Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
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nyker
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Congrats on getting the Needle today!
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ekalina
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Well done! Crestone Needle is a tough peak, and yet it served as a nice confidence booster for you at a time when you were looking for that.
Regarding the whole partner versus no partner issue, I've done many hikes with partners, and also many without. The advice "don't hike alone" is common, but having a partner doesn't necessarily make you safer - having a well prepared, skilled partner does. I can recall at least a handful of times when being with partners increased my risk, because they were more foolhardy, slower (in situations where speed mattered), and/or were less prepared. Yes, there are many routes that I wouldn't do alone, and as mountaineers, it's imperative we all learn where that line is for us personally. But IMHO, simply being with another human does not make you safer; it depends on the temperament, skills, and experience of the other person relative to you. And good partners are hard to find.
Regarding the whole partner versus no partner issue, I've done many hikes with partners, and also many without. The advice "don't hike alone" is common, but having a partner doesn't necessarily make you safer - having a well prepared, skilled partner does. I can recall at least a handful of times when being with partners increased my risk, because they were more foolhardy, slower (in situations where speed mattered), and/or were less prepared. Yes, there are many routes that I wouldn't do alone, and as mountaineers, it's imperative we all learn where that line is for us personally. But IMHO, simply being with another human does not make you safer; it depends on the temperament, skills, and experience of the other person relative to you. And good partners are hard to find.
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justiner
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Great job.
Long May You Range! Purveyors of fine bespoke adventures
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RhodoRose
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Congratulations, Kimmie! 
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3: 13-14
Philippians 3: 13-14
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14erFred
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Way to go, Kimmie! Thrilled to see you make this happen! Keep the faith, and keep on climbing.
"Live as on a mountain." -- Marcus Aurelius
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kmoss2
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Many thanks for the support!
Icing on the cake to close out this thread: summitted Crestone Peak today!
Loved the Red Gully(!), way longer for sure but easier in the sense of less mental strain in comparison to the Needle's East Gully. I'm also now fluent in every step of Broken Hand Pass.. lol. I'm headed back home soon, feeling fit and triumphant after yesterday, so I said I'M GOING FOR IT!!!
All this to say -- a little guidance goes a long way -- thank you all again!
PS: ekalina - great points!
Icing on the cake to close out this thread: summitted Crestone Peak today!
Loved the Red Gully(!), way longer for sure but easier in the sense of less mental strain in comparison to the Needle's East Gully. I'm also now fluent in every step of Broken Hand Pass.. lol. I'm headed back home soon, feeling fit and triumphant after yesterday, so I said I'M GOING FOR IT!!! All this to say -- a little guidance goes a long way -- thank you all again!
PS: ekalina - great points!
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smrcka
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Nice work!
It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err. - Mahatma Gandhi
To be aware is to be alive!
To be aware is to be alive!
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Lonewolf88
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Re: Advisable prerequisites to solo Crestone Peak & Crestone Needle? (no traverse)
Wow. Great job, Kimmie! You inspire me!
