Kit Carson Peak

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 9/23/2023, By: wmagnuson7
Info: Good conditions, but would definitely recommend trail crampons for the crux of Challenger and the Avenue to Kit Carson. God bless! 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 9/21/2023, By: GSODJA
Info: My climbing partner and I climbed Challenger and Kit Carson this past Sunday. The Avenue was snow packed from the saddle between Challenger and Kit Carson to the Prow. We wore micro-spikes. The hike down the avenue to the gully had snow but there were multiple sections that were snow-free. Gully to top of KC was dry. The biggest issue was the ice in the early am climbing Challenger along the rock rib @ 12,500 (wore mirco- spikes). All the snow melt re-froze overnight into sheets of ice 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 9/6/2023, By: sparnell
Info: Started early in clear weather, but cloud cover rolled in from the Challenger notch to the Point. No thunder, lightning, or evidence of anything worse than cloud cover (and we could see at least 50-100ft in front of us), so we proceeded to KC via the Avenue. Skies began to clear halfway up the final scramble, and we had great views the rest of the day under late summer conditions. However, stiff winds pushing us back up the mountain made the descent down Challenger no joke. Reports of an overly-ambitious deer in the Willow Lake camping area are on target - secure your food and sweaty clothing and be prepared for a night time visitor even after you've done all that. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 9/4/2023, By: nrobsaihttam
Info: Did the Hike Saturday and Sunday. Wasn't expecting how crowded everything was since I didn't think this was one of the more popular 14'era, but I guess Labor Day weekend is to blame. I was going pretty slow so it took 3.5 hrs to get to the lake Saturday night, and 13 hours to do everything else and make it back to my car yesterday. Pros: weather was perfect, the waterfall was cool, trail wasn't full of dog crap *cough* Humboldt *cough*, Kit Carson looks cool, and most of the trail was straightforward. Cons: the climb up to challenger point was loose, and felt worse on the way down with it being really hard to stay on any trail on that section. There was also a fair amount of elevation loss and re-gain in the last mile. One thing to note: be careful to not miss the avenue on the way back down from Kit Carson, I almost didn't notice it, and people have gotten in trouble from missing it. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 9/2/2023, By: truekyle
Info: Just wanna throw this out there. I saw 2 camps (4 tents) camping past the very obviously no camping at lake sign. With the high amount of traffic we saw coming up I'm sure there will be more. I'd ask you to please respect the rules. Don't ruin it for everyone. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 8/7/2023, By: CDubFTW
Info: Bugs reacted well to bug spray, didnt have an issue at 4 am with them. The ridge itself was in great condition and scared the shit out of me, please stay on route! It was my partner, me, and one other climber on the ridge. Had the summit to myself for a few minutes. Descended Challenger and the melting snow made the descent a huge pain. The rocks are already loose enough and now there's meltwater going down them. I would say it's a class 3 downclimb at its worst. Bugs ate me up in the treeline because I left the bug spray back in the car. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 8/7/2023, By: SavannaLittle
Info: Summer Conditions on the ridge and approach, avenue is clear, snow fields on descent route via challenger are all avoidable. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 8/1/2023, By: Logan5280
Info: Completed as day trip from Willow Creek TH. The route is totally dry and in great condition. The trail up the east side of Challenger is a little hard to follow, particularly on the descent, but it's relatively low-consequence. Challenger to KC is well-cairned and the rock is mostly decent. Excellent views overall, and a great day in the mountains 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/30/2023, By: SkywayCheerios
Info: Totally dry ascent save for one snow field flowing down from Outward Bound. Route description has you hike all the way to the base of the couloir before ascending towards the north ridge. I turned perhaps 150' lower so the snow field could be crossed at a narrower spot. About 15 steps very manageable in bare boots. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: -wren-
Info: summer conditions. what an incredible route! one tiny snow patch on the challenger descent, and a good bit of running water. pretty disgusting amount of flies up near the lake in the afternoon, and a lot of mosquitos the evening before as I pulled into the trailhead. road to trailhead should be accesible to any vehicle with some care and maybe a little spinning out for 2wd on some of the bumps. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: kalestew
Info: Summer conditions, only one small snowfield to cross during the climb up Challenger that has solid steps already kicked in. C3 bits didn't feel like C3, no hands really needed. Mosquitos are awful at the trailhead & initial climb. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: mjordan
Info: Summited both KC and Challenger today on July 16th We started from the trailhead at 3:40am and got back to the car at 3pm. The mosquitos are significantly better than reports from last weekend it seems like. They were actually the worst at the TH parking lot when we got there around 8pm. But there were zero mosquitos, I mean literally none, from the time we started at 3am all day until we got back to the lake in the evening. They really werent bad, bring some spray and an arm band and you will be fine. Most of us hiked in shorts and short sleeves. Theres one 30ft snow crossing halfway up Challenger but theres steps through it so its solid (see picture). Otherwise the rest of Challenger and all of Kit Carson are completely dry of snow. There is NO snow on the Avenue before the prow or after the prow. You wouldn't have anything to use an ice axe or crampons on even if you wanted to. Love the rock in the Sangres its so solid and fun to scramble class 3 and 4. Its full on summer conditions up there now and mosquitos are still above average but are not unbearable by any means and seem to be getting better week by week. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 7/19/2023, By: astromuni
Info: Mosquitos were present at both the trailhead and campground, but seem to respond well to bug spray (I was diligent with applying and never got bit). That said, they seem to be abating, based on local intel ... so expect things to improve further. Trail is almost dry but not quite. There are two or three very brief snow crossings. One of them I found a bit hair-raising, particularly in the afternoon when it was slushy. In the morning I crossed without incident. In the afternoon I took out my ice axe and was glad to have it since I slipped a bit on a few steps. I was literally the only person with an axe that day, but I was definitely glad to have it. Your mileage may vary. My other hot take: Kitt Carson is easier than Challenger. Don't at me brah. 

Route: Via Challenger Point
Posted On: 7/15/2023, By: Skitch
Info: Mosquitos at the trailhead and the campground truly were horrible. Recommend covering up and/or bug spray in those areas, but the rest of the hike was fine. The climb up was great. Full summer conditions. The Alley and Kit Carson were lots of fun to climb up, great holds on the class 3 portions. Kit Carson had better views than challenger at the top. The climb down was tougher, especially down Challenger. The rock is loose and usually wet in certain areas. Add that to some significant elevation grade and its not fun. Overall it was a great hike. Long day, we clocked it at 7.5hours of moving time RT. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/17/2023, By: kpeltz
Info: Started at 5 am and arrived at the north ridge around 8 am. I brought crampons and an ice axe but quickly realized that I didn't need them. It would have been better not to bring the extra weight lol. The outward bound couloir had some snow still, but it was easily avoidable by getting onto the right wall of the couloir. The initial move to avoid the snow is maybe low class 5 with a little exposure, but the rock is solid and the moves were pretty straightforward. Other than that there is no snow on the ridge itself above the couloir.