Willow Lake Ridge Run?

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screeman57
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Willow Lake Ridge Run?

Post by screeman57 »

Has anyone here done the ridge traverse around Willow Lake? I haven't found any reports on it here or elsewhere, but it looks so good I can't imagine it hasn't been done before. To be specific, I mean ascending Mt. Adams' W. ridge from Willow Lake, then traversing South to Obstruction Pt., then East to Kitty Kat, Columbia Pt., Kit Carson, and Challenger (or in the other direction). Looks like a long day above 13,500 ft., w/ about 5-6 miles of ridge.

If anyone has some information on just the portion of the ridge btw. Mt. Adams and Obstruction, that would be helpful.

Looking for something fun to do come summer--if anybody is interested in giving this a go, let me know!
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jdorje
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Re: Willow Lake Ridge Run?

Post by jdorje »

http://14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=26036" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

13580 to 13517 : "very exposed class 4"
13517 to 13541: class 2
13541 to 133xx: looks like class 2
133xx to Obstruction: unknown, but looks far more gnarly than any other section

Look up trip reports of 13541.
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screeman57
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Re: Willow Lake Ridge Run?

Post by screeman57 »

Thanks--your photos from the KC trip report are helpful. Definitely looks long and challenging (pun intended), but probably worth a try.
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Marmot72
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Re: Willow Lake Ridge Run?

Post by Marmot72 »

Screeman,
I did a TR on the ridge as far as I made it in Sept '12 - didn't manage to reach Obstruction, but I began from the N Crestone Lake drainage. Also wasted abour 45 minutes trying to "quickly" drop to the saddle between Adams and the unnamed 13ers to the west. Anyway, you can see some up close shots of the ridge.

-Steve
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screeman57
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Re: Willow Lake Ridge Run?

Post by screeman57 »

Excellent, thanks! It looks quite forbidding, but I still might give it a try. Care to go up there again?
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screeman57
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Re: Willow Lake Ridge Run?

Post by screeman57 »

That's an excellent report, and will be very helpful. The crux certainly seems to be between your mini-mountain (point 13.3) and Obstruction. Need a great weather day to close the entire circle.
“To be is to do”—Socrates.
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