Peak(s):	Pawnee Peak - 12943 Little Pawnee Peak - 12466
Date Posted:	08/29/2013
Date Climbed:	08/25/2013
Author:	bergsteigen
Additional Members:	Steve Climber

Pawnee to Little Pawnee Traverse - An IPW classic
Pawnee to Little Pawnee Mileage: 8.3 Elevation Gain: 2,767 Difficulty: Class 4 to low class 5 With day 6 of my climbing vacation approaching, the weather in the Elks was horrendous - 90% rain/storms all day. The northern Sawatch, while better, didn't instill confidence. Hmmm now what? Last day of vacation motivation troubles would come into play, so getting up early to beat storms would be tough. So when Sam said Pawnee Traverse, I said "Yes please!". Short and very sweet, just what I wanted. So after sunrise we greeted the toll gate operators and handed over my RMNP pass - free to go on our way. At the Long Lake trailhead we were greeted by a frantic ambassador who had just found the destruction left by vandals who apparently don't like the pay system up at Brainard. They used their vehicles to bulldoze the signs over. While I don't particularly enjoy having to pay (or have a RMNP pass), it does keep the hordes of people that flock to this area paying for their use and revitalization of the area. Otherwise, it could very well be a nightmare up there. Once on the easy trail, the miles ticked away quickly and soon we were up on the summit of Pawnee Peak, enjoying the glorious views of the IPW. Relaxing in the wind shelter, we found a Boulder SAR rescue guy, just watching the clouds. When we told him of our plans to do the traverse in the opposite direction than the guidebook... GASP ...he said he also enjoyed going in the opposite direction, so as to have the class 5 section as an up climb not a down climb. He also gave us the sage advice to not continue all the way down the ridge to the trailhead, and to go left when it got difficult. Sweet, first hand beta from an expert! I was hoping for a good route finding challenge, and had only glanced over the 2 TR's of the traverse. Remembering Aubrey saying it was a bit reachy for the short types. That's all the beta I wanted: the ridge go's, the moves are reachy and the route is exposed. Our first good view of the traverse At Pawnee Pass Views from the summit of Pawnee never disappoint After walking down the talus from the summit, we get our first good views of the traverse. It's very obvious that any skirting will have to be to the north, as to the south it gets rather cliffy. First good view of the traverse ahead Looking down the ridge as we descend We continue down the initial ridge all the way. The route continues to get steeper as it rolls over out of sight. Hmmm? Should we continue? Well as we are down climbing, up climbing is always easier - so my #1 rule of never up climb what you can't down climb is a go. Darn, those slabs look mighty fine to climb up, too bad we are going down them! Down climbing the slabs Getting to the end of the ridge.. I don't think it "go's"... Back up! Well, as it turns out, this section of ridge does not go, and we have to re-climb back up. Implement rule #2 never be afraid to turn around and go a different way. We found a rap sling, so we started to get really suspicious that this was not going to be our descent. At least now we get to climb UP those fun slabs! Ooooo very excited for that! Climbing back up the ridge to find a better traverse Me enjoying climbing up the slabs So back up further on the ridge, we traverse around and down on nice bench slabs until we see that red grassy gully that we could spy from our low point. The down climb we did was pretty reachy and so I let Sam with his long legs lead this section, as I'm pretty short. Once on the lower slab the way was pretty obvious. On the other side, we can see the ridge roll over to overhanging. It's obvious that the route typically goes in the other direction than what we did, since this section would have been more obvious. But if you are looking to build your route finding skills, this type of experience is an important and rewarding part of the process. The slabs to traverse, once you drop a bit lower It gets kinda steep and stretchy... Why the ridge didn't go. Take slabs to the north The ridge we down and up climbed - quite impressive view After that first ridge notch, we traverse midway along. Not low, not high or ridge proper. There will be quite a bit of ups and downs as we make our way along the north side of the ridge. Lots of fun scrambling to be had! Terrain after first notch - traverse midway Next gendarme - We traversed to lower notch below Looking back up at where we came from Midway break along traverse Mid-way through the traverse we find the mini knife edge section. Much easier than the one on Capitol or Kelso Ridge, but fun none the less! Sam on the mini knife edge Me on the mini knife edge Pano from the edge... A pillar over the abyss After the knife edge, it's one big ridge prominence to scramble around before the last down climb to the saddle before the climb up Little Pawnee Peak. The down climb was reasonable and is more or less near the ridge crest. More fun scramble traversing Looking back on the ridge Sam peeking over the edge - nope, this doesn't go Little Pawnee Peak The last big downclimb Sam coming down off the last down climb At the saddle, there is some more route finding to go to find the class 5 up climb we have to do to access the summit. It's pretty blocky and the holds are pretty good, though reachy/stretchy. Beyond the class 5 section, there is some more scrambling to go before the final pitch. More route finding up Little Pawnee The class 5 section... a bit leggy Looking back at the ridge and last down climb A nice little ramp up to the summit block Looking up at the face, the easiest route appears to be to traverse around south and up on some class 3 terrain. But there's a rather sweet dihedral that's been calling our names. Sam goes first and says that there's plentiful holds, till the very top, where it gets reachy. I follow, with the mid set that if I can't make the last move, I can always go back down, and traverse around. As it was, it was a matter of some boot friction to grab the upper rock, and then some class 3 to the false-false summit, where we met two older gentleman waiting. Summit block area. Guessing the easiest way is around to the south. We took the lovely dihedral up the face. Sam starting up the dihedral Final 'spread your legs and trust the rubber' moves up the dihedral Hurray other people on the sub-summit to take our photo, what a treat! We chatted up the two gentleman for awhile, and then made our way over to the actual false summit of Little Pawnee - a small block that is higher than where the ridge drops off. Sam on the true summit block - at least it was the highest rock and had the summit register nearby! Pano of the IPW from Little Pawnee After signing the old register and seeing many friends names, some repeated many times, we make our way down the remaining class 3 section of ridge to the tundra section of ridge. But, just before it's all over, there's one more scramble to be had. A lovely committing layback move to get onto the tundra ridge. After than, we hike down the tundra until we drop back down to the Long Lake trail and back to the trailhead. Last bit of scrambling down the ridge Optional fun lay back scramble move - spicy fun! This route is a not to be missed IPW classic! Chose your direction, they both go! Just be prepared for exposure, class 5 moves, and a lot of route finding. I didn't see a single cairn, so you are on your own! My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload): Login required to view this map... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Pawnee to Little Pawnee Traverse - An IPW classic

