a few icy spots very early in the morning when heading up to Broken Hand Pass... however all are completely avoidable. The route from the pass to the summit is for the most part dry, a few trickles of water on the "east" gully, but definitely avoidable. Crossing the dihedral was not an issue for our group of 4, except for one of us who was only 5'0" tall. You can definitely step down onto the rocky floor that is between the dihedral - though it was quite wet, there is no snow. (image #2 is looking down from the east side of the dihedral). Image #3 is looking up at the notch just after the dihedral. Image #4 looking up towards Broken Hand Pass.
Someone has left some colored markers on cairns along the route making route finding easier than expected, (green arrows in image #1 point to the markers at exit point of west gully) but route finding definitely difficult coming down the east gully. Several "cairns" in the wrong spot can lead you off track easily. Wear a helmet. 

Route: Ellingwood Arete/Ledges
Posted On: 7/8/2020, By: desertdog
Info: The Arete is completely dry and in summer conditions. We started at 430am and summited at 1230pm, so 8 hours of climbing. We took the Direct Start to add some more adventure. We descended the class 4 gully and it was dry as well. Be prepared, this is a long day. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/3/2020, By: Clint the climber
Info: No need for axe or traction. The only snow on the entire route is below Broken Hand Pass and has good steps kicked into it. All of the Needle's south face is dry. Be smart and wear a helmet, there is loose rock on the route. I saw way too many people up there today not wearing one. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/22/2020, By: xm0067
Info: Slept in Cottonwood Basin and approached from west side, left from S. Colony Lakes side.

Climb up is clear. There is a small amount of water trickling through certain parts of the gully, but its entirely avoidable. The dihedral is melted out, so the move is just rock no snow.

The S. Colony Lakes side of Broken Hand Pass is crappy as usual. Snowfield is still there and still thick. The snow is poor quality like a lot of spring snow: soft, wet, and difficult to self arrest in. It did not take kicked steps well. We glissaded it coming down, and had to do a full self arrest a few times.

You still must have an ice ax to safely ascend and descend the pass, not just trekking poles. Wear a helmet due to loose rock from above coming down the snow field. 

Route: Ellingwood Arete/Ledges
Posted On: 6/22/2020, By: ckfong
Info: We did the ledges start. There is one area that you had to cross snow near the base of the mountain. It was consolidated. We did not use traction to get up the small snow field as we stayed to the far right. The grassy area on the ledges was quite slick so please be careful. We tried to mostly stay on rocks. The ledges does have a relatively small snowfield however you can avoid it by staying on the rocks. We did not use traction at all on the ledges. We were able to do the headwall in two pitches. On top of the first pitch, there is still a good amount of snow on the ledge area where you finish. The area where you initially top out has no snow. You can traverse to the left on top of that ledge and make an anchor. The pitch itself has now snow or ice. We also used a 60m rope. The crux pitch has no snow or ice on it.

When coming down broken hand pass, there are a couple of snow fields that needed to be cross. We were coming down around 2pm. The snow was quite soft. We did bring ice axes. We glissaded some but unfortunately due to the snow conditions, it wasn't the easiest to self arrest. Please be careful when coming down the initial snow field. We did not use microspikes. Pics to come...