Little Bear Peak Trip Report 05/19/2009

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Little Bear Peak - 14,041 feet
Date Posted	05/19/2009
Modified	05/20/2009
Date Climbed	05/17/2009
Author	Alpine

Little Bear family event
Most family outings consist of a picnic in the park, some kind of physical activity, maybe a lake nearby, some sand, and plenty of sun. We had all the above, but not in the usual venue. It wasn't quite like taking the kids the pool, but it sure was an awesome day! Andy the Elder (my younger brother) only has 3 or so 14ers to finish, and he and I had been planning on doing Little Bear as a snow climb for several years now - each time the trip had fallen through. Since that time, my oldest son Andy (the Younger? aka The Android here on 14ers.com) has started hitting the 14ers hard and for all I know will beat me to finish them - but he better move fast if he wants to beat his old man. Andy Android just finished his second year at CSU in the Chemical Engineering program and was very eager to put the pressures of the school year behind him. Me? I just kind of putz around waiting for something to happen. By the time we got to the turn off onto the dirt road we could tell we would not need the skis and snowshoes we had brought, so we left them in the Jeep. We also noticed for the first time that you can actually see the entire Hourglass from just north (1/4 - 1/2 a mile maybe?) of where you turn off the paved road. We had a few mechanical issues with my old Jeep Commando, but I had a spare fuel filter and that seems to have fixed the problem. We thought about walking the entire road after the first breakdown but could not 'Bear' the thought. Hehe. We parked at the old Commodore mine and town site right where Jaws 1 is located. Camp Commodore is located... on the western slopes of Blanca Peak. The mining camp was founded in 1899 when prospectors discovered gold-bearing quartz veins in a patch of wild raspberries, along Holbrook Creek. The gold ore from the mines near Camp Commodore produced "nuggets the size of wheat grains". But like most mining camps, the ore bodies eventually failed and the miners drifted away. http://www.thegeozone.com/treasure/colorado/tales/co016a.jsp We finally made it to Lake Como about 10:30 PM- much later than we had anticipated. One of the results of running behind schedule is that you don't pay attention to details - for instance the two 24 oz Gatorades and two 16oz Dr Peppers that were supposed to stay in the cooler in the Jeep - NOT in my backpack. I hate it when that happens. Maybe it was a practical joke by my brother, or maybe it was my own air-headedness. Either way it made for a heavy pack. The road was snow-free until we got right to the lake. There were some other climbers in tents nearby, but the Lake Como Hilton was empty, so we tossed our bags on the floor, agreeing to get up about 5 AM. My wife says I snore, but Andy the Elder does a pretty good job himself - somewhat of a cross between a bear and a whistle-pig, I think. At least it kept the mice away. 6AM came too fast. Lower Gully Soon we were putting on our crampons for the first gully. The snow was good and solid, perfect for crampons. The Andys beat me to the top - one is half my age, and the other thinks it's fun to ride his mountain bike several times a week, while I am kind of a couch slug. Is that a good enough excuse? The ridgeline here is a special place - steep ground falling away on both sides; the ridgeline itself quite linear. Almost the entire rest of the route is visible from here, and since there was not much snow for a ways, we took the crampons back off. Following the top of the ridge looked like fun, but we chose a small climbers trail on the south side down 100 ft or so. Soon we could were on snow again so back on with the crampons. Traverse A rising traverse leads to the base of the Hourglass, where the angle has increased from moderate to steep. I think by this time we were cautiously optimistic about the increasing angle. Knowing that many people choose to rappel this section on descent, we were watching closely to see what we would think. From the bottom you can see up a ways, but then the route follows the couloir to the right, where the steepest part lies. Prior to the bend we could see parts of three old ropes covered with snow and ice, plus one in good condition, left by a group the day before (they chose to rappel). Hour Glass Plenty of still-solid snow led us up into the Hourglass. At the rappel anchor the route moves right. Soon we came to the thinnest and perhaps steepest section yet - one or two steps across some ice with an inch or so of not-the-best snow. Careful axe and crampon placement and solid seemed to provide sufficient security to me and Number One Son, but Brother Andrew chose a few easy 4th class rock moves around to the right of this section. Either way works. I think we could have bypassed this short section to the left, if we had stayed left farther below. Near summit The snow angle lessens for the next few hundred feet. By this point all three of us knew the worst was over as far as nerve-racking steepness. We never felt compelled rope up, although we had a couple 8mm-30m ropes with us, as well as a couple pickets, a few stoppers, and plenty of sling material. The final pitch to the top may have been the steepest of all, or at least equal to, what was below, but the terrain had broadened out and did not give the same sense of 'Yikes-ness'. Following a neat little snow-rib, we topped out about 10:30 AM. Near summit Me and my son Andy on the summit SW Ridge The summit of Little Bear is one of the better ones - smallish, and exhilarating, with awesome views of the traverse to Blanca, Ellingwood's South face, and the Lake Como valley. The Great Sand Dunes and the Crestones are visible to the north. To the south we could see South Little Bear and the entire SW Ridge route stretching out to the west. We watched a small climbing group working their way east up the SW Ridge toward South Little Bear - dhatfield and Susan Joy Paul. They were right on the sky-line several times - very spectacular looking. (Sorry guys, turns out we did not get any pics of you up there.) After some family-bonding time with the camera, we knew we needed to get moving. Even though the snow was solid enough on the ascent, it was not rock hard either, and the sun was staring to beat down; we did not want to take any chances with wet slabs. A mixture of face-in and face-sideways suited Bro and Sonny the best, while I felt comfortable doing the sideways thing almost the entire descent. I tried facing in for one or two of the steeper spots, but never felt compelled to continue with that. An hour of mental focus got us to the bottom with no slips or close calls, and no desire to rappel or to clip in to the existing lines. I certainly do not question those who rappel; the consequences of a fall would not be pretty. We almost did just because we had the capability; but mountaineering is partly about assessing the conditions and your confidence level accurately, and all of us felt confident under those conditions at that time. I would not hesitate to rappel this section under other conditions though. By the time we got back to the first gully, it was about 11:30 AM, and the snow was getting pretty soft. Between the snow condition and the steepness at the top of the gully, we felt we could not glissade safely, so we walked down. (I believe the group the day before had glissaded the whole thing, but they were both bolder, and earlier in the day, than us.) Plunge steps often resulted in post-holes. So we resorted to a combination. If we had only been an hour earlier... The final tree-covered slopes back to the lake contained man-eating post-holes, thigh- and crotch-deep many times. The group who had been up LB the day before had just finished skiing Blanca and was 'enjoying' the same snow. Fortunately it is only a tenth of a mile at most, and we were on dry ground again, and back at camp by 1PM. Our family outing had been a success - we still had to get home, but that is another story for another time....All in all, maybe not your typical family event, but it will contain many special memories for years to come. (Sorry for some of the formatting. How do you get sideways pictures to be upright anyway?) Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Little Bear family event