Pawnee to Little Pawnee

Mileage: 8.3
Elevation Gain: 2,767
Difficulty: Class 4 to low class 5

With day 6 of my climbing vacation approaching, the weather in the Elks was horrendous - 90% rain/storms all day. The northern Sawatch, while better, didn't instill confidence. Hmmm now what? Last day of vacation motivation troubles would come into play, so getting up early to beat storms would be tough. So when Sam said Pawnee Traverse, I said "Yes please!". Short and very sweet, just what I wanted.

So after sunrise we greeted the toll gate operators and handed over my RMNP pass - free to go on our way. At the Long Lake trailhead we were greeted by a frantic ambassador who had just found the destruction left by vandals who apparently don't like the pay system up at Brainard. They used their vehicles to bulldoze the signs over. While I don't particularly enjoy having to pay (or have a RMNP pass), it does keep the hordes of people that flock to this area paying for their use and revitalization of the area. Otherwise, it could very well be a nightmare up there.

Once on the easy trail, the miles ticked away quickly and soon we were up on the summit of Pawnee Peak, enjoying the glorious views of the IPW. Relaxing in the wind shelter, we found a Boulder SAR rescue guy, just watching the clouds. When we told him of our plans to do the traverse in the opposite direction than the guidebook... *GASP* ...he said he also enjoyed going in the opposite direction, so as to have the class 5 section as an up climb not a down climb. He also gave us the sage advice to not continue all the way down the ridge to the trailhead, and to go left when it got difficult. Sweet, first hand beta from an expert! I was hoping for a good route finding challenge, and had only glanced over the 2 TR's of the traverse. Remembering Aubrey saying it was a bit reachy for the short types. That's all the beta I wanted: the ridge go's, the moves are reachy and the route is exposed.

Views from the summit of Pawnee never disappoint

After walking down the talus from the summit, we get our first good views of the traverse. It's very obvious that any skirting will have to be to the north, as to the south it gets rather cliffy.

We continue down the initial ridge all the way. The route continues to get steeper as it rolls over out of sight. Hmmm? Should we continue? Well as we are down climbing, up climbing is always easier - so my #1 rule of never up climb what you can't down climb is a go. Darn, those slabs look mighty fine to climb up, too bad we are going down them!

Down climbing the slabs

Getting to the end of the ridge.. I don't think it "go's"... Back up!

Well, as it turns out, this section of ridge does not go, and we have to re-climb back up. Implement rule #2 never be afraid to turn around and go a different way. We found a rap sling, so we started to get really suspicious that this was not going to be our descent. At least now we get to climb UP those fun slabs! Ooooo very excited for that!

