Peak(s):	Little Bear Peak - 14,041 feet Blanca Peak - 14,350 feet Ellingwood Point - 14,057 feet
Date Posted:	09/29/2014
Modified:	10/01/2014
Date Climbed:	09/07/2014
Author:	hoodayer
Additional Members:	kimmykazu, Sanjainthemountains

Where Are My Pants?
Little Bear Peak to Blanca Peak to Ellingwood Point "Where are my pants?" Not a question you want to be asking your hiking companions one-third up the Lake Como Road before backpacking up to the lake in preparation for the next day's three-peak grand slam of Little Bear --> Blanca --> Ellingwood. But it's a question I'd asked nonetheless. On every backpacking trip, I forget something. Almost always something small and slightly inconvenient not to have (e.g., sleeping pad or camp sandals). But for the first time ever, I had packed my pants in a separate bag but never actually transferred them. I looked down at my shorts: they would have to do. LAKE COMO Kimmy, Sanja, Shiva & I were backpacking up the road by a quarter past noon on Saturday. We said goodbye to a dying blue-tailed skink and hiked to and over Jaws 1 thru Jaws 47, passing six jeeps that would later make it all the way up. You know the deal. Having heard about all the recent bear disturbances, we hiked most of the way past Lake Como and set up camp there. That's when the accident occurred... Dying blue-tailed skink Barney the Bear sign This has been a strange and scary year for us. Despite the terrific mountain skills and knowledge that many of our friends have, over the last nine months they have been involved in some freak accidents, results ranging from critical condition to a minor broken bone to injured body parts to life-threatening experiences. Kimmy herself, who never falls, slipped on a wet rock on the easiest mountain while her gloved hands were in her pockets and hit her cheek. We both silently felt that my time had come. And come it did, while I was crossing a stream on a log to investigate a campsite possibility. On the penultimate step the whole thing shifted, and I too had my first fall in ages, landing directly on my torso on a piece of log jutting outward. After some awkward moves to minimize further falling, I slowly recrossed the stream in the water to my shocked campmates to assess the damage: 10 small cuts and bruises on the arms and legs, the worst being my upper stomach. Deep inhale. Deep exhale. No broken ribs. Results of my accident An hour later, Sanja and I joined forces and hiked 15 minutes to the base of tomorrow's route up the NW Face of Little Bear. Spotting the Black Hand was quite the simple task, and the route was entirely visible from trail. Marked a waypoint and headed back to camp, on the way meeting and chatting with a cool, grizzled guy whom Sanja named, "Custer." Early to bed, early to rise, or whatever they say. Scouting out our route up LB. Note the Black Hand, slightly left of center. LITTLE BEAR Sunday began slower than planned, but at least we'd had no bear problems last night. Boots on dirt at 6:08am. Others had already begun, but we would be the only ones climbing the NW Face that day. My boots"which had been stuffed with phonebook paper all night"were night completely dry but would do fine with wool socks (may not have had pants, but had extra socks!). The route was straightforward, the only navigation mistake being cutting upward before going right enough after the Black Hand. The only thing that we needed for this ascent was this picture: http://www.summitpost.org/the-nw-face-route-of-little-bear-in-june-2004/184875 Approaching the Black Hand Waiting for my climbing companions This route is not less technical than the Hourglass, but it had no people to be concerned about. But it's still LOOSE. We had some scary moments on this mountain, the worst being a large rock that would have killed anyone it hit. You'd like to think that you're always uber-careful, but when every rock touches another rock that can dislodge at any second, sometimes it feels more like luck. If ever there is a mountain that you strictly follow the don't-climb-directly-below-me principles, it is this one, and relaxing these principles can result in death! Having gotten that distressing experience out of our way, we topped out on the ridge and had an 8-minute climb to the summit of LB. Whoo! Little air guitar on Little Bear Last moment before continuing to the day's highlight THE TRAVERSE Our glorious traverse awaiting us. Freaking gorgeous!!! (Notice