Kit Carson Peak

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 6/23/2025, By: mountain_guy
Info: Steep and loose from a Willow Lake to Challenger Point, some of the trail is still buried under snow. Dry and clear on the ridge up and over Challenger. Kit Carson Avenue has some snow still, but I was able to avoid it all with some careful scrambling. Should be pretty straightforward after a few more days of melt. Pictures of both sides of the avenue attached. Took the steeper route up to KC after the avenue to avoid some more snow, which was a fun scramble on solid rock. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 6/22/2025, By: AurumSun13
Info: The snow is almost gone from the top of both peaks. I didn't need to use spikes at all, but using my pick to traverse the last bits left was nice. The main thing, however, is that the Avenue melted out enough to traverse! Snow patches still remain on route, but they were avoidable (see attached photos). The front-side has a nice strip of dirt to walk along and the back side patches can be walked around by climbing down a touch. In another hot week like this one, they'll melt out even more for a more direct walk. Do note that coming down Challenger was tough because all the melt made some of the steeper sections of scree slippery. 

Route: Willow Creek Approach
Posted On: 5/27/2025, By: hr011242
Info: Just posting some updated pics of the Avenue after the last post from 5/3. Photos taken from Challenger and The Prow on 5/25/25. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 5/6/2025, By: jcclimbs
Info: Started the day around 6 am from the Willow Creek trailhead. The hike was very tame all the way to Willow Lake with only a few short sections of trail covered in snow starting at roughly 3 miles in. Significant snow coverage did start at the base of the North slope on Challenger at around 12,000 ft. We used crampons at this point to boot all the way up to the ridge. After making it to the ridge we took off our crampons and traversed to the summit of Challenger with no issues. At this point it was 1 pm and the weather was fantastic, so we decided to go take a look at the Avenue. The first part of the Avenue was fully filled in with snow, but we managed to make it all the way to the Prow by 2:30 PM with crampons, and an ice axe. From the Prow it became clear that Kit Carson was not in the cards for us since the second portion of the Avenue was also completely filled in. I would estimate that this portion of the Avenue should not be crossed until at least another month of warm weather has gone by. After turning around at the Prow, we still had a long day ahead of us due to quickly worsening snow conditions. Returning down the North slope of Challenger was dangerous, and I did end up taking a fall that resulted in an emergency self-arrest with my ice axe. Slowly but surely, we made it back to Willow Lake by ~7 pm. We were quite exhausted at this point, so it did take us another 3 hours to get back to the car. It ended up being a 16-hour day, so I would not recommend doing this hike if you have interest in summitting both peaks for at least another month. A best bet would be to ski either the Kirk or Outward Bound Couloirs at this point. 

Route: Willow Creek Approach
Posted On: 3/28/2025, By: gusbatcho
Info: Climbed and Skied Kirk Couloir. Snow on the willow creek trail 3 miles from trailhead. Frozen on entry, potholed (even in skis) on exit when warm. Low tide above the lake, but both OB and Kirk still have snow. 

Route: Rib west of Cole’s (South) Couloir
Posted On: 1/2/2025, By: Stratosfearsome
Info: Via Spanish Creek. Floatation not needed- recommend stay high on north side of basin for last half mile before Cole's. Included a long range shot of the Avenue. Observed 3 or 4 small wind slab detachments (1 square foot, 4 inches deep) on ~SE roll overs around 13k. I only crossed Cole's couloir down low, approx 12.4k. 

Route: Willow Creek Approach
Posted On: 11/25/2024, By: ROPjason
Info: Summited via Challenger Point. Trail is boot packed all the way to Willow Lake; snow depth 18-24" past the lake; wore crampons the entire time above the lake; the "avenue" is completely snowed in. 

Route: Willow Creek Approach
Posted On: 10/12/2024, By: cschne13
Info: The north ridge held enough snow to make it more challenging to find holds but most of it was easy to avoid. The avenue was snow free and the descent from Challenger held only a bit of snow. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 10/6/2024, By: maximiliancarr
Info: Some snow climber's right of ridge but it was pretty easy to avoid just by staying on the ridge 

Route: Willow Creek Approach
Posted On: 10/1/2024, By: Green_river
Info: I summitted with microspikes on Sept 27th, here was the current snow status of the avenue. Depending on the near term weather, likely microspikes won't be needed until the next storm. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 9/22/2024, By: fischertd
Info: I hiked it hours before the most recent storm, so this may not be the most up-to-date info. A couple of sections of snow/ice on the route to Challenger. The worst was a section about 20 feet long in a fairly steep set of rocks at about 13,500 feet while following the cairns. I didn't have ice axes or spikes, and it was alright climbing up, just slightly more technical since I was trying to stay on rocks. On the way down, the snow softened enough to kick in steps. The first part of the Avenue is covered in packed snow and ice, but enough rocks were sticking out that I was able to find footing. Spikes would be nice for peace of mind but it was passable without them. At the end of the Avenue, someone had placed a bandana and lawn flag, so finding the turn coming down was trivial. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 9/20/2024, By: can021892
Info: Summited via Challenger Point. Upper gully leading up to Challenger was filled with snow and ice. Kit Carson Ave also filled with snow. We were the only group able to summit Kit Carson that day as we brought microspikes and poles. Would highly recommend! 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 9/12/2024, By: skyrme17
Info: Summited via the North Ridge and descended via Challenger Point. The North Ridge was in great conditions. The descent via Challenger Point on the other hand was very precarious, because of loose rock the entire way from the ridge to the Willow Lake. I saw big rocks tumbling down multiple times. A couple of things to note: - The GPX route on 14ers.com differs from the GPX on the Hiking Project between the Willow Lake and the right turn towards Outward Bound Couloir. The Hiking Project keeps low, along the creek, while the 14ers. com goes higher on the right side of the slope. I followed the 14ers.com route which avoids most of the willows. - The exit to the Avenue is visibly marked with a big cairn, and a red marker. - Long day for a one day hike. Start early! 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 9/2/2024, By: Habret
Info: Lovely summer day with light winds. Packed into Willow Lake evening of 8/31, and started up solo at 6:45 AM. I turned up after the first cliff band at 8:00, but encountered a steep gully since I started up a bit too early. Despite being off route, I checked topo and climbed this gully anyways reach the north face. From here, it's everything the route description states - steep, exposed, but with amazing holds and nearly no loose rock all the way to the crest at 14,050'. I descended from back over Challenger, whose trail is eroding quickly. Be seriously careful when you're heading down - there's so much loose rock and dirt. **With the first gully after the cliff band, I encountered C3/4 climbing for 400-500ft with two low-C5 moves in a dihedral near the top (LEFT crack pic#3). I strongly discourage this route up to the north face if you're in a group - if you kick a rock down, it's gonna launch down this gully onto anyone else. Also, always check your topo map before committing to something like this, or you can get cliffed out pretty easily. Follow the route description instead. 

Route: Willow Creek Approach
Posted On: 8/14/2024, By: j12miskin
Info: Rain overnight meant low mosquitos but water crossings were high. Three or four crossings you would get wet in trail runners but not in waterproof boots. Summer conditions other than that. I cut up early on the summit scramble and did not regret it, rock is very good and generally stable until the summit ridge.