June, 2006: Taken during a hike of Humboldt's west ridge. The view from the summit is spectacular, with valleys straddling either side of the mighty Sangre de Christo range. In the background are the two peaks of Crestone Peak (the left one is the real summit) We found and left this stone at summit – it says “Crestone Needle, 14,187 ft.” At about 10:00 am after a sandwich at summit, with the weather holding nicely, we began our descent. Crestone Needle is a shorter route, with a bit more difficult scramble. You’ll see why it’s named so.
Make sure you wear a helmet year-round and alert others below you when rocks go falling down. Many a Colorado climber considers Crestone Needle to have a special place in his/her heart. July, 2007: The Crestones seen from west of Cottonwood Lake. January, 2011: The Crestones from 13er Marble Mountain