Lone Eagle Peak Comparisons

[jchapell]

We are thinking about a Lone Eagle Peak backpack weekend in Mid September. I've cruised through many of the trip reports, but I would be curious to hear anyone's comparisons to 14ers/other mountains in terms of technical difficulties, rock conditions, etc. We would do the non-technical 4th class route.
Thanks for any thoughts!

[Scott P]

I thought the route was harder than any route on a 14er, but we took a slightly different and rope-less variation using ledges below and bypassing the rappel mentioned in the Roach guide. I have never been intimidated by a summer route on a 14er, but I found Lone Eagle to be intimidating in some places. It was more exposed than Capitol Peak, for example.

[polar]

I did Solo Flight in reverse, sight unseen (as the descent after climbing the North Face route), so do take my opinion with that in mind. The only other class 4 route in Colorado I’ve done is Capitol, so I can only compare the two.

In terms of pure difficulty, both are rated class 4 and I thought the ratings are accurate. However, I thought the hardest moves on Capitol was really just a few moves getting up and down K2 (and those moves aren’t very exposed), whereas Solo Flight has longer sections of class 4 scrambling (often with a bit of air below you). So the pure difficulty doesn’t tell the whole story.

In terms of exposure, I think overall they are about the same. Capitol Knife Edge feels more exposed than anything on Solo Flight, but fortunately the moves across are pretty solid. But if we put aside the Knife Edge, the steeper section of Solo Flight feels more exposed than most of Capitol.

In terms of rock quality, Solo Flight wins over Capitol by a mile. Majority of Solo Flight (and the North Face for that matter) was solid and really enjoyable, UNLESS you get off route like we did and end up in a loose gully. Then everything moved. I’m generally pretty light on my feet, but I seriously thought I’d knock something loose and kill my two partners who were below me. Fortunately, if you’re climbing up Solo Flight first, then you wouldn't get off route like we did. Because when you look down that gully from above, it’s pretty obvious that you don’t want to go down that way.

Overall, the more sustained class 4 scrambling over exposed terrain makes Solo Flight feels slightly harder than Capitol, but due to the solid rock, it also was more enjoyable than Capitol. I’d repeat Solo Flight (and not climb the loose gully) just for fun, Capitol… I didn’t hate it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to repeat it.

[lodgling]

I don't know, maybe our route-finding was spot on when I climbed it ... but I didn't think it was very difficult. Solid rock for the most part. I disagree that exposure was worse than Cap. I don't recall having a route description with us, we just climbed up and followed ledges below the ridge on the E side. Maybe others stuck to the ridge more and therefore had more exposure?

One person in our group got spooked when we took a break and her backpack went tumbling down the hillside (my fault). She was able to wait there while we "summitted." On the way out I was able to downclimb to her pack and back up to her using ledges with no problem. The same fried was spooked on Kelso Ridge knife edge, so maybe that is an apt comparison?

A big positive is that you will likely have the route to yourself and don't have to worry about other hikers. The hike up to Crater Lake is pretty incredible.

edit: I just looked at your checklist. The last part of Wetterhorn with the solid ledges seems like a good comparison. Good luck!

[Conor]

I only traversed a bit of the top of solo flight to continue on across mohling. I thought mohling to be loose, but not that difficult of a scramble. It takes some time, and we did rap the one section. I thought Capitol to be very easy.

Of course, these are all points of reference based on our experience, not yours. I put most of this stuff into the category of, "if you have to ask, you probably shouldn't be climbing it." What you do have going for you is the same guy (Roach) calls solo flight and Capitol class 4.

I always promise myself, I'll turn back if I ever feel I am in over my head. What's the worst that happens? You get to camp at one of the most beautiful lakes within an hour of Denver?

[jchapell]

Thanks for the insight guys! We are trying to figure out a good option for a bit higher grade on moves/exposure, but with good rock, a relatively short route (once we are @ Crater/Mirror Lake), and will feel like a notable achievement...Outside of CO we have done other scrambles in CA/WA/UT and some guided technical climbing like the Grand Teton, but are working on increasing the skill/experience set when it's just us. Lone Eagle may be that option (not to mention I'm a photographer and would love to shoot it), but I'll keep hunting around as well. Thanks!

[Scott P]

The good thing about Solo Flight is that the hard part is at the end. If you get to the end and find it too hard or intimidating, you can turn back.

[SchralpTheGnar]

we must have been off route on the descent, because we did the solo flight descent after doing the north face route, which we also got off route on, but on the descent we found ourselves frequently in extremely sketchy, loose terrain. come to think of it, we probably just suck at route finding, go and enjoy it.

[pbakwin]

This is the big difference between something like Lone Eagle and anything on a 14er. Route finding is way trickier in the former. On 14ers you just follow the cairns/trail/hordes.

[polar]

we must have been off route on the descent, because we did the solo flight descent after doing the north face route, which we also got off route on, but on the descent we found ourselves frequently in extremely sketchy, loose terrain. come to think of it, we probably just suck at route finding, go and enjoy it.

Did you go down the loose gully along the line of shadow in this MP photo? I heard that's a common place people get off route.

https://www.mountainproject.com/v/110956504

[Scott P]

we must have been off route on the descent, because we did the solo flight descent after doing the north face route, which we also got off route on, but on the descent we found ourselves frequently in extremely sketchy, loose terrain. come to think of it, we probably just suck at route finding, go and enjoy it.

I think the route finding would be a lot harder going down if you haven't ascended the route. On the ascent there is a little tricky route finding right at the end.

[Monster5]

We were surprised by how much the route descends to get to the summit. Technical difficulty is on par with the harder 14er standard routes, but route finding a little trickier. All in all, it was fairly easy to find the route or backtrack as needed. Just don't continue too much with a sketchy route without seeing cairns.

Highly recommend Mohling. It is one of the better ridge scrambles in the state. The rappel can be down climbed at 4th class on the N side and across an exposed ledge.