CRESTONE NEEDLE 8/12/91
CRESTONE NEEDLE 14,197'
Mountain........Crestone Needle
Elevation.........14,197
Rank...............18th
Range..............Sangre de Cristo
Trail length......8 miles
Elevation gain..5000'
Difficulty..........****
Comments........Happy 40th! Tough backpack
TRIP REPORT
8/12/91
On my 40th birthday (8/11/91) I drove to the Cottonwood Lake trailhead behind the town of Crestone. At 10 a.m. I headed up the trail, which was very tough with a backpack. It was overgrown at the beginning and required some bouldering and slabbing near the lake, including a 25' cliff ascent. Lots of 4-point climbing.
I reached Cottonwood Lake and found a decent campsite around 4:30. As soon as the tent was up I had to dive in to escape a sudden hail/rain/wind storm. The driving rain forced some water under the tent so the floor got soggy. Looked like another 'tent hell' night!
The weather calmed down in time to cook dinner before dark, and the tent night turned out to be reasonably warm and comfortable. I got up the next morning at 5:40 and had oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast. I took off for the Needle at 6:10 with a frolicsome group of bighorn sheep (5) cavorting nearby and a marmot greedily eying my provisions.
I started slowly in the semi-darkness but picked up the pace as the day brightened. Near the saddle crossing over to Colony Lakes, I ran into 3 Denver/Boulder guys, one of whom was climbing his last fourteener! (Congratulations, Keith Masterson!).
I hung behind the group and followed their lead up the steep but comfortable climb (lots of holds, exposure not too bad). Near the summit the trail leveled a bit. On top, the group was celebrating Keith's closure, and gave me a sip of their champagne. We took a lot of pictures, then they headed down. I hung back and enjoyed the summit a while before following them. They had minor mishaps on the way that must have resulted in some decent bruises; I caught up to them back near the lake and asked about the route up Crestone Peak, which they had done the day before from their camp in the cirque just west of Cottonwood Lake.
The group packed up and headed out as I was forced once more to dive into my tent to avoid another storm. Toward the end of the storm, the water and hail cascading down the gullies and couloirs we had recently descended warned of the hazards of climbing in bad weather. Also it was pretty impressive and noisy.
Again it cleared in time for dinner. I shared company with the marmot, who had chewed off the cap of my camp water container while I was climbing. I slept fitfully that night as the hail and wind returned after dinner, and dreamt of being caught in a rockslide on Crestone Peak (didn't happen!).
Mountain........Crestone Needle
Elevation.........14,197
Rank...............18th
Range..............Sangre de Cristo
Trail length......8 miles
Elevation gain..5000'
Difficulty..........****
Comments........Happy 40th! Tough backpack
TRIP REPORT
8/12/91
On my 40th birthday (8/11/91) I drove to the Cottonwood Lake trailhead behind the town of Crestone. At 10 a.m. I headed up the trail, which was very tough with a backpack. It was overgrown at the beginning and required some bouldering and slabbing near the lake, including a 25' cliff ascent. Lots of 4-point climbing.
I reached Cottonwood Lake and found a decent campsite around 4:30. As soon as the tent was up I had to dive in to escape a sudden hail/rain/wind storm. The driving rain forced some water under the tent so the floor got soggy. Looked like another 'tent hell' night!
The weather calmed down in time to cook dinner before dark, and the tent night turned out to be reasonably warm and comfortable. I got up the next morning at 5:40 and had oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast. I took off for the Needle at 6:10 with a frolicsome group of bighorn sheep (5) cavorting nearby and a marmot greedily eying my provisions.
I started slowly in the semi-darkness but picked up the pace as the day brightened. Near the saddle crossing over to Colony Lakes, I ran into 3 Denver/Boulder guys, one of whom was climbing his last fourteener! (Congratulations, Keith Masterson!).
I hung behind the group and followed their lead up the steep but comfortable climb (lots of holds, exposure not too bad). Near the summit the trail leveled a bit. On top, the group was celebrating Keith's closure, and gave me a sip of their champagne. We took a lot of pictures, then they headed down. I hung back and enjoyed the summit a while before following them. They had minor mishaps on the way that must have resulted in some decent bruises; I caught up to them back near the lake and asked about the route up Crestone Peak, which they had done the day before from their camp in the cirque just west of Cottonwood Lake.
The group packed up and headed out as I was forced once more to dive into my tent to avoid another storm. Toward the end of the storm, the water and hail cascading down the gullies and couloirs we had recently descended warned of the hazards of climbing in bad weather. Also it was pretty impressive and noisy.
Again it cleared in time for dinner. I shared company with the marmot, who had chewed off the cap of my camp water container while I was climbing. I slept fitfully that night as the hail and wind returned after dinner, and dreamt of being caught in a rockslide on Crestone Peak (didn't happen!).
posted by JansStores at 5:35 AM
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