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Lake Como (Blanca Pk) Trailhead

  
4/25/2021
Posted On: 4/26/2021 By: globreal
Info: The road is dry all the way to 10,250' even last several snow storms last week. There is a pull-out here which has room for many vehicles and several camp spots. This is right before where the road has the big downhill section. If you have a good 4x4 you can dry this far and save yourself a lot of walking.
 
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4/18/2021
Posted On: 4/19/2021 By: aksean22
Info: The road is mostly snow free through the switchbacks to 10,000'. Snow is patchy from there to the river crossing, and continuous the rest of the way to the lake.
 
1/17/2021
Posted On: 1/18/2021 By: angry
Info: At ~8840ft, there is space for two vehicles to park (one each on either side of the road). About 100ft higher there is space for one vehicle.
 
12/18/2020
Posted On: 12/22/2020 By: weswood
Info: Once you turn on the road to Lake Como there is definite snow approximately 6"-1' of snow en route. Would expect more to compile as winter continues. Largest obstacle was the large rocks on road. Made it to ~8300' in 2016 Subaru Forester Sport. Could have probably gone up a little higher and driver wished we stopped lower coming down. As passenger had to hop out a few times on way back down to move larger rocks off to side. Once past 9'800 there is significantly more snow.
 
9/27/2020
Posted On: 9/27/2020 By: Green_river
Info: This video gives an excellent example of Jaws 1 and 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKJ6zpfMxM4&list=WL&index=26&ab_channel=OffroadHub
 
7/11/2020
Posted On: 7/13/2020 By: Been_Jammin
Info: 10.1K definitely seems to be the consensus spot to park for stock 4*4 SUVs and Trucks. My '03 Tahoe Z71 made it here easily. Going above this point in a stock SUV/Truck is not practical. And that is coming from someone who drives the sh** out of their 4*4 and gives zero f's about cosmetic damage. There is only room for about 4-5 SUV/Trucks at the 10.1K switchback. It was full when i got there Saturday morning (7/11/2020). I retreated back to the 10K switchback where I got the last of three spots.
 
7/9/2020
Posted On: 7/9/2020 By: Dayute
Info: Made it in 4.8 miles from the cattle grate to 10100' in a Tacoma with 2" lift. A couple TRDPro 4runners made it this far as well. This last switchback before the long straight part is pretty tough so I parked it there. The smashed Jeep carcass at Jaws let me know I made the right decision.
 
1
6/27/2020
Posted On: 6/28/2020 By: ClarkDeez13
Info: Ellingwood SW Class 3 Route Via lake Como technical/difficult/exposed Class 3 & lighter Class 4. Great challenging route if you want to get away from all hikers, experience a high exposure knife edge and climb/route find your way up to Ellingwood pt with fantastic views the whole way. Once you are committed, there are hardly any bail out points if at all off this ridge. Only climb if you are confident in your abilities on big exposure and much more technical class 3. No cairns, you will follow the ridge the whole way and choose your own adventure at different pts to look for greater challenges (class 4) or avoid. Came down the standard Ellingwood route.
 
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6/26/2020
Posted On: 6/29/2020 By: mikebabb
Info: Climbed up to the trailhead late Friday afternoon (around 5) after climbing Culebra in the morning. We managed to make it up the road about a mile and a half then decided to park after the road got rough. I wish we would have kept driving because we could have gone up another mile or so, but we assumed the road would only get worse based on reports on this website. We saw several vehicles smaller than mine ( I have a lifted F-150 with trail tires) that were much higher up and I kicked myself for not going further. In the end, I would rather hike a mile or two extra than risk screwing up my truck... It was hot and a real trudge to get up the the top. It was steady elevation gain over the entire 5.5 miles and even more challenging given we were wearing heavy packs with all of our camping gear. We arrived after dark, but were still able to find a decent camping spot. It's obvious that this place will only get more crowded on the weekends, so I would get there early if you are going. Also, there are several camping spots on the outskirts of the area and up the jeep road toward the 14ers if you get in a pinch...
 
6/20/2020
Posted On: 6/21/2020 By: ncxhjhgvbi
Info: Got my stock TRD Off-Road Tacoma to the switchback at 10,075' pretty easily. If you can get past the difficulties immediately after the parking at 8,800', then you should be able to get to that point. The next stretch before the large flat area at 10,200' is steep and loose (pic attached). I helped spot a 4runner as they backed down that section and decided not to give it a go as my tires are a little worn. He would back down 6" and break, sliding another 4-6" every time - very loose. If you can get past this, you can probably keep going almost all the way to Jaws I at 10,400' - there are 2-3 pretty big obstacles that require clearance but the road actually seemed to improve a lot after that steep loose section. Going down the road was pretty tough on the upper sections because it is so loose, I think it took me longer to descend than ascend. There were some crawlers headed up as we were hiking down and side by sides made it all the way to the end of the road by the waterfall. There were some downed trees just before the lake around 11,500' so not sure if the side by sides went over or around them...
 
5/23/2020
Posted On: 5/24/2020 By: Buckie06
Info: Road is clear of snow to the lake. I was able to get my 4wd Xterra with skid plates and locking diff to the large parking area next to Jaws 1 at 10,400. If I didn't have an experienced spotter with me it would have been very difficult to get that far. I was easily able to get to the two car pull-off at 9,900' though.
 
5/22/2020
Posted On: 5/22/2020 By: LetsGoMets
Info: Summer conditions.
 
5/17/2020
Posted On: 5/18/2020 By: HikerBox
Info: Road is dry all the way to Jaws 1.0 and up to 1/4 mile from the lake. If you can drive to 10,000 feet you should try to get another half mile/400 vert further, the two big rocks in the road right ahead of that parking area are your only obstacles.
 
4/25/2020
Posted On: 4/26/2020 By: Sgranteed
Info: Road is clear to about 10,200ft just above the first major camping site overlooking the San Luis Valley up in the trees above the first set of switchbacks. Two Small snow patches, I have a trail rated CFMoto and was able to squeeze through using some previous tire tracks and then at 10,350c (1.8 miles from lake right before the creek crossing, more snow drifts that were pretty packed until my machine hit and I sunk in and couldnt pass because it was just to narrow, had a brought my shovels, which I plan on doing next weekend, with only a few minutes of work could have cleared the path and gotten up and probably past the Jaws sections and maybe a wee bit of snow at trees before lake, but thats what the shovels will be for again. Have fun and be safe.
 
11/10/2019
Posted On: 11/10/2019 By: Unknown
Info: Stopped RWD F150 at 8,500. Small snow patches began a little higher in elevation and leading up to the lake. One newly abandoned Jeep with a broken windshield, tail lights, and some gear still in it. Somewhere around jaws 1