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After a sketchy climb on Little Bear the previous weekend, I thought I'd be able to handle El Diente without any difficulties. I headed out at 6:00 p.m. Friday for the intolerable 7-hour drive to Lizard Head Pass. I arrived at the Kilpacker Trailhead parking lot at 1:30 a.m. and quickly set up the tent. Coyotes (close enough to hear breathing) along with bitter cold through the night kept me up after getting only a couple hours of sleep. I packed up the tent and hit the trail at 6:15 a.m., slowly warming up. It was nice to be on a trail for a change, and actually nice to be a little chilly since cooking on the talusmaster . I followed the trail carefully watching waypoints on my GPS, and just barely noticed the turnoff (completely covered with snow) into Kilpacker Basin at the trail junction. It had finally warmed up enough to take off my shell, and sunlight was not too far off in the future. The snow on the trail was stable and not overly undesirable. On the right, El Diente is hazed with morning sun.
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After the creek crossing, the views opened up a little while skunk cabbage dominated the terrrain. Soon I arrived at the steep dirt switchbacks just below treeline and ascended above the first waterfalls. Finally at treeline, I traversed up the scree until I intersected trail again, and followed it across the scree and snowfields underneath El Diente's imposing cliffs southwest of the summit. I continued upward steadily across more snowfields and arrived at the base of the route that cuts north to the ridge crest at around 12,700' (photo on left). I bumped into two hikers in crampons here, and passed them after a brief slope. The snow was in perfect condition, and I never thought about putting crampons on. The wavy snow had pre-shaped steps, and was never steep enough for crampons. I left my ice axe at the base of the rock where the scrambling started. I left the snow too early, and later recognized Roach's suggestion to traverse beneath an outcrop at 13,500' by viewing the mellow snowfield to the west after I ascended some class 4 cliffs.
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Instead, I ascended the outcrop. I was slowing down considerably searching for the most viable route to attain the ridge west of the Organ Pipe gendarmes. There were some bare spots that I found to traverse via ribs, but did not like the size of the scree involved on the traverses, so I kept ascending direct when possible. I found lines that stayed at class 3, and avoided too much exposure. On the right, the tell-tale Wilson Group talus is on display and the only means of ascent. I felt bad for leading up unnecessarily difficult terrain because the two below followed my line and later retreated. I took several pauses to study just where I would end up or how to get to ledges above. I think the lack of sleep and cold wind made me more indecisive than is desirable for an expedient climb. It was getting late; 11:00 a.m. and cloudy. I had to start making faster progress.
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A final pitch on large boulders above a snow-covered ledge attained the ridge as seen in the photo on the left. The ridgecrest was a blast until reaching a sharkstooth that did not have a readily visible detour. Some peering back over the south side revealed an inset chimney, and some class 4 put me past it and closer to the summit. I was able to stay on the crest and soon bisected the standard gully close to the summit. Some exposed moves below the crest on the north side were made more interesting with a steep and short snow slope above cliff bands. There were a few fleeting moments of continuing disappointment with each false summit, and I developed a distaste for the inevitable return. On a positive note, the rock was of impeccable quality - it was strange to feel comfortable on exposed sections after experiencing the poorest ever a week before.
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The summit visit was short because of weather and a psychological need to hastily get off the ridge. It was 12:15 p.m. when I started down. I managed to get off quickly, as the routefinding was already accomplished. I ran into a group who ascended from Silver Pick, which must not have been a whole lot more fun. Upon reaching the snowfield I missed on the ascent at around 13,600', one of the two I saw during the ascent was yelling to find his partner 'Ed'. I stayed for a few minutes to see if he would show up. Still no sight or sound of him as I glissaded on my boots down to 12,000'. Hopefully he made it out alright. I enjoyed the rest of the hike out despite blisters on my heels, and reached the trailhead at 4:30. I stopped in Delta for the night and made a go of the Mesa County Highpoint Leon Peak.
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