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"...
Little Bear Peak - 14,037'
Date Climbed - 5/25/2010
Climbers - doggler
RT milage - ~13 miles
RT gain - 6,200'
Seriously, I'm not sure why I should even bother with posting this. So many amazing Little Bear TR's - 5 in the past week and a half - have been posted. However, I read every single one of them to get as much beta as possible for my climb, so I suppose others may do the same with mine.
As a teacher, my summer officially began this past Saturday. While some mountains aren't exactly ready for me yet, a few are actually more desirable now than later this summer. The descriptions of the hourglass in August have always creeped me out, so I decided to take a look at Little Bear sometime during the week.
The weather forecast for Blanca Peak and vicinity called for lows in the high 30's on Sun-Tues nights. This scared me, but I figured I'd be able to check the snow once I got up there and change plans if need be. I've been around snow enough to figure a few things out - namely soft stuff on warm days and steep slopes is bad news. Knowing I'd be solo, I wasn't about to put myself in a spot where I felt uncomfortable or out of my league.
I left Colorado Springs around 1:30, got to Lake Como Rd, and powered my little Nissan up as high as I could bear. I was slogging up by 5:00.
To put it nicely, the Lake Como Road is....challenging. You must pay attention to every step you take. Too many loose rocks waiting to twist or snap your ankle. I'm pretty sure-footed, but approaching on that mess with a heavy pack tests me every time!
I passed a day hiker on my way in. Snow began to show in patches shortly before Lake Como, and I got to enjoy the barrel of monkeys known as postholing. I couldn't help but wonder what condition the snow up higher would be in. By 9:00, had I reached the cabin, made a warm dinner, went for a clear-skied stroll by the lake, and read for an hour. Even the incessant coyote calls from down the valley couldn't stop me from making a visit to zzzz-town.
My original plan was to get up at 3:00AM in order to get up and down before the snow started softening too much. Unfortunatley, I slept right through my alarm...something I rarely do! I awoke in a panic at 5:45AM, thinking my day was already over. Luckily, the weather did wonders to the snow - clear for most of the night, followed by clouds right before sunrise. I figured it might have bought me back and extra hour or two before I was climbing out of my comfort zone. I left the cabin at 6:25AM with no expectations other than to have fun and be safe.
I was actually quite surprised at how hard the snow had gotten overnight. I actually had to do a bit of kick-stepping as most of the boot marks had been glissaded over by Keith, Otina, and crew. Isn't it amazing how quickly conditions change? Halfway up, I glanced down at the grade and got the willys even thinking about glissading on this "ice".
The ridge run that approached the hourglass was straightforward. I took off the points for this part and elected to stay on the ridge whenever I could. Unlike Keith's crew, I encountered almost no wind during my ascent. Eventually I ran out of rock and dropped down to the ridge's right side. I re-donned the crampons and traversed to the start of the hourglass.
Physically, I was prepared for the next pitch. I wasn't sure how the psyche would hold up, though. So...I just started climbing. With the clouds still mostly delaying sunrise, the snow was still much harder than I had expected...perhaps too hard for my liking.
Once I topped out, I realized just how much concentration it had taken to get up the hourglass. Physically, it was doable, but I had never spent so much mental energy on a climb anywhere before! It was 8:55, and the sun finally came out while I took a quick break on the summit.
I made it through most of the hourglass in the shade, and was still surprised by how hard the snow was. It still took a couple of kicks to gain enough purchase for just my front points.
As I expediently traversed across the snowfield south of the ridge, the snow began to soften a bit. Not to where I was postholing, but I was finally beginning to sink in.
I, too, was finally able to glissade down the initial coulior. The snow everywhere just kept getting softer and softer...I was glad to be out of there. Got back to the cabin at 12:15PM.
I said goodbye to the mice in the cabin and began the arduous hike out at 1:00PM, and was back at my car just under three hours later.
This peak was an interesting experience. I can't remember feeling so indifferent upon a peak's summit as I did atop Little Bear. Once I was down, I felt relief, but that came to me in a slow trickle. Little Bear wasn't any harder than I had imagined, but it was definitely challenging.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Are you sure you‘re doggler? Your photo looks nothing like your avatar .. 8) Way to get ‘er done solo. Nice report, and great beer selection! Happy trails!
I‘m always so impressed when people solo LB. Good decision to get it early this week, I have a feeling its gonna look like the east ridge of Quandary up there this weekend...
Nice work Sean! You seem to be following me around a bit, what would you like me to climb next? I have Capitol scheduled for early August, maybe you should see if that fits into your plans!
I am heading up there this weekend. Think I will do LB on Sunday since forecast calls for cooler overnight temps saturday night. Also have Ellingwood to do, so hopefully I will get my two-fer...
I really wanted to give it a go today but it didn‘t work out. We‘ll have to see if there is still some snow left next week after the Memorial Day weekend masses. All these recent reports help me with understanding the route and yours is no exception. Thanks!
Way to go teach! Climbing solo is an experience. Looks like Little Bear will be my first for the season, hopefully very soon. Was the road clear of snow drifts, etc???? Great pictures, different than most.
Thanks for "bothering." I'm with pioletski on this and would like to point out that yours is the only solo ascent in the last five reports of LB. That's the most impressive thing of all, deserving more than just five stars and the Dale's you quaffed at the lake.
Big thumbs up!
Thanks for the pix of Blanca and Ellingwood. And thanks for ”bothering to post” the TR, it‘s always nice to know what‘s happening now, as opposed to 2 weeks ago, especially in the spring when conditions change so rapidly.
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.