Climbing back up the ridge to find a better traverse

Me enjoying climbing up the slabs

So back up further on the ridge, we traverse around and down on nice bench slabs until we see that red grassy gully that we could spy from our low point. The down climb we did was pretty reachy and so I let Sam with his long legs lead this section, as I'm pretty short. Once on the lower slab the way was pretty obvious. On the other side, we can see the ridge roll over to overhanging. It's obvious that the route typically goes in the other direction than what we did, since this section would have been more obvious. But if you are looking to build your route finding skills, this type of experience is an important and rewarding part of the process.

The slabs to traverse, once you drop a bit lower

Why the ridge didn't go. Take slabs to the north

The ridge we down and up climbed - quite impressive view

After that first ridge notch, we traverse midway along. Not low, not high or ridge proper. There will be quite a bit of ups and downs as we make our way along the north side of the ridge. Lots of fun scrambling to be had!

Terrain after first notch - traverse midway

Next gendarme - We traversed to lower notch below

Mid-way through the traverse we find the mini knife edge section. Much easier than the one on Capitol or Kelso Ridge, but fun none the less!

Me on the mini knife edge

After the knife edge, it's one big ridge prominence to scramble around before the last down climb to the saddle before the climb up Little Pawnee Peak. The down climb was reasonable and is more or less near the ridge crest.

Sam peeking over the edge - nope, this doesn't go

At the saddle, there is some more route finding to go to find the class 5 up climb we have to do to access the summit. It's pretty blocky and the holds are pretty good, though reachy/stretchy. Beyond the class 5 section, there is some more scrambling to go before the final pitch.

Looking back at the ridge and last down climb

A nice little ramp up to the summit block

Looking up at the face, the easiest route appears to be to traverse around south and up on some class 3 terrain. But there's a rather sweet dihedral that's been calling our names. Sam goes first and says that there's plentiful holds, till the very top, where it gets reachy. I follow, with the mid set that if I can't make the last move, I can always go back down, and traverse around. As it was, it was a matter of some boot friction to grab the upper rock, and then some class 3 to the false-false summit, where we met two older gentleman waiting.

Summit block area. Guessing the easiest way is around to the south. We took the lovely dihedral up the face.

Sam starting up the dihedral

Final 'spread your legs and trust the rubber' moves up the dihedral

Hurray other people on the sub-summit to take our photo, what a treat!

We chatted up the two gentleman for awhile, and then made our way over to the actual false summit of Little Pawnee - a small block that is higher than where the ridge drops off.

Sam on the true summit block - at least it was the highest rock and had the summit register nearby!

After signing the old register and seeing many friends names, some repeated many times, we make our way down the remaining class 3 section of ridge to the tundra section of ridge. But, just before it's all over, there's one more scramble to be had. A lovely committing layback move to get onto the tundra ridge. After than, we hike down the tundra until we drop back down to the Long Lake trail and back to the trailhead.

Optional fun lay back scramble move - spicy fun!

This route is a not to be missed IPW classic! Chose your direction, they both go! Just be prepared for exposure, class 5 moves, and a lot of route finding. I didn't see a single cairn, so you are on your own!

My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Dave B	Such a cool route 8/29/2013 6:20pm Gotta love the IPW and all it offers! I'm actually surprised you ran into some one else on Little Pawnee
IHikeLikeAGirl	Congratulations! 8/29/2013 7:11pm Well done Otina and Sam!
sunny1	Nice! 8/29/2013 7:18pm Great pics and documentation - I have yet to do this route. You've been having a successful summer, Otina. Strong work! Thanks for all your TR's - great resource!
jblyth	Sweet TR 8/29/2013 8:49pm That looks like an awesome day of scrambling....I'll add it to the never ending list.
MtnHub	Well done, folks! 8/29/2013 11:37pm Excellent shots of the route, Otina! That route really appeals! After experiencing my first time in the IPW this summer, you've given me another great reason to head back again!
BostonBD	Wonderful photos 8/31/2013 2:43am Great trip report and work. Well done. Every photo is a favorite.
bergsteigen	Thanks! 9/3/2013 5:12pm Dave B - I've missed the IPW in all my running around the state. Was pretty impressed to see someone on the unranked 12er summit. I figured Pawnee would have some early bird local, it's always swarmed. aboynamedmargrette - Thanks for letting me tag along sunny1 - It is a great route. As always, more photos on my webpage if desired! jblyth - The list always grows! MtnHub - The IPW is a sometimes forgotten Gem because of it's lack of 14ers or centennials! BostonBD - Hard to take a bad photo up there!
Steve Climber	whoohooo! 5/9/2014 12:26pm This was a blast. Happy to have great company to share it with Thanks to Brian C for putting the bug in my ear about it! Definitely not to be missed and well worth a repeat (or 5)

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Pawnee to Little Pawnee

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