Kimmy at the start of it, for scale) Ah, the famed LB-Blanca Traverse. This is the part where I scare the crap out of you and tell you how gnarly it was. But in lieu of words, I'll just share our GoPro footage. The song is so soothing that even the airiest parts shouldn't perturb you overly much (yeah, I'm not sold on it, either). Hope you enjoy it! Fine, here are a few words about it. It is sustainably exposed like everyone says. It has numerous catwalks, and unfortunately the GoPro died before the cattiest of them all. You should give yourself a good weather window to complete it since you're committed once you begin. The two final key takeaways I...um, took away...that people don't always mention are: A) The rock on the traverse is not terribly solid. Not as bad as LB itself, but there was definitely loose rock on and below the ridge and catwalks, so be sure to not let your guard down. B) The route was fairly straightforward. Every time we came to an obstacle, it was quickly obvious how it should be conquered. Go left, go right or go over. Numerous times only one of these options were practical/safe, so the process of elimination consistently made our decisions for us. Please don't interpret this as, "Hey, I don't need to study/bring any beta." Just saying navigation wasn't a big deal. If it feels so sketchy that you feel you might peel off a sheer cliff at any moment, then there's probably an easier way. There are already a few great write-ups on the route, so I won't bother - take one or two of them with you. Descending LB to reach the ridge Checking things out Chillaxin' in the middle of the traverse on a perfect day! Some cool fog rising from below and burning up A look ahead The scenery was not too shabs Sanja on one of the easier catwalks Outside of a 15-minute stretch where Kimmy needed to replenish her blood-sugar levels, she and Sanja both rocked it. I wore a smile all the way to Blanca and had a blast the whole time. Shiva, who is an experienced climber, had to dig deep to maintain his energy levels and stay on top of the mental aspects of the considerable exposure, but he didn't complain and methodically knocked it out. He felt bad for doubling our time on the traverse (4 hrs), but we had perfect weather and enjoyed every second of it! At last the final great traverse COMPLETED! Kimmy & Shiva tearing it up A final look back before the Blanca summit A beautiful Blanca impression being ignored on the summit of Blanca Kimmy was pretty happy ELLINGWOOD Ellingwood, our final mountain of the day After doing the traverse, it's difficult to give much detail about the additional traverse to Ellingwood. Sanja, having done all three of these peaks before, kindly volunteered to go back to camp with Shiva (his first and second Colorado 14ers!), while Kimmy and I made quick work of Ellingwood, our penultimate 14er. We were back at camp in no time, but not before first bumping into Custer once again. This dude was straddling the trail with hands in pockets awaiting our return to ask us all about it. Some peeps you can just tell know their stuff, and this was one such guy. He was highly considering going up LB the next day but was unsure whether via the Hourglass or the NW Face. I had both routes printed since we'd have to return via the Hourglass if weather had prevented us from attempting the traverse, so I gave him my beta. COMO, REVISITED None of us had Monday off, so we broke up camp and at 5:30pm backpacked out. Unlike the quite-crowded place yesterday, it was almost deserted hiking back out! Right before Jaws 1 we ran across some older gents who kindly shared their libations and lengthily chatted with us before we continued. Darkness fell and slowed our progress considerably on the loose, pebbly road. We all grew to despise it, but we had the biggest brightest moon around, looking awfully like a giant headlamp. At long last sometime after 9:30pm, we arrived at the car 2.3 miles in. Stretched the legs. Out. My companions did an excellent job of keeping my mind engaged to prevent sleepiness while driving, and we were in bed by 2:30am. Getting merely 3.5 hours of sleep sucks, but it's worth it for an epic weekend such as this. Not going to forget this one anytime soon! A look back to Little Bear from this morning Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Where Are My Pants?

Little Bear Peak to Blanca Peak to Ellingwood Point

"Where are my pants?"