Most family outings consist of a picnic in the park, some kind of physical activity, maybe a lake nearby, some sand, and plenty of sun. We had all the above, but not in the usual venue. It wasn't quite like taking the kids the pool, but it sure was an awesome day!

Andy the Elder (my younger brother) only has 3 or so 14ers to finish, and he and I had been planning on doing Little Bear as a snow climb for several years now - each time the trip had fallen through. Since that time, my oldest son Andy (the Younger? aka The Android here on 14ers.com) has started hitting the 14ers hard and for all I know will beat me to finish them - but he better move fast if he wants to beat his old man. Andy Android just finished his second year at CSU in the Chemical Engineering program and was very eager to put the pressures of the school year behind him. Me? I just kind of putz around waiting for something to happen.

By the time we got to the turn off onto the dirt road we could tell we would not need the skis and snowshoes we had brought, so we left them in the Jeep. We also noticed for the first time that you can actually see the entire Hourglass from just north (1/4 - 1/2 a mile maybe?) of where you turn off the paved road. We had a few mechanical issues with my old Jeep Commando, but I had a spare fuel filter and that seems to have fixed the problem. We thought about walking the entire road after the first breakdown but could not 'Bear' the thought. Hehe. We parked at the old Commodore mine and town site right where Jaws 1 is located.

Camp Commodore is located... on the western slopes of Blanca Peak. The mining camp was founded in 1899 when prospectors discovered gold-bearing quartz veins in a patch of wild raspberries, along Holbrook Creek. The gold ore from the mines near Camp Commodore produced "nuggets the size of wheat grains". But like most mining camps, the ore bodies eventually failed and the miners drifted away. http://www.thegeozone.com/treasure/colorado/tales/co016a.jsp

We finally made it to Lake Como about 10:30 PM- much later than we had anticipated. One of the results of running behind schedule is that you don't pay attention to details - for instance the two 24 oz Gatorades and two 16oz Dr Peppers that were supposed to stay in the cooler in the Jeep - NOT in my backpack. I hate it when that happens. Maybe it was a practical joke by my brother, or maybe it was my own air-headedness. Either way it made for a heavy pack.

The road was snow-free until we got right to the lake. There were some other climbers in tents nearby, but the Lake Como Hilton was empty, so we tossed our bags on the floor, agreeing to get up about 5 AM. My wife says I snore, but Andy the Elder does a pretty good job himself - somewhat of a cross between a bear and a whistle-pig, I think. At least it kept the mice away. 6AM came too fast.

Lower Gully

Soon we were putting on our crampons for the first gully. The snow was good and solid, perfect for crampons. The Andys beat me to the top - one is half my age, and the other thinks it's fun to ride his mountain bike several times a week, while I am kind of a couch slug. Is that a good enough excuse? The ridgeline here is a special place - steep ground falling away on both sides; the ridgeline itself quite linear. Almost the entire rest of the route is visible from here, and since there was not much snow for a ways, we took the crampons back off. Following the top of the ridge looked like fun, but we chose a small climbers trail on the south side down 100 ft or so. Soon we could were on snow again so back on with the crampons.

