Crestone Needle Trip Report 08/23/2007

Peak(s):	Crestone Needle - 14,196 feet
Date Posted:	08/23/2007
Date Climbed:	08/19/2007
Author:	Kzar

Crestone Needle - South Colony Lakes
Trailhead: South Colony Lakes Trailhead Elevation: 3,100 ft Distance: 6.25 miles Hike time: 6 hours round trip; 3 hours up and 3 hours down Overall Impression: A great climb in a stunning area. The mountains in this area are so close and the peaks are very rugged, adding to the excitement of climbing a real mountain. I drove up to the South Colony Lakes trailhead with my two climbing partners in a stock 1998 Toyota 4 Runner. I had no problems getting up the road loaded with people and gear. There is some heavy equipment on the road busting up rocks which has made the road more manageable. The first half of the road (1st stream crossing) is doable in 2 wheel drive vehicles with clearance. There were a few passenger cars near the stream crossing but I'm guessing mostly rentals. The road gets more rugged after the stream crossing and eventually requires 4 wheel drive. There is camping at the 1st stream camping, then intermittently along the road until the trail head. At the trail head there are several camp spots but it does get crowded. We left the trailhead at 6:15 am by squeezing around the gate blocking the 4 wheel drive road. Ahead and to the right you get your first glimpse of Crestone Needle and it is awesome. Just as we were starting our climb the sun was rising creating a beautiful scene. Crestone Peak glowing in the sunrise After a short while the trail slowly turns right and heads into the trees. After being in the trees a while you start seeing camp sites to your right as they dot the stream exiting South Colony Lakes. Very soon after the camp sites you come to a sign that indicates the turn-off for Crestone Needle, Standard Route. The trail to this point is an easy hike with a gradual climb to the Colony Lakes. The views here are awesome. The lakes are surrounded by peaks including, Broken Hand Peak to your left, Crestone Needle in front of you, Crestone Peak slightly behind the Needle and Humboldt to your right. Kit Carson and Challenger Peak can't be seen from here. Trail turn off with Crestone Needle in the background South Colony Lake guarded by the peak Turn left onto the Crestone Needel trail and follow it as it gently climbs the hillside next to Colony Lakes. The trail starts off with a nice gradual climb that is very well defined. The trail then enters a boulder field and scree as it gains elevation under Broken Hand Peak. The trail is marked by large cairns all across the hillside. It is easy to loose the trail here but just look up the hill to find the next large cairn. The trail angles up the hillside until you come with 100 feet or so of the base of Broken Hand Peak. At this point the gulley up to Broken Hand Pass is visible. This tail has obviously seen work by the CFI but is still a climb up loose rock and dirt in places. Follow the well defined trail up through the gulley to a spire which requires a short class 2+ to 3 climb get over. The trail is less defined in the upper part of the gulley. The loose dirt and scree creates paths that look like a trail. The CFI covered several of these with burlap in an effort to prevent erosion. You reach the top of the pass and have great views of Cottonwood Lake as well as Colony Lakes. The climb up the pass is a grunt but it isn't too long. Very doable for just about everyone. A look up Broken Hand Pass Climbing partner climbing pass the spire on Broken Hand Pass The trail now skirts the ridge for a while and there are ~3 very short climbs through rock and 1 very short class 3 down climb. At the down climb someone grouped stones in a larger arrow pointing toward the east couloir. From here look left across the base of the rock face and you will see a patch of green grass. This is just on the other side of the entrance for the east couloir. This is important to note as the exit point. Someone has made cairns approx 300 ft up the gulley along with a well defined trail that cliffs out. So when coming down look for the grass as the exit point. You can also see the class 3 rock that you down climb as you exit the couloir. The class 3 downclimb before entering the east gulley The beginning of the east gulley Start climbing the gulley. The rock is looser at the bottom and gets firmer as you climb up. There are some cairns on the way up but it is fairly easy to climb up all the way to the traverse to the west gulley. This area is class 2+ with some class 3. I have never seen conglomerate rock like this before, it is truly amazing. It reminds me of a real world REI climbing gulley. Anyways, the rock is really stable for the most part but I still would recommend wearing a helmet. Our party and other parties did dislodge an occasional rock. My partners stayed close to the middle near the water trickling down the couloir, I stayed farther right and climbed the nice rock. The traverse is not too hard to find since people have marked it. If you have the printout form www.14ers.com there is an excellent picture of the ridgeline notch you want to target. In addition, someone lodged two yellow straps on the rocks making it easier to identify. As you climb up the east gulley it becomes very steep and there is a large rock embedded in the crack at the center of the gulley. This is where we started the traverse. This part of the climb is the most technical and has the most exposure. Be careful, test your footing, find good hand holds and you will be fine. After climbing to this ridgeline you quickly climb over another small ridge that is marked with a yellow strap. You are now in the west gulley. Remember this area; look for the yellow strap on the way down. It is very visible from the west gulley. Climbing partners doing the traverse between gulleys The west gulley is similar to the east gulley in terms of technical difficulty and steepness. I found both gulleys fun to climb. Near the top of the gulley someone put another strap on the rocks to the right. Remember this as well. This marks the entrance into the west gulley when you are coming down. After this marker you climb up some class 3 rock to the final pitch. This is nothing difficult, but again, look around carefully and notice where the entrance is to the gulley. I noticed several parties missed this entrance on the way down. The views from the top are awesome. You can obviously see the traverse over to Crestone Peak, Kit Carson/Challenger are now visible to the right of the Peak, and Humboldt. Due south you can see the Blanca Group, Lindsey, Little Bear and Blanca. Then in San Luis valley you can see the Great Sand Dunes at the base of the Sangre de Cristos. Truly a world class view. This is a great mountain to climb. If you are comfortable with class 3 climbing and some exposure (Weterhorn, Lindsey north ridge) this is a must. View of Lindsey, Little Bear and Blanca Me with the Peak in the background San Luis Valley with San Dunes at the edge of the Sangre de Cristos I was surprised that the down climb took approximately the same time as reaching the summit. After I complete my tour of the 14ers I will definitely be back to try one of the more technical routes. The rock is just incredible here. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Crestone Needle - South Colony Lakes

