Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
3-1-09
Standard Route from Lake Como
Crew: Maverick Manley, doumall
Sunday morning, Prakash and I climbed up the standard route north couloir into a blamy winter morning.
Upon reaching the west ridge we found sun.
We stuck to the ridgeline for some ski boot scrambling.
This mountain is guarded by thick walls with archers firing rocks and often times even moats filled with Avalanches. Little Bear demands respect.
Prakash boots across the face over frozen snow:
Approaching the Hourglass:
I got to lead some alpine ice (AI2) setting one screw in the process.
Prakash cleaned, showing some well developed climbing skills.
Free, he kept his rhythm going, continuing up into the poop your pants terrain.
Yes, its that steep (in these conditions):
The route curved away out of sight from the picture shown above. I didn't realize the entire snowfield had water ice under it and climbed half way through with a whippet and a mountaineering axe. Realizing my folly, I found semi descent footing to trade the whippet for an ice tool and immediately calmed down and finished the pitch. Prakash in the mean time had zipped up it with no problem. Looking down this terrain:
We opted to forgo the rotten snow climbing and jumped on rock to gain the summit ridge.
Once on the summit ridge, I felt vindicated for my ski carrying efforts by the snow seeping down the 50 degree slopes from the summit.
Prakash finishes a stout winter ascent with the depressingly dry southern Sangres behind:
Blanca sporting a lenticular cap
After our standard Jet Boil hot noodle summit slurp, we ramped up the endorphins for the descent. Straight off the top!
I got to make some nuts in your throat jump turns down the uber steep strip of snow. Those familiar with this ski descent know what I am talking about.
The Dav Shot, with Prakash working it!
The pic above is supplemented by the one below to fully disclose the snow continuity through here. Can you spot Prakash?
Below that I had to link patches together to get down into the mellow bowl area, where the skis came off.
At the bottom of the bowl, I clicked back into the Dynafits for some hair ball... well just check out Prakash down climbing this stuff.
Having wet snow slough off the ice beneath my feet was the primary reason I opted to ski with the ice tool. All of two jump turns were had through here, the norm was to get a quality pick and then sideslip a few feet.
Standing in the same spot as above, this pic shows the angle a bit better.
We rapped the Hourglass, Prakash first:
My turn:
Soggy turns below the gnar were the first time I could relax in quite a while. The sun put our day to rest:
The upper route marked, altered from a photo by RyanS's on summitpost:
blue climb
red ski
green boot
Glad you found enough snow to make it worthwhile, good work guys. I was hoping to see a photo of a skier on that sheet of ice in the hour glass, just kidding, that section right above looked dicy enough.
Sarah, we did see your anchors. You rapped three times right? There was another anchor 60 meters up from the hourglass anchor which had a DS (dwight sunwall?) sling on it.
The only thing I can think of is the solo climber without crampons climbed the rock instead of the snow/ice.
there you are, on the ice, either you added it later or I missed it the first read. We did use that anchor 60 meters up, but the two slings there looked fairly new so we used them, I generally don‘t mark my slings anymore, but, matters not.
Quite the accomplishment, its nice to live vicariously once in a while, can‘t say I will be following in your footsteps anytime soon. The ”Bald Spot” on Beaver Creek didn‘t have any icy rappels this weekend
Well written with great photos - LB can be a tough undertaking in any season. I‘m impressed!
As Chicago Transplant says, it‘s nice to live vicariously once in awhile!
Schralp, our round trip time was pretty miserable I think, hard to remember that far back now. The downclimb Prakash faced from the summit through the hourglass took a while. I am guessing 7-8 hours from the lake, RT. In favorable conditions it could be done in 3-4 hours.
Did you see our sketchy frozen block anchor about 30m above the big Hourglass anchor? We wanted a belay to climb down that "poop in your pants" part. I can't believe the solo trip report writer last week felt OK going up that without crampons
That was quite a nice fire you had Saturday night. It was really tempting to warm up by it for a few minutes but we figured we'd better get back to the truck before we fell asleep. Sorry I didn't chat more - I was zombified at that point.
I got a few butterflies just reading it, great weekend for you and Prakash eh? Tick tick goes the list . . . congrads on getting some harder ones out of the way!
You really earned that ski descent. Didn‘t realize how easy we had it last May with plenty of snow in the hourglass. PM me next time you guys are looking for a partner.
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.
