The Complete Kelso - Kelso Mountain Up Kelso Ridge to Torreys Peak

My track record:
Kelso Ridge to Torreys: 2019
Kelso Mountain: 2023
The Complete Kelso: 2024

This trip report is a bit of a melting pot of all three trips, but the narrative is primarily centered around the 2024 trip.

2024: the Music Mountain trio, a.k.a. Color Crew, back together again! We thought it would be fun to do Kelso Mountain and follow the entire ridge from that summit over to Torreys.

To the Stats, We Go

Total mileage: 9.2 miles
Total elevation gain: 3,793'

Mileage splits:
Mile 1 - 636'
Mile 2 - 443'
Mile 3 - 820'
Mile 4 - 27'
Mile 5 - 1,316'
Mile 6 to the end - 551'

How It Started

I was outvoted on start time by d_baker (Darin) and Jesus2021 (Lisa, not Jesus), so we hit the trail at an unacceptable time in my book, after 6 a.m. The horror!

There are several ways to gain Kelso Mountain. Here are three of them:

1. Go to the junction with Kelso Ridge, take a sharp right up ridge proper. There are some scrambly elements to that if that’s your thing.
2. Take the spur trail that goes to the junction with Kelso Ridge, but about halfway cut right across the boulders at a gentle diagonal to more gradually attain Kelso’s slopes.
3. Our way was to simply reverse the descent path bwinners (Brittany) and I took in 2023. At approx. 12,240’, you’ll spot one of the largest cairns that ever cairned. Take a sharp right, head straight up-slope. Curve right/northeasterly whenever and wherever you see fit. Once you have the edge of the ridge in sight, you can just follow the curvature of the ridge. The true summit is none of the hundred bumps along the way; it truly resides at the tail-end of the ridge.

2023: Here is Brittany masterfully pole-pointing at our descent path. We ascended via method #2 above but decided our descent path would have been a great ascent path, too. Also: I think the cairn needs to be bigger. SO easy to miss!

It does get pretty steep, as demonstrated by Lisa.

The "carve" of the ridge is pretty neat, and you'll see that much better in another picture further on in the report. Lisa is making her way toward yet another bump that is not the summit.

2023: Brittany and I had obviously waited until Kelso's slope had melted out and avy danger was no longer, but there were some stretches of snow along the ridge that were fabulous. The views from Kelso Mtn are among my favorite 13er summit views! It was great to experience the vast contrast of the winteresque landscape in 2023 with the more thirsty look of summer in 2024.

Color Crew summit #1 of the day!

Sentiment in the Hills, Part 1

My beloved father passed away in 2023, so Brittany and I did Kelso Mtn specifically for Father’s Day 2023. He was very integral to my 14er journey, so it seemed fitting Kelso Mtn is in view of my first 14er milestone (Grays) and first class 3 milestone. I brought his picture up then, I brought it again in 2024 - and probably always will bring it here. (Also, he’d be tickled that I found a way to work his picture into a TR!)

Walk This Way

Dance your way back down the ridge! I guess I was having a really good time, haha. There was a super faint goat trail some of the time, but just stick to the ridge, and the way reveals itself. You want to be mindful not to accidentally drift away from the ridge and up losing too much elevation. If you do that, the side-hilling would be pretty tedious especially once you encounter the rocks/boulders area.

Eventually you’ll see where the rocky, scrambly part begins on the ridge. It is easy class 3, nothing tricky. Since the goal is just to stick to the ridge, route-finding isn’t an issue, and there’s nothing that presents a navigational or cliffy concern.

Oddly enough, as you descend Kelso Mtn’s ridge, you want to stay away from climber’s right because of sheer cliffs. But when you ascend Kelso Ridge to Torreys, the reverse holds true: a lot of the severe exposure is to climber’s left. Below is a look back at Kelso Mtn, its beautiful curve, and well-defined ridge.

Sticking to a rightward lean on Kelso Ridge tends to be a good rule of thumb. It doesn’t mean the route always stays to the right, of course, but I found that to be a rather distinct trend.

The first time you head more leftward is when you get to the first real class 3 feature: the chimney. Take your time finding the right holds and testing them, then after the chimney the route heads to the right again.

The route seemed a lot more obvious in 2024 than in 2019. Maybe because I had a few years of additional experience? But Kelso Ridge has become an increasingly popular route, so it’s also possible the route truly IS more obvious. A lot of sections have a very distinct social trail. Be cautious, though! There are also a lot of mountain goats that travel this side of the peak, so some of the “trails” are likely game trails. When in doubt, aim away from exposure - which, again, generally tends to mean aiming right. (For example: as you get close to the knife edge section, there’s a trail to the left and a trail upward to the right. 2019, we went left. Precarious, exposed. Doable, but didn’t love it. 2024, went to the right. Much more agreeable!)

Along the route, you could spice things up a little and aim for more difficult scrambling. We didn’t do that, but it can be done. The more unpleasant sections of the route are just crappy class 2; loose, steep. Social trail is very evident through these sections.

