Challenger Point - 14,081 ft
Kit Carson Peak - 14,165 ft
Date: 5-13-06
Climbers: George Barnes, MarkDB, Aaron R.
Route to Challenger: Northeast face via Willow Lake, Class 3, Moderate Snow
Route to Kit Carson: West ridge to Avenue, Class 3, Steep Snow/Ice
Descent route: Outward Bound Couloir, Class 3, Steep Snow
RT distance: 12.0 miles
Elevation gain: 6,300 feet
Coordinates of TH: 37.98926, 105.66558
USGS Quadrangle: Crestone Peak
Trip Report:
After lunch at the Pizza Works in Buena Vista, Aaron and I met Mark at the Willow Lake trailhead just east of the small town of Crestone. After packing and splitting up my tent, we headed up the trail. We'd been able to preview much of our approach from the road, and felt confident not bringing our snowshoes. We wouldn't regret the decision.
We arrived at Willow Lake as the late day light cast interesting shadows and colors on the dramatic conglomerate rock walls of the basin. We agreed to continue past the lake and camp on the shelf above the impressive ice floes on the lake's east end. This gave us a preview of the routes on Challenger, less than a mile away.
After filtering water we set alarms for 4 AM and pretended to sleep. After seven hours of tossing and turning, the sound of my alarm clock was surprisingly welcome. We had initially planned to climb the Kirk Couloir on Challenger, but we opted for what appeared to be a longer and more direct snow climb on the NE face. This turned out to be almost 2000 feet of perfect crampon snow at a relatively moderate angle. I suspect the steepest parts approached 40 degrees, but averaged 30-35.
The couloir deposited us on the ridge at 13,900 feet with only a quarter mile to the summit. After a couple class 3 moves we climbed out of the couloir's steep notch, and could then walk the ridge to the summit. We paused on Challenger to take a few pictures and refuel before heading towards Kit Carson. Both the shuttle memorial plaque and summit register were still buried in snow.
The walk down from Challenger gives you plenty of opportunities to preview the Avenue, whether you like it or not. It was without a doubt steep and snowy, but it looked doable. In the shadow of Kit Carson I strapped on my crampons and readied my ice axe. There were no signs of a previous ascent so I tried to get excited about kicking steps in the icy snow. We'd later learn that nobody had summited Kit Carson since January, and that I was the first to cross the Avenue this year (according to the summit register).
Route overview (from Great Sand Dunes)
The first part of the Avenue was soft enough that I could almost trench out a path. As the snow and exposure increased the snow conveniently became more icy. Three to four aggressive kicks would produce a confidence inspiring step. Thankfully the snow was also conducive to bomber ice axe belays. This provided some reassurance as the snow I displaced bounced down a thousand feet of steep rock. The final stretch of snow was exceptionally icy, and low dagger technique was the most useful. Finally I reached the far side and could cautiously walk up the ledge to the top of the Prow. The view from here was a bit disheartening, with a lot more Avenue to go and plenty of snow to cover it. The exposure on the next stretch was somewhat diminished, so I was optimistic enough to encourage Mark to join me at my position. Aaron's prudence kicked in, and he let Mark know that he'd meet us back at camp.
As Mark cautiously made his way across he stopped a few times to share a look of "What the hell were you thinking?!". I had brought a rope and snow/rock/ice protection to the trailhead, but opted to enjoy a lighter pack by not carrying it. In hindsight the traverse would have protected nicely... oh well. When Mark joined my stance on the Prow he shared my excitement about the remaining Avenue. After 15 minutes of pondering going forward or backward, Mark agreed to follow my steps. The next stretch passed a little bit more quickly, due in part to the snow being sun baked and softer. Forty five minutes later we were at the base of a gully leading towards the summit. My GPS was reading only 269 feet the summit (horizontally) and with about 200 feet of elevation gain to go. Here we removed our crampons and axes and began picking our way up the Crestone conglomerate rock. The Avenue had been physically and emotionally draining, so we moved pretty slowly to the summit.
Once on the summit, Mark and I contemplated our future. We could see our camp directly below the north face, but neither of us had brought a hang glider, so we resigned to walking down. We knew that returning across the avenue would take most of the afternoon, further we'd both met our "pucker factor" for the day, so that left the class 4 north ridge and the Outward Bound couloir. Descending a steep snow climb that we hadn't yet seen wasn't appealing, but it sounded better than down climbing unknown class 4.
We picked our way down the ridge with the aid of a few cairns and soon reached the 13,620-foot saddle and the top of the OB couloir. Our first views were less than inviting, with untracked snow that approached 60 degrees at the corniced top. Glissading this was out of the question, so I down climbed facing into the slope. The snow was a little soft for comfort, so I hugged the rock wall that angled above the couloir. Mark followed my steps to a sheltered rock, where he waited for me to down climb the next pitch. After one more lengthy down climb the angle of the couloir eased enough that we felt comfortable glissading. The last 500 ft of the gully passed quickly and we were soon in the upper Willow Lakes basin about a mile above camp. No fourteener would be complete without a bushwhack through some willows, and Mark and I certainly got our share on the way back to the tents.
After packing up camp we began the long trek out. The trail to Willow Lake is exceptionally gradual with numerous switchbacks, which was (for the most part) appreciated. At 5:45 we finally reached the parking lot. Not a minute too soon either, as the 10% chance of rain was looking more like 100% over the Willow Lake basin.