Trailhead: South Colony Lakes Trailhead
Elevation: 3,100 ft
Distance: 6.25 miles
Hike time: 6 hours round trip; 3 hours up and 3 hours down

Overall Impression: A great climb in a stunning area. The mountains in this area are so close and the peaks are very rugged, adding to the excitement of climbing a real mountain.

I drove up to the South Colony Lakes trailhead with my two climbing partners in a stock 1998 Toyota 4 Runner. I had no problems getting up the road loaded with people and gear. There is some heavy equipment on the road busting up rocks which has made the road more manageable. The first half of the road (1st stream crossing) is doable in 2 wheel drive vehicles with clearance. There were a few passenger cars near the stream crossing but I'm guessing mostly rentals. The road gets more rugged after the stream crossing and eventually requires 4 wheel drive. There is camping at the 1st stream camping, then intermittently along the road until the trail head. At the trail head there are several camp spots but it does get crowded.

We left the trailhead at 6:15 am by squeezing around the gate blocking the 4 wheel drive road. Ahead and to the right you get your first glimpse of Crestone Needle and it is awesome. Just as we were starting our climb the sun was rising creating a beautiful scene.

Crestone Peak glowing in the sunrise

After a short while the trail slowly turns right and heads into the trees. After being in the trees a while you start seeing camp sites to your right as they dot the stream exiting South Colony Lakes. Very soon after the camp sites you come to a sign that indicates the turn-off for Crestone Needle, Standard Route. The trail to this point is an easy hike with a gradual climb to the Colony Lakes. The views here are awesome. The lakes are surrounded by peaks including, Broken Hand Peak to your left, Crestone Needle in front of you, Crestone Peak slightly behind the Needle and Humboldt to your right. Kit Carson and Challenger Peak can't be seen from here.