Not a question you want to be asking your hiking companions one-third up the Lake Como Road before backpacking up to the lake in preparation for the next day's three-peak grand slam of Little Bear --> Blanca --> Ellingwood. But it's a question I'd asked nonetheless. On every backpacking trip, I forget something. Almost always something small and slightly inconvenient not to have (e.g., sleeping pad or camp sandals). But for the first time ever, I had packed my pants in a separate bag but never actually transferred them. I looked down at my shorts: they would have to do.

LAKE COMO

Kimmy, Sanja, Shiva & I were backpacking up the road by a quarter past noon on Saturday. We said goodbye to a dying blue-tailed skink and hiked to and over Jaws 1 thru Jaws 47, passing six jeeps that would later make it all the way up. You know the deal. Having heard about all the recent bear disturbances, we hiked most of the way past Lake Como and set up camp there. That's when the accident occurred...

This has been a strange and scary year for us. Despite the terrific mountain skills and knowledge that many of our friends have, over the last nine months they have been involved in some freak accidents, results ranging from critical condition to a minor broken bone to injured body parts to life-threatening experiences. Kimmy herself, who never falls, slipped on a wet rock on the easiest mountain while her gloved hands were in her pockets and hit her cheek. We both silently felt that my time had come. And come it did, while I was crossing a stream on a log to investigate a campsite possibility. On the penultimate step the whole thing shifted, and I too had my first fall in ages, landing directly on my torso on a piece of log jutting outward. After some awkward moves to minimize further falling, I slowly recrossed the stream in the water to my shocked campmates to assess the damage: 10 small cuts and bruises on the arms and legs, the worst being my upper stomach. Deep inhale. Deep exhale. No broken ribs.

An hour later, Sanja and I joined forces and hiked 15 minutes to the base of tomorrow's route up the NW Face of Little Bear. Spotting the Black Hand was quite the simple task, and the route was entirely visible from trail. Marked a waypoint and headed back to camp, on the way meeting and chatting with a cool, grizzled guy whom Sanja named, "Custer." Early to bed, early to rise, or whatever they say.

Scouting out our route up LB. Note the Black Hand, slightly left of center.

LITTLE BEAR

Sunday began slower than planned, but at least we'd had no bear problems last night. Boots on dirt at 6:08am. Others had already begun, but we would be the only ones climbing the NW Face that day. My boots"which had been stuffed with phonebook paper all night"were night completely dry but would do fine with wool socks (may not have had pants, but had extra socks!). The route was straightforward, the only navigation mistake being cutting upward before going right enough after the Black Hand. The only thing that we needed for this ascent was this picture:
http://www.summitpost.org/the-nw-face-route-of-little-bear-in-june-2004/184875

This route is not less technical than the Hourglass, but it had no people to be concerned about. But it's still LOOSE. We had some scary moments on this mountain, the worst being a large rock that would have killed anyone it hit. You'd like to think that you're always uber-careful, but when every rock touches another rock that can dislodge at any second, sometimes it feels more like luck. If ever there is a mountain that you strictly follow the don't-climb-directly-below-me principles, it is this one, and relaxing these principles can result in death! Having gotten that distressing experience out of our way, we topped out on the ridge and had an 8-minute climb to the summit of LB. Whoo!

Last moment before continuing to the day's highlight

THE TRAVERSE

Our glorious traverse awaiting us. Freaking gorgeous!!! (Notice Kimmy at the start of it, for scale)

Ah, the famed LB-Blanca Traverse. This is the part where I scare the crap out of you and tell you how gnarly it was. But in lieu of words, I'll just share our GoPro footage. The song is so soothing that even the airiest parts shouldn't perturb you overly much (yeah, I'm not sold on it, either). Hope you enjoy it!

Fine, here are a few words about it. It is sustainably exposed like everyone says. It has numerous catwalks, and unfortunately the GoPro died before the cattiest of them all. You should give yourself a good weather window to complete it since you're committed once you begin. The two final key takeaways I...um, took away...that people don't always mention are:
A) The rock on the traverse is not terribly solid. Not as bad as LB itself, but there was definitely loose rock on and below the ridge and catwalks, so be sure to not let your guard down.
B) The route was fairly straightforward. Every time we came to an obstacle, it was quickly obvious how it should be conquered. Go left, go right or go over. Numerous times only one of these options were practical/safe, so the process of elimination consistently made our decisions for us. Please don't interpret this as, "Hey, I don't need to study/bring any beta." Just saying navigation wasn't a big deal. If it feels so sketchy that you feel you might peel off a sheer cliff at any moment, then there's probably an easier way. There are already a few great write-ups on the route, so I won't bother - take one or two of them with you.