Time for an eye exam! There is a mountain goat in the picture below. Can you find it? It is attempting to hide, but just because you can't see us, Goaty McGoatface, it doesn't mean we can't see you!

Yeah, things get super steep once in a while. I remember after the 2019 trek, my legs felt pretty trashed - and they had been decently strained on the steepest parts of the route.

It's good to look back often as you're moving along. Don't miss out on the cool scenery and different angles of different rock features!

At long last, it's the focal point of the route: the knife edge section! Similar to Capitol, it steals the show even though it’s such a small part of the overall route. It is unique, though, for sure! I wasn’t as graceful as Darin...

...but I was much more graceful (and less nervous) than my first time doing it. When we reached the summit, a guy with wildly high stoke looked at me, mentioned the knife edge, and loudly asked, “DID YOU RIDE IT LIKE A FUCKIN’ PONY???” Haahahaha! You know it, bud. Here’s the photographic evidence! (He was awesome, by the way. I quite enjoyed his outward enthusiasm for all others who summited!)

For perspective, the knife edge is definitely a no-fall zone. In the picture below, you can see why.

It’s home stretch once you’re past the knife edge and skirt your way around the white towers. It’s just steep class 2 the remaining couple hundred feet to the summit. Prepare to dazzle everybody on the summit of Torreys when your helmeted figure emerges suddenly, victorious! DAZZLE, I say!!

Sentiment in the Hills, Part 2

I met Alan in 2019 in my quest for solid climbing partners. He'd been coming out here from Oklahoma for decades to do all sorts of peaks and rock climbing, and we meshed really well immediately. In 2019, I was three years into [very slowly] doing the 14ers, only class 1/2. I knew all about Kelso Ridge, but building my exposure tolerance had been a painfully slow endeavor. After a couple peaks with me, multiple times Alan confidently insisted I was ready for class 3 and didn't really give me an opportunity to decline. So I joined him, Kurt, and Jeff for Kelso Ridge. Though intimidated by the combined experience/skill of all three of them, they made me feel like part of the gang.

Half the time on route, I was between Alan and Kurt, learning about route-finding and being coached on all things holds, moves, technique, and rockfall protocol. Eventually, it was just me and Alan the rest of the way. I mostly felt confident, and I only had to pause once to recover from my own stupidity (peering down a cliff). Completing the route was a big deal for me! When we got to the summit, tears filled my eyes, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my friend. I can only hope to emulate for others the support and encouragement he has always shown of me. It was a game-changer. In years since, we've done multiple peaks and off-roading trips, and I consider him and his amazing wife to be among my very dearest friends.

And Then What?

Not only did class 3 become my favorite thing ever, but this one experience opened the door to the confidence to do so many other challenging, enjoyable peak endeavors including segueing into class 4. I have also relished the opportunity to pay it all forward in the form of helping other friends make the leap into class 3, as well.

2024: being able to revisit this route again, experience it through a different lens, and with other good friends, was truly delightful. Summit #2 of the day for the Color Crew!

We descended the standard route of Torreys, and there’s not really much to say about that! Easy peasy.

Final Thoughts

My favorite 14er. Yes, I have sentimental reasons for Torreys being my favorite 14er, but objectively I've always loved how much the peak offers. It's good-looking, has a great class one, super class three, the perfect couloir climbs, bomber ski descents, and really cool connecting ridge routes (Loveland, Argentine, etc.). It's not difficult to get to, and it has something for everybody. What's not to love?

Cool route. The Complete Kelso was a blast! Starting with Kelso Mtn isn’t overly strenuous, and it’s neat to travel the entirety of the ridge. I know some folks do a BIG ridge loop to include Grays and beyond; maybe I'll look into doing that someday, too.

Beginner class 3. I am part of the contingent who don't feel Kelso Ridge is a good beginner class 3 except under the right circumstances. I was SO glad that prior to it, I'd intentionally worked on my exposure tolerance, and I'd sought out minor scrambling opportunities as often as I could. Then I did the route with experienced individuals. The route's a commitment, has plenty of exposure, loose rock, and the class 3 sections are legit. In my opinion, it's a leap from the likes of classic class 3 intros like Wetterhorn, Sawtooth, and Citadel.

In 2019, there were two fatalities on Kelso Ridge, and every year it seems multiple rescues. The day of the second fatality, I was at Grays and Torreys stewarding for CFI. I tried to talk to all hikers who appeared headed to Kelso Ridge. Later, a chopper and SAR team arrived. My heart broke when I learned why. Was it someone I talked to? Was there anything I could have said that would have prevented this? I've sometimes been criticized for my perspective on the route, to which I say: 1) I respect there are differing schools of thought, 2) I'm trying not to let my experience level skew what might be prudent advice for a beginner, and 3) I'd rather aim to be informative in a well-intended manner than not say anything at all. We may not be responsible for what people choose to do, but we are responsible for how our influence may potentially play out in relation to someone else's well-being.

At the end of the day, we all deserve to get out and have the adventures - but safely. When you're ready for this route, it'll be ready for you! :-)

Happy hiking to you all - and as always, take nothing, and leave nothing.

BONUS CONTENT - Different Perspectives