Pros and Cons of doing Wilson to El Diente traverse vs. Standard El Diente to Wilson

[Vacas Valley]

I plan on doing this route from Wilson North Slope route and traverse over to El Diente. I don't see much info, good or bad, regarding this trajectory. If anyone
has experience doing the traverse this way and would like to share thoughts, opinions, etc. that would be awesome.

[CaptainSuburbia]

The hardest section of the traverse for me were the final few moves before Wilson summit. It's very exposed and I would not want to down climb that

[terribletigzy]

Just did the standard El Diente to Wilson a few weeks back and agree that the last few moves would not be fun to down climb. I would also add that the wall shown in photo #22 of the traverse route description is also a serious obstacle that I would much rather climb up than down. Apart from these two obstacles the route is mostly class 2. Starting the traverse from Wilson has you downclimbing what I would consider to be the two cruxes of the route.

[cougar]

From that side go up the North Buttess on El Diente. Best route on all those peaks. From the north you'd have to downclimb the Mt Wilson summit block going either direction. It's tricky but quite doable. There are a couple variations on those blocks. White rock is better than the polished black, takes you over a little knife edge but better holds and gripper. The black rock has narrow slippery footholds. I went up the black and down the white.

[climbingcue]

The hardest section of the traverse for me were the final few moves before Wilson summit. It's very exposed and I would not want to down climb that

I agree, the hardest move is 30 feet from the summit of Wilson heading to El Diente. So good news is, if you get past that it is easier the rest of the way. I personally would not want to do it in that direction.

[Marmot72]

I second cougar to ascend the N Buttress on El Diente. Rock of Ages approach is shorter but none too pretty- in hindsight I’d rather have camped down in Navajo.

[Andrew Russell]

From that side go up the North Buttess on El Diente. Best route on all those peaks.

What John said. Camping at Navajo is definitely the most scenic spot up there. Going up the North Slopes of Mt Wilson is pretty loose, and can get really nasty if you get a little bit off route. The guy I went with got a little off route and ended up pulling down a large boulder that missed his head by a few inches. The move coming down off Mt Wilson is quite exposed and is the crux of the traverse. I did the black both times

[Skimo95]

I like big buttresses and I cannot lie. Another vote to start with Diente’ buttress via Navajo.

[Wentzl]

From that side go up the North Buttess on El Diente. Best route on all those peaks. From the north you'd have to downclimb the Mt Wilson summit block going either direction. It's tricky but quite doable. There are a couple variations on those blocks. White rock is better than the polished black, takes you over a little knife edge but better holds and gripper. The black rock has narrow slippery footholds. I went up the black and down the white.

+1

The N Butt on El D is the best route in the group. If descending Mt. Wilson back to the Rock of Ages pass, without having been there before, see my report "Mt. Wilson Without Tears".

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

[greenonion]

I like big buttresses and I cannot lie. Another vote to start with Diente’ buttress via Navajo.

[tortilla]

The N buttress and the traverse are fun, everything else on that massif is loose. The wall shown in pictures on the traverse isn’t that bad at all, I downclimbed it and went back up to try a funner line vs path of least resistance. Have fun!

[Vacas Valley]

Seems like there’s a consensus here. I appreciate the input, although it would be nice to hear from individuals who experienced it in the opposite direction. Just to keep the conversation open. Nobody wants to down climb The final crux on Crestone traverse either, but in my opinion, if I had to I would without second thoughts. Exposure and rating is somewhat subjective I understand. Let me reiterate I appreciate the 14ers.com alumni responses and I take it into consideration. Much respect mon.