Coxcomb Peak

Route: From Wetterhorn Basin TH
Posted On: 9/4/2024, By: Will_E
Info: Got Coxcomb and Redcliff yesterday from Wetterhorn Basin. I parked just before the road gets bad, around 1.5 miles from the TH, any vehicle can get to this point, I knew I wouldn't be able to get past the creek creek crossing (thanks ToyotaSupraNihilist!). I used the same route I assume most everyone uses, I thought the initial climb to get into the first gully was very tough, I thought that was tougher than reascending the notch on return, mostly because I didn't use a rope to assist. I thought the climbing in the gullies was fun, and not terribly difficult to find the way (thankfully). The 2 rap stations both looked good to me, I was grateful to be able to use my rope to assist reascending the notch on return. Once back at the initial entry to the gully I didn't want to down climb the initial section, I added a sling at the top of the gully so I could rap that section too. I used a 70m rope, which was more than sufficient. I thought the climbing on Coxcomb was more difficult than Peak 15. Peak 15 was definitely the tougher day overall due to the ridiculous bushwhack and distance, but I found the climbing harder on Coxcomb. 

Route: SW chimney to N face rap
Posted On: 8/17/2024, By: Skimo95
Info: Great conditions on coxcomb today. Creek crossing to Wetterhorn basin is low but the exit is rocky. High clearance and 4x4 highly recommended for this trailhead, I had no issues in my pickup. Great trail until you get to the base of the pass. At this point theres a good climbers trail through the talus up and over. We descended a good bit on the pass until arriving at the grass slope in the foreground of SW chimney. No need for rope on the way up, notch rappel is advised. Holds are solid for the most part and footing is decent, we thought the initial crack climb was closer to 5.0 then 4th class. All gear on notch rappel is in fair shape. Summit rappel station is in good shape, even though its a wild looking anchor. Nice airy rap to the saddle, and easy class 2 to the summit of Redcliff. Regained a tiny bit of elevation on the saddle and picked an ugly descent down the gully. After that it cleans up and is smooth sailing. Lots of cattle in the basin right now. We used two 70M for the north face rappel and it worked fine. Water to filter up to the base of the pass on both sides. Summit register was filled with water unfortunately and didnt save the waterproof paper from getting wrecked :/ still no register on Redcliff but doubt its worth putting one up at this point 

Route: Wetterhorn Basin TH
Posted On: 7/25/2024, By: snacktime
Info: Peak is in summer conditions. We followed the wetterhorn basin trail around to the backside of Coxcomb, then walked up steep grassy slopes to reach the climbers route. Two pitches of approx. 5.6 climbing and a spicy little catwalk made this a full-value experience. The rap stations we used (at what Im calling Gerrys Gash and then the large block at the summit) were in great condition. The summit rap station had at least one sling that looked brand-new. There was no summit register, so Jon placed a shiny new one. Not relevant to conditions but I have to give a shout out to SJMG for making this climb possible (Kurt Blair, you are just awesome and hilarious). This trip was one for the books, and I have it on good authority that Jon is gonna do a trip report on this one, so stay tuned! 

Route: via Wetterhorn Basin TH
Posted On: 6/19/2024, By: Boggy B
Info: Did not climb, but with reference to the below TH conditions for Wetterhorn Basin, had several requests for info on Coxcomb. Snowline on the Wetterhorn Basin trail appears to be roughly 11500' with continuous snow up to the pass from there. The summit ridge is dry. I would assume the south chimneys are also dry, but that's just a guess. The huge NW facing snowfield meets the bottom of the N face rap for anyone considering that descent. So expect a good amount of snow travel with small portions steep. https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/threport.php?recnum=10285 

Route: SW Chimney - N Face Rap
Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: Tristan Brewer
Info: Fun mountain. The entire climb was bone dry & the excessive amounts of webbing were shiny new. All systems go. Just watch for loose rock if rapping the N face, its rotten and the rope alone will send meteors flying. 

Route: South West Chimney
Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: Gubber13
Info: A couple of snow patches on the hike in that can be easily avoided. Summer conditions on the climb/scramble sections. Webbing looked OK on the rappel down the north face (to the Redcliff saddle) but I added new webbing for insurance. 

Route: standard with double rappel
Posted On: 8/27/2022, By: Dobsons
Info: Everything is in good shape on the route, double rappel station had fresh webbing, we didn't feel we needed to add anything to it and notch rappel was good as well. Beautiful peak! 

Route: SW Chimney
Posted On: 7/18/2022, By: JDroz
Info: SW Chimney is dry. Slings abound, but none were used. Only runners and rock shoes. In my honest opinion, the "4th class" step into the alcove, and subsequently bottom of the chimney, is closer to low-5th. Half the eligible holds pull and fat blocks wait to rip from the wall if hung onto a little too long. The other peaks in the North Centrals were dry as well. P.S. if you left your cartridge pen at the top of the chimney and want it back, PM me. Otherwise, it's joining my paraphernalia collection. 

