Peak Condition Update | Little Bear Peak

Peak:	Little Bear Peak
Route:	West Ridge and Hourglass
Range:	Sangre de Cristo
Posted By:	maurer_kg
Date of Info:	7/12/2015
Date Posted:	7/13/2015

Details
I've heard/seen reports that the forest service just hung a "new rope" down Hourglass, and I think they're wrong. The rope looks faded and has some sizable nicks in the sheath that expose the core. Damaged spots are tied off in several places. The Hourglass is free of snow (except a patch at the base you can scramble around), but was pretty wet and slippery with water flowing inside. So make of that what you will. We also had an encounter with the bear, who grabbed some food from our Lake Como campsite (once right in front of our group of 7 during daylight). So recommend bear canisters if you are staying there.

Details

I've heard/seen reports that the forest service just hung a "new rope" down Hourglass, and I think they're wrong. The rope looks faded and has some sizable nicks in the sheath that expose the core. Damaged spots are tied off in several places. The Hourglass is free of snow (except a patch at the base you can scramble around), but was pretty wet and slippery with water flowing inside. So make of that what you will. We also had an encounter with the bear, who grabbed some food from our Lake Como campsite (once right in front of our group of 7 during daylight). So recommend bear canisters if you are staying there.

Comments or Questions

TallGrass	Two different ropes 7/14/2015 2:19pm There are two belay stations: upper has the new rope, lower an older pair. See 07 02 2015 report for photos.
maurer_kg	Yup. 7/14/2015 2:54pm I have no way of knowing the age of the ropes. But I can say that the upper rope, while in better shape, had a few nicks (at least two I remember) all the way through the sheath, and at least one damaged section tied off up near the anchor (and if memory serves, another lower down near the Class 3 section). I used a prussik as a backup while scrambling up the Class 4, so I got a pretty good look at the entire length of that rope. FWIW, we also had someone in our party who climbed Little Bear last fall who thought it was the same rope (though there’s no way to know that for sure).
maurer_kg	Clarification 7/15/2015 11:53am So after looking more closely at the pics TallGrass posted, I think I figured out the confusion. What I’m referring to as the "upper" rope is what TallGrass is calling the "lower" rope. (This rope consists of two ropes tied together, which further muddies the waters). Anyway, if you read it in that light, we both agree that the rope through the steepest section of the Hourglass is not new and has some damaged spots. I didn’t actually see the "upper" (blue and white) rope from the pictures. Probably just didn’t go that way. Apologies for any confusion I may have caused.

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