|
Feeling confident from my recent successes on several peaks of late, I thought I was ready to take on something more challenging, so I headed down to the South Colony Lakes Road at 4:00 a.m. from Arvada. On the drive up, I picked up two groups of climbers hitch-hiking. I didn't envy them in the back of my truck the way I drive this road. Arriving at the parking lot at 8:30, I set out for my first objective - Broken Hand Pass. The wind was really strong on the way up, which had me a little concerned about the possibility of turning back at some point higher up the route. In very little time, I arrived under Broken Hand Pass (photo on right). It was time to put on the gaiters and crampons, and whip out the ice axe. The pitch was steep and took some time to complete, as this was my first moderate snow climb of the season.
|
 |
 |
At the top of the snow, the final 150 or so feet to the pass was completely dry and a nice reprieve from the use of crampons. After taking in a brief view of the Needle, I headed down towards Cottonwood Lake. This was straightforward and didn't take long at all. The next objective was to locate the South Couloir of Crestone Peak. The trail was weak in places, and I wondered how far of it might be. Then it appeared above at 10:30 a.m. (photo on left). Dawson's guide has a really nice shot of the couloir which I memorized to spot the correct entry point. A short snowfield led up to the base of the route, and the fun began. The couloir actually head somewhat North at first, but about 200' up, a traverse to the Southeast leads into the main couloir. I only noticed that I should turn out of the first couloir because it started to get narrow, which wasn't consistent with photos I'd seen of the route.
|
|
After traversing over, the route was obvious, as well as ominous. The final 1,000' of the couloir was completely covered with snow. After some initial scrambling (photo on right) and heading up on the North side of the couloir to avoid ice, it was time to put the crampons back on again. I hadn't exactly prepared mentally for a moderate 1,000' snow climb, but I was prepared for it equipment-wise. The snow was in good condition, and I was relieved that post-holing seemed to be a non-issue. I started the pitch at 11:00 a.m. with a little concern for the time it seemed to be taking. In reality, the speed of my ascent was as good as could be expected; it just seemed to be taking too long because of the length of the snow-filled couloir. The front-pointing on the snow was taking its toll on my calves. The wind hadn't relented yet, and I couldn't keep a hat on, so I knew I was in for a sunburn.
|  |
 |
On the left is a view of the South Couloir from about 13,400'. I took twenty or so steps and rested for about 30 seconds on most of the route. It was steep enough in some sections that using an axe and a hand in the snow seemed to provide more adequate support. I really wasn't looking forward to down-climbing this couloir. At 12:10, I reached the top of the couloir, and realized I was standing on a cornice. I happily took off my crampons and was ready to make some progress toward the summit via rock scrambling to the North. I saw someone on the summit, which was encouraging, as he didn't look too far away. A couple of dicey snow/ice sections required a leap for my comfort level, and soon I was at the final stretch of the route. None other than Dwight Sunwall was on the summit from the North Couloir, and we shared some conversation before putting crampons back on and heading down.
|
|
The down-climbing was indeed unpleasant, requiring a facing-in position with ice axe belay for a good part of the couloir. I don't know what I would have done had Dwight not loaned me his spare gloves, as my hands were quite numb after the first 15' down without them. Back on rock, I was feeling quite relieved (other than the 600' hike back up Broken Hand Pass), and soon we were back on the trail. The Broken Hand Pass ascent was not a good time. Heading down to South Colony Lakes, Dwight offered a beer at his campsite which I gladly indulged. We were both pretty spent once reaching my truck. From the 4x4 trailhead, we made it down to Dwight's truck at 6:30 p.m.
|  |