Route: Southwest Chimney
Posted On: 8/24/2021, By: RyGuy
Info: No snow or ice from the storm on 08/20/2021 left. The summit rap station is in good shape thanks to yaktoleft13's recent red webbing. A pair of 60M ropes are just perfect for getting down with room to spare. The summit needs a new register. We never found one, and then later I found part of an older register's shattered remains below the rappel landing zone. The terrain at the landing zone is a loose typical San Juan choss pile, but overall it is the far better option for the descent compared to the SW chimney system. It also makes Redcliff an easy no brainer add-on. There are 3 rap stations we noticed on the way up. The first is on the right side, just above the first section. It seemed to be in good shape. The second was above the chimney on the climber's right. It's not visible on the way up. It also seemed to be in good shape. There is a third near the base of the freestanding tower above the first section. (See supranihilest's TR for more detail) but I did not get close enough to get a sense of what shape it is in. Then there is the notch rap station. A bit awkward to get setup on, but not bad. That station also seems in good shape. Great peak overall. Best TR's to read if you are preparing to climb this peak: supranihilest's and yaktoleft13's. 

Route: Standard from West Fork Cimarron
Posted On: 7/20/2021, By: datum313
Info: Chimney is dry. There's existing webbing/rappel rings in good condition, other than one frayed and sun-faded strand. We rappelled 2 chimney pitches with a 60m rope. My rope got caught behind the chockstone on the first pitch and I had to climb back up about 30 feet to dislodge it. 

Route: Standard from West Fork Cimmaron
Posted On: 9/18/2020, By: tjf242424
Info: A few small patches of snow in the chimney, but easily avoided. For the approach, I definitely recommend dropping down to about 12,100 ft in Wetterhorn Basin after crossing the pass. There are wooden posts that mark a crossover to the trail that climbs back to the other pass east of Coxcomb. Use that trail to regain height until obvious grassy slopes lead to the S ridge of Coxcomb. Two 60m ropes for the rappel to Coxcomb-Redcliff saddle and it's cruiser from there. 

Route: Southwest Chimney
Posted On: 8/9/2020, By: supranihilest
Info: Great trail over West Fork Pass and into Wetterhorn Basin. Crappy off-trail ascent to the base of the climbing on grass and lots of loose junk. There are three climbing pitches from here. In order: Pitch 1 (often called Class 4): we all thought this was the hardest pitch. It was about 15-20 feet of low Class 5 up a weird detached flake/chimney thing. The hands were OK but the feet were bad and the chimney full of loose junk. This part was also slightly overhanging. There were other options left and right. Above this was a ton of Class 3 with loose rock to the belay below the second pitch chimney. I placed a #.75 cam and one nut on this 35 meter pitch. Was able to find three good enough placements for an anchor. Pitch 2: The "crux" pitch. Usually rated 5.3, but felt like Class 4. Far easier than the first pitch. Solid rock and solid body positioning in a nice, wide chimney. Placed a #2 cam and that's it. Would have felt more comfortable soloing this pitch than the first. Used the rappel station and two nuts for an anchor. There's then a short Class 3 scramble to a 20 foot notch, this notch is pitch three. Rappel into the notch and scramble out the other side at Class 3. Scamper to the summit, then back into the notch. Pitch 3: we left the rope in the rap station and I top roped up and then belayed from the top. Awkward and slightly overhanging. Felt about 5.6. Questionable rock. Besides the rappel into the notch there are two rappels to get back to hiking territory: Rappel 1: Go back to the top of the second pitch and rappel down to the top of the Class 3 section. We then scrambled down 20-30 feet and then over into a kind of cleft, then up the cleft and over to the rappel station underneath a detached spire. This rappel station is a bit awkward to get to but does not require a belay. Rappel 2: rappel to the ground from the rappel station below the detached spire. I led the first two pitches in trail runners. Rack consisted of a set of nuts, .75, 1, and 2 cams, most of which got used at one point or another, and a few alpine draws. One 60m half rope was used (it took forever to do anything with our team of four). Rappel stations were all in good shape but carry webbing with you just in case. 

Route: Std from Middle Fork
Posted On: 7/31/2020, By: SnowAlien
Info: Fun scramble with mostly solid rock. Just a quick note on the webbing, it's quickly becoming tat. It was mostly still ok, but decaying fast from exposure to direct sunlight and rain. Ends of one cordellete was apparently chewed up by some animal. Just heads up as I don't think this may safely hold past another month, so bring a spare cord, particularly for the notch anchor. You can get away with much shorter cord for the chimney rappel if you use the lower anchor. Register could use more paper. 

Route: West Fork Cimarron
Posted On: 7/6/2020, By: angry
Info: Summer conditions. Well defined trail to turn off below the pass. Snow patch around ~12,100 less than 50ft and easy to kick steps. We descended ~400 ft into Wetterhorn Basin. Ascended chimney which was cruiser. Crux for me was the initial entry at the base of the cliff. I carried a 60m rope and my partner his 70m. We tied them together to rap the north side. 

Route: Standard Route Southside
Posted On: 6/25/2020, By: desertdog
Info: We approached using the west fork trail near Ridgway. The upper part of the basin had some snow fields. I used spikes, but only because my approach shoes don't work well on hard snow. You could get by without traction or maybe avoid the snow all together. No snow on the route. We climbed the chimney system on Coxscomb's south side and rapped down the face on its north side, then walked up Redcliff for a double header.