Where to climb near Westcliffe?

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nickaa
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Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by nickaa »

Hi all,

I am going to be in Westcliffe over the Spring Break and wanted to get climb some moderate peaks, (those requiring crampon use, but not overly technical). What peaks would you guys recommend to challenge myself? I have climbed climbed Bierstadt, Grays& Torreys, Pikes Peak, and Quandary during the winter and have used crampons twice before. I also am limited to really rough 2wd access, although I am willing to hike a few miles.

Thanks,

Nick
tmathews
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Re: Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by tmathews »

Well, the lower South Colony Lakes trailhead is just a few miles outside of Westcliffe. From there you can access Humboldt's east ridge. I doubt you'd need crampons, though. Snowshoes would be a good bet.
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nickaa
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Re: Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by nickaa »

Thanks tMathew, Ive hiked Humboldt twice before and am looking for something a little bit more challenging. I'm also down for peaks other than 14ers.
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hollamby
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Re: Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by hollamby »

nickaa wrote:Thanks tMathew, Ive hiked Humboldt twice before and am looking for something a little bit more challenging. I'm also down for peaks other than 14ers.
Well you seen two beauties on across the valley from Humboldt (The Crestones). They would certainly be more challenging, a lot more right now. I'm a slacker and can't talk about any of the other beautiful climbs in the area except the 14ers.

Ryan
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
Edmund Hillary
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EmmaM
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Re: Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by EmmaM »

Horn peak is beautiful and manageable for your needs.
Probably no need for crampon use (although I did use microspikes a month ago). I also do not have 4x4 access, but the hike to the summer trailhead is reasonable. I think traffic is quite frequent through that trail; it was reasonably packed to treeline.
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bonehead
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Re: Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by bonehead »

This will be more challenging.
Adams has turned me back 3 times. Once we never got out of the car.

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... ki=Include" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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MtHurd
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Re: Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by MtHurd »

You could first ascend Marble Mountain. Then when you get there, you can take the ridge to Milwaukee for more of a challenge. If you are too spooked, you can stop at Pt. 13,161. Just make dang sure you know what you are doing. Milwaukee is a challenging winter ascent. The views of the Crestones from Marble are spectacular. Campons probably aren't required to get to Marble although they make come in handy. For Milwaukee definitely, but the penalty for failure at the crux is high.

Here is a pic of Marble I took last Saturday from near Westcliffe. The route starts at the 4x4 trailhead for South Colony Lakes, then turns on the Rainbow Trail a couple of miles up. Once you get to the ridge coming down from Marble (ridge that angles down to the right in the pic) take a right and scramble all the way up to the summit. We stopped at Marble during my winter ascent as the weather was really bad. I'll see if I can find a pic of the ridge from Marble.

Image

Here is the start of the Marble Milwaukee Ridge. As you can see, the weather wasn't too good for us.

Image

Even though the snow has been light this year in the Sangres, snowshoes are highly recommended.

This is a photo of the crux ramp (SP) with lots of exposure. In the winter I would imagine this would be quite dangerous. Your probably better off just doing Pt. 13,161 and turning around.

Image
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mtgirl
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Re: Where to climb near Westcliffe?

Post by mtgirl »

I agree with Barry's recommendation on Marble Mountain. Here's a picture from the summit in summer conditions.

Image
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