Chillaxin' in the middle of the traverse on a perfect day!

Some cool fog rising from below and burning up

Outside of a 15-minute stretch where Kimmy needed to replenish her blood-sugar levels, she and Sanja both rocked it. I wore a smile all the way to Blanca and had a blast the whole time. Shiva, who is an experienced climber, had to dig deep to maintain his energy levels and stay on top of the mental aspects of the considerable exposure, but he didn't complain and methodically knocked it out. He felt bad for doubling our time on the traverse (4 hrs), but we had perfect weather and enjoyed every second of it! At last the final great traverse COMPLETED!

A final look back before the Blanca summit

A beautiful Blanca impression being ignored on the summit of Blanca

ELLINGWOOD

After doing the traverse, it's difficult to give much detail about the additional traverse to Ellingwood. Sanja, having done all three of these peaks before, kindly volunteered to go back to camp with Shiva (his first and second Colorado 14ers!), while Kimmy and I made quick work of Ellingwood, our penultimate 14er. We were back at camp in no time, but not before first bumping into Custer once again. This dude was straddling the trail with hands in pockets awaiting our return to ask us all about it. Some peeps you can just tell know their stuff, and this was one such guy. He was highly considering going up LB the next day but was unsure whether via the Hourglass or the NW Face. I had both routes printed since we'd have to return via the Hourglass if weather had prevented us from attempting the traverse, so I gave him my beta.

COMO, REVISITED

None of us had Monday off, so we broke up camp and at 5:30pm backpacked out. Unlike the quite-crowded place yesterday, it was almost deserted hiking back out! Right before Jaws 1 we ran across some older gents who kindly shared their libations and lengthily chatted with us before we continued. Darkness fell and slowed our progress considerably on the loose, pebbly road. We all grew to despise it, but we had the biggest brightest moon around, looking awfully like a giant headlamp. At long last sometime after 9:30pm, we arrived at the car 2.3 miles in. Stretched the legs. Out. My companions did an excellent job of keeping my mind engaged to prevent sleepiness while driving, and we were in bed by 2:30am. Getting merely 3.5 hours of sleep sucks, but it's worth it for an epic weekend such as this. Not going to forget this one anytime soon!

A look back to Little Bear from this morning

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

emiller6	A fine 9/30/2014 3:08pm Blanca impression indeed.
cfb	Wow 9/30/2014 3:15pm Wow. What a great TR, almost looked professionally done. And, after looking at the GoPro of the traverse, I believe my future climbs will lead elsewhere. Thanks for the great report and great climb(s)
rajz06	Awesome... 9/30/2014 6:03pm ...TR and video of the traverse. The expression ”Chillaxin” brings back some old memories. Congrats on completing all great traverses!
altitude14er	Thumbs Up! 10/1/2014 4:50am Excellent photos! I can relate to forgetting gear, I forgot my winter jacket once on an early April ascent of Flattop Mountain. It stinks forgetting important gear! Grrrr.....
hoodayer	Thanks, peeps 10/1/2014 4:20pm Appreciate the words. 'Twas a great outing. No jacket in April = ouch! The shorts worked out just fine. Only downside was my legs were slightly too red at day's end - tough to apply sunscreen when you've got hairy legs. Who needs pants anyway?!
TeoD	Cool deal! 7/7/2015 10:10am Awesome job! I camped next door to you guys the night before. Sanja rocks!

Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.

Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.

LAKE COMO

LITTLE BEAR

THE TRAVERSE

ELLINGWOOD

COMO, REVISITED

14ers.com

Social

Mobile App