Traverse

A rising traverse leads to the base of the Hourglass, where the angle has increased from moderate to steep. I think by this time we were cautiously optimistic about the increasing angle. Knowing that many people choose to rappel this section on descent, we were watching closely to see what we would think. From the bottom you can see up a ways, but then the route follows the couloir to the right, where the steepest part lies. Prior to the bend we could see parts of three old ropes covered with snow and ice, plus one in good condition, left by a group the day before (they chose to rappel).

Hour Glass

Plenty of still-solid snow led us up into the Hourglass. At the rappel anchor the route moves right. Soon we came to the thinnest and perhaps steepest section yet - one or two steps across some ice with an inch or so of not-the-best snow. Careful axe and crampon placement and solid seemed to provide sufficient security to me and Number One Son, but Brother Andrew chose a few easy 4th class rock moves around to the right of this section. Either way works. I think we could have bypassed this short section to the left, if we had stayed left farther below.

Near summit

The snow angle lessens for the next few hundred feet. By this point all three of us knew the worst was over as far as nerve-racking steepness. We never felt compelled rope up, although we had a couple 8mm-30m ropes with us, as well as a couple pickets, a few stoppers, and plenty of sling material. The final pitch to the top may have been the steepest of all, or at least equal to, what was below, but the terrain had broadened out and did not give the same sense of 'Yikes-ness'. Following a neat little snow-rib, we topped out about 10:30 AM.

Near summit

Me and my son Andy on the summit

SW Ridge

The summit of Little Bear is one of the better ones - smallish, and exhilarating, with awesome views of the traverse to Blanca, Ellingwood's South face, and the Lake Como valley. The Great Sand Dunes and the Crestones are visible to the north. To the south we could see South Little Bear and the entire SW Ridge route stretching out to the west. We watched a small climbing group working their way east up the SW Ridge toward South Little Bear - dhatfield and Susan Joy Paul. They were right on the sky-line several times - very spectacular looking. (Sorry guys, turns out we did not get any pics of you up there.)

After some family-bonding time with the camera, we knew we needed to get moving. Even though the snow was solid enough on the ascent, it was not rock hard either, and the sun was staring to beat down; we did not want to take any chances with wet slabs. A mixture of face-in and face-sideways suited Bro and Sonny the best, while I felt comfortable doing the sideways thing almost the entire descent. I tried facing in for one or two of the steeper spots, but never felt compelled to continue with that. An hour of mental focus got us to the bottom with no slips or close calls, and no desire to rappel or to clip in to the existing lines. I certainly do not question those who rappel; the consequences of a fall would not be pretty. We almost did just because we had the capability; but mountaineering is partly about assessing the conditions and your confidence level accurately, and all of us felt confident under those conditions at that time. I would not hesitate to rappel this section under other conditions though.

By the time we got back to the first gully, it was about 11:30 AM, and the snow was getting pretty soft. Between the snow condition and the steepness at the top of the gully, we felt we could not glissade safely, so we walked down. (I believe the group the day before had glissaded the whole thing, but they were both bolder, and earlier in the day, than us.) Plunge steps often resulted in post-holes. So we resorted to a combination. If we had only been an hour earlier...

The final tree-covered slopes back to the lake contained man-eating post-holes, thigh- and crotch-deep many times. The group who had been up LB the day before had just finished skiing Blanca and was 'enjoying' the same snow. Fortunately it is only a tenth of a mile at most, and we were on dry ground again, and back at camp by 1PM.

Our family outing had been a success - we still had to get home, but that is another story for another time....All in all, maybe not your typical family event, but it will contain many special memories for years to come.

(Sorry for some of the formatting. How do you get sideways pictures to be upright anyway?)

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

bad andy	Nice 5/20/2009 5:28pm I like it - good report there bro. And sorry about that snoring thing - blame ”The Ancient One”.
Alpine	Welcome to the forum - finally 5/20/2009 5:32pm Haha. I tried to not embarass you too much in the report. Nice Claim to Fame too. :D
The Android	Good Work 5/20/2009 5:32pm Both of you guys snored more in that old cabin. Either that or I was just too tired to notice it the second night on account of being very tired.
Alpine	Thanks D 5/20/2009 5:33pm I will try the ‘rotate first‘.
Alpine	Snoring? 5/20/2009 5:34pm What? Me snore? Nah.
DHatfield	Excellent job 5/20/2009 5:35pm and congrats to all making the summit. I think that is a perfect way to spend a family vacation!! Glad the snow conditions were great on the up and down the Hourglass. I remember when I did it two years ago we had horrible snow making that pucker factor a little to much for me. I agree the part near the summit felt the steepest to me as well. Great trip report and pictures and thanks for sharing!! As to the photo question you should be able to rotate them in photo editor to the upright position and them reload them back into your trip report.
TomPierce	Great report, but.... 5/21/2009 12:01am ...you guys clearly are a snoring-dysfunctional family! Isn‘t there a 12-step program for snorers?? :wink: Anyway, very cool to see a family out knocking off such a challenging peak, well done! -Tom
susanjoypaul	Welcome Distraction 5/21/2009 3:01am It was a lot of fun watching your progress on all that cool snow - took my mind off the scorching heat and hot rocks on the ridge. Congrats on a tough peak - all three of you - I know it‘s a lot harder than it looks!

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