BLANCA PEAK 8/9/90

BLANCA PEAK 14,345'

Mountain........Blanca Peak
Elevation.........14,345
Rank...............4th
Range..............Sangre de Cristo
Trail length......2 miles (from Lake Como)
Elevation gain..2,600'
Difficulty..........**
Comments........Exhausted, dehydrated, elated

TRIP REPORT

8/9/90

The morning after hiking from the desert to Lake Como, setting up camp and climbing Little Bear, I woke up(!), had a little to eat, and started up Blanca at 6:00.

If there was a trail past Crater Lake (about a mile above Como), I missed it, and I couldn't see the real Blanca summit, so I climbed up and to the right toward a high point on the Blanca - Little Bear ridge. About halfway up I figured out where Blanca was and made a course correction angling to the left. I topped out on the ridge and had to do a little scrambling to hit Blanca's summit where I had a spectacular view of the surrounding peaks and sharp ridges.

Mt. Lindsey poses across the Huerfano River valley; Ellingwood Point forms the tip of a long arcuate ridge sweeping from Blanca's summit; and Little Bear sits contemptuously on the end of the rickety dentate parapet to the southwest. I wasn't feeling too well after yesterday's exertion, so I had a quick snack and a look around, then started down the bouldery ridge to Ellingwood.