Trail turn off with Crestone Needle in the background

South Colony Lake guarded by the peak

Turn left onto the Crestone Needel trail and follow it as it gently climbs the hillside next to Colony Lakes. The trail starts off with a nice gradual climb that is very well defined. The trail then enters a boulder field and scree as it gains elevation under Broken Hand Peak. The trail is marked by large cairns all across the hillside. It is easy to loose the trail here but just look up the hill to find the next large cairn. The trail angles up the hillside until you come with 100 feet or so of the base of Broken Hand Peak. At this point the gulley up to Broken Hand Pass is visible. This tail has obviously seen work by the CFI but is still a climb up loose rock and dirt in places. Follow the well defined trail up through the gulley to a spire which requires a short class 2+ to 3 climb get over. The trail is less defined in the upper part of the gulley. The loose dirt and scree creates paths that look like a trail. The CFI covered several of these with burlap in an effort to prevent erosion. You reach the top of the pass and have great views of Cottonwood Lake as well as Colony Lakes. The climb up the pass is a grunt but it isn't too long. Very doable for just about everyone.

A look up Broken Hand Pass

Climbing partner climbing pass the spire on Broken Hand Pass

The trail now skirts the ridge for a while and there are ~3 very short climbs through rock and 1 very short class 3 down climb. At the down climb someone grouped stones in a larger arrow pointing toward the east couloir. From here look left across the base of the rock face and you will see a patch of green grass. This is just on the other side of the entrance for the east couloir. This is important to note as the exit point. Someone has made cairns approx 300 ft up the gulley along with a well defined trail that cliffs out. So when coming down look for the grass as the exit point. You can also see the class 3 rock that you down climb as you exit the couloir.

The class 3 downclimb before entering the east gulley

The beginning of the east gulley

Start climbing the gulley. The rock is looser at the bottom and gets firmer as you climb up. There are some cairns on the way up but it is fairly easy to climb up all the way to the traverse to the west gulley. This area is class 2+ with some class 3. I have never seen conglomerate rock like this before, it is truly amazing. It reminds me of a real world REI climbing gulley. Anyways, the rock is really stable for the most part but I still would recommend wearing a helmet. Our party and other parties did dislodge an occasional rock. My partners stayed close to the middle near the water trickling down the couloir, I stayed farther right and climbed the nice rock.

The traverse is not too hard to find since people have marked it. If you have the printout form www.14ers.com there is an excellent picture of the ridgeline notch you want to target. In addition, someone lodged two yellow straps on the rocks making it easier to identify. As you climb up the east gulley it becomes very steep and there is a large rock embedded in the crack at the center of the gulley. This is where we started the traverse. This part of the climb is the most technical and has the most exposure. Be careful, test your footing, find good hand holds and you will be fine. After climbing to this ridgeline you quickly climb over another small ridge that is marked with a yellow strap. You are now in the west gulley. Remember this area; look for the yellow strap on the way down. It is very visible from the west gulley.

Climbing partners doing the traverse between gulleys

The west gulley is similar to the east gulley in terms of technical difficulty and steepness. I found both gulleys fun to climb. Near the top of the gulley someone put another strap on the rocks to the right. Remember this as well. This marks the entrance into the west gulley when you are coming down. After this marker you climb up some class 3 rock to the final pitch. This is nothing difficult, but again, look around carefully and notice where the entrance is to the gulley. I noticed several parties missed this entrance on the way down.

The views from the top are awesome. You can obviously see the traverse over to Crestone Peak, Kit Carson/Challenger are now visible to the right of the Peak, and Humboldt. Due south you can see the Blanca Group, Lindsey, Little Bear and Blanca. Then in San Luis valley you can see the Great Sand Dunes at the base of the Sangre de Cristos. Truly a world class view. This is a great mountain to climb. If you are comfortable with class 3 climbing and some exposure (Weterhorn, Lindsey north ridge) this is a must.

View of Lindsey, Little Bear and Blanca

Me with the Peak in the background

San Luis Valley with San Dunes at the edge of the Sangre de Cristos

I was surprised that the down climb took approximately the same time as reaching the summit. After I complete my tour of the 14ers I will definitely be back to try one of the more technical routes. The rock is just incredible here.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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