Gores - Red Peak B from Willow Lakes

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
TaylorHolt
Posts: 761
Joined: 5/6/2012
14ers: 58  2  15 
13ers: 210 7
Trip Reports (8)
 

Gores - Red Peak B from Willow Lakes

Post by TaylorHolt »

For all of the Gore fanatics out there, is Red Peak B reasonably attainable from Willow Lakes? All of the trip reports I've seen come from Meadow Creek. Thanks for the input.
“If you're bumming out, you're not gonna get to the top, so as long as we're up here we might as well make a point of grooving." -Scott Fischer
User avatar
TravelingMatt
Posts: 2204
Joined: 6/29/2005
14ers: 56 
13ers: 435
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Gores - Red Peak B from Willow Lakes

Post by TravelingMatt »

I'm sure people have done it. I am also sure it's not the way sane people do it.
You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough. -- William Blake
User avatar
jbchalk
Posts: 537
Joined: 5/24/2006
14ers: 58 
Trip Reports (54)
 
Contact:

Re: Gores - Red Peak B from Willow Lakes

Post by jbchalk »

I think the path of least resistance may be to head south and then southwest from the upper Willow Lake up slabs, rock fields, and grassy ledges to the small saddle just south of the spire Cancer (southernmost Zodiac Spire). Take a left and head up Red's mellow north ridge.
User avatar
lordhelmut
Posts: 2310
Joined: 2/24/2006
14ers: 50  21  5 
13ers: 300 60 1
Trip Reports (73)
 
Contact:

Re: Gores - Red Peak B from Willow Lakes

Post by lordhelmut »

Red B really only makes sense from Willow lakes if you are either doing as a snow climb (fun one at that) or Zodiac Traverse from east Thorne. Meadow Creek is very scenic and obvious summer route. Views from Eccles Pass are noteworthy to say the least. Plus you can tag Eccles Mountain and Deming as a combo if you were so inclined.
User avatar
Tempelton
Posts: 123
Joined: 7/1/2006
14ers: 52 
13ers: 92
Trip Reports (1)
 
Contact:

Re: Gores - Red Peak B from Willow Lakes

Post by Tempelton »

I was thinking that starting at the Buffalo Mtn TH and taking the connector to S Willow Creek up to Red Buffalo Pass would be shorter than starting at Meadow Creek. I was going to try it this summer, but got distracted by other things. I'm not sure about Willow Lakes, but I wondered that myself when looking at the map.
gore galore
Posts: 91
Joined: 6/1/2012
Trip Reports (40)
 

Re: Gores - Red Peak B from Willow Lakes

Post by gore galore »

The true north ridge of Red Peak rises from the westernmost of the Willow Lakes and leads directly to the summit. The ridge from Cancer Spire is the dividing ridge crest of the Gore Range and intersects the western end of the Red Peak massif near Point 13,005. The former is more of a mountaineering objective than say hiking from Red Buffalo Pass. The true north ridge of Red is not inconsequential in the Gore Range. When the Zodiac Spires were first climbed in 1956, the climbing party made their initial climb using two pitons up a shallow chimney of a gendarme on the ridge and dubbed it the "Loose Goose." Using a hand drawn map and brief description from that climbing party I once made a trip to locate the "Loose Goose." I am not sure if I correctly located it so I dubbed it the "Lost Loose Goose." The north side of Red Peak is one of adventure and exploration.
Post Reply