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Old Ickabod and I drove most of the way up the South Colony Lakes road in his Wrangler, but stopped a mile or so from the upper parking area. The hike up was uneventful.
The Needle from the lower lake.
We hiked up over Broken Hand Pass feeling pressured by a thunderstorm lingering just to the east and south of Broken Hand Peak. Our original plan was to stop at the pass, drop our heavy gear and climb the Needle and then head down to Cottonwood Lake to camp. However, the weather was to dicey, so we beat a hasty march to the grassy meadow below the Red Couloir on Crestone Peak.
The snow up the pass is steep and was soft near the top. An ice axe or ski pole or two made the climb a little easier.
Looking back from the pass, the edge of the storm can be seen.
Looking down at Cottonwood Lake.
At our camp, we had many marmot friends to entertain us until our early-morning ascent.
Our nearest neighbor at camp. He behaved and only chewed a small bit of Old Ickabod's visor while we were gone.
A look up at the snow in the Red Couloir.
We got started about 5:30 am and the snow was very good for cramponing. We also mixed in some fun scrambling on rock where the snow had melted out.
A look up the snow in the Red Couloir near the bottom.
Looking down the couloir from over halfway up to the notch.
About 1:45 minutes into the climb we reached the notch between the east summit and the "true" summit of the Peak.
Old Ickabod standing at the notch.
A look over at a tower between the Peak and Needle from the notch--exhilarating!
Standing on the summit ridge just below the summit of the Peak.
We reached the summit in 2:05 minutes and descended in about 45 minutes. We packed up and headed to Broken Hand Pass. Once there, we dumped most of our gear and began our ascent of the Needle with the printer-friendly version of the route from 14ers.com!
Looking up the awesome nubby conglomerate near the start of the real climbing.
Old Ickabod nearing the top of the west gully preparing to gain the summit ridge.
I lost track of time during the ascent (I was focused on the climbing), but I think we summited from the pass in about 1:45 minutes. It is worth noting that the small amount of snow on the standard route can be avoided with little difficulty.
Looking from the Needle's summit down at part of the traverse.
Heading down the summit ridge preparing to carefully downclimb the Needle.
We were both pleasantly surprised to find the downclimbing fairly easy and we made good time. Again, we used the photos from the route report and made sure to locate all of the key points along the route. Cairns really helped, but the photos were invaluable. Thanks Bill for this wonderful site and all the great information.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
By the way, that picture you have of ”Crestone Needle” from the peak... that's not the Needle, that's a 14,000 foot tower Northeast of the true summit. In the picture after of your friend on the summit ridge, the Needle is behind him.
Congrats with both the Peak and Needle! It was nice to 'briefly' meet you on trail at Culebra, and again when we were coming down from the Peak!
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