9/30/2023 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 9/30/2023, By: Wildernessjane Info: Climbed Peak C via the Northwest Ridge and descended the standard route. Route was completely dry and in the shade all morning until we reached the top of the 5.4 pitch. The first 5.2 gully is quite loose and we all decided because of this the Northwest Ridge would be a one and done route. It was mostly good rock above this though and there is some fun scrambling. The views are spectacular from the summit. |
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9/6/2022 Route: SW ridge Posted On: 9/8/2022, By: SnowAlien Info: SW ridge appears to be the easiest route up this peak. About 300 ft from the top you could go left and have 5.4 finish, shared with NW ridge or go right and avoid the difficulties. South face slabs, NW ridge and CC Rider (loose when dry) all appear to be harder routes than SW ridge, ~about class 3-4 briefly in the upper section. |
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7/20/2022 Route: Ripsaw Ridge Posted On: 7/21/2022, By: -wren- Info: Total summer conditions - west ridge to peak C, ripsaw to peak h, and back from piney lake TH. |
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6/25/2022 Route: SW couloir Posted On: 6/25/2022, By: rachel Info: Clear overnight, forecasted low of 35 at 12000'. Started from Piney Lake Trailhead at 0300 wearing trail runners. Trail muddy in a few spots. Transitioned to mountaineering boots and crampons at the base of the first NW facing snow-filled gulley. Ascended CC Rider couloir. Snow is not continuous and filled with rocks and suncups. Scrambled up the ridge. Summited Peak C at 0815. Descended the branching/ direct snow couloir as described in Cooper's Colorado Snow Climbs book. Snow remained firm as couloirs were shaded all morning. Back to car at 1215. |
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6/4/2022 Route: SW Couloir Posted On: 6/5/2022, By: Sherwin Info: Climbed Peak C SW Couloir (CC Rider) from the West Lost Lake TH. Road and Piney River Trail dry with some minor mud patches. Some soft snow patches just below treeline going up the Kneeknocker Basin trail. Full consolidated snow coverage from Kneeknocker basin over to the Peak C basin. The connecting couloir between basins was firm styrofoam snow. The SW couloir was the same with more texture from previous loose wet avalanche and rollerball activity. Good climbing conditions, poor skiing conditions. We were able to take a snowfield connecting the couloir to the summit with continuous good snow. The snowfield branches off NW approx. 200 vertical feet below the top of the main couloir with a short steep pitch between couloir/snowfield. A lot of snow in the SW Couloir, less on the snowfield. I think this route will be in for a few more weeks. |
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7/3/2021 Route: CC Rider Posted On: 7/6/2021, By: hr011242 Info: From Piney River Ranch TH. Hiked to a meadow below Kneeknocker Pass and then ascended a short gully that gave us access to Tarn Basin/CC Rider. Still some snow in CC Rider coolie, didn't use traction for kicking steps but an axe added some confidence. The snow can probably be avoided if desired and the rest of the route through Ripsaw Ridge was dry. |
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8/29/2017 Route: West/NW Ridge Posted On: 8/29/2017, By: MaxKugel Info: I hiked up into the basin below Kneeknocker Pass and ascended one of the north facing couloirs up to gain the west ridge of Peak C. I took the west ridge up a ways, eventually connecting with the NW ridge route below the "5.4" pitch, which made me wish I had just taken the NW ridge the entire way. After summiting Peak C (where I hung out for quite a while to soak in the views), I attempted to climb the north face of C Prime, but turned around a little over half way up, because I didn't want to have to downclimb the ≈5.6 crack system. I now know I could have descended the west face which is reportedly class 3-4. Oh well, next time. The southwest couloir wasn't terribly enjoyable coming down, and in retrospect I should have just taken the west ridge back down. Way better route. At the bottom of the couloir I *thought I remembered a report of a trail heading back down to the Upper Piney River Trail. If it exists, I certainly didn't find it (I descended basically due west from the small ponds in the basin below Ripsaw Ridge, which consisted of a lot of bushwacking, routefinding, and downclimbing several cliff bands. I would certainly not go this way again, nor would I descend the SW couloir without snow and skis). I eventually linked up with the trail and had an uneventful hike back to the car. For a relatively low-trafficked area, there was a surprising amount of trash. I packed out what I could. Gotta love the Gores! |
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7/15/2016 Route: View from SW Face of Powell Posted On: 7/17/2016, By: WillRobnett Info: Climbed Spider and The Fly 7/14 Scouting Kneeknocker Pass 7/15 |
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8/6/2013 Route: SW Ridge Posted On: 8/7/2013, By: Grover Info: Instead of making a bid for the summit as a snow climb in April or May, I decided to go for Peak C after the snow melted out. You will pay for this decision by hiking and climbing the loose rubble and dirt filled gully leading to the prominent notch separating Peak C and C Prime. No snow remains in the gully at this time, so it is all rock and dirt. The climb up the dihedral immediately after reaching the notch is Class 4. However, if this looks imposing to you, you can cross over to the east side of the notch, drop down about 10 or 15 feet, and then take a Class 2+/Class 3 route to reach the ridge run to the summit. This second option can be seen as you walk along the ridge after the dihedral. I climbed up the dihedral to the summit, then used the east side route on the way down. It's comparable to what you can do on North Maroon Peak, actually. Helpful trip reports by Kevin Baker, d_baker, or jbchalk can be viewed for more beta if you are thinking of giving this awesome peak a shot during the summer or fall. Photo 1: The upper third of the rubble gully Photo 2: Looking up the dihedral Photo 3: Looking down the dihedral Personal Recommendation: If you enjoy snow climbs, I would save climbing Peak C until early spring when the rotten gully is covered with snow (much like Cathedral Peak). |
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6/16/2012 Route: Standard west ridge Posted On: 6/17/2012, By: Matt Lemke Info: Snow free all the way to basin below Kneeknocker Pass but muddy in spots. The access gully to the west ridge had snow in it but was mostly avoidable on the left side along the cliffs. West ridge route itself was snow free apart from a couple very small snowpatches to cross. When you get to the summit area on Peak C head right up a gully to gain the last easy scramble near the SW couloir instead of left around to the cliffy north side (some low 5th class climbs head up but aren't recommended). See Eagles Nest Conditions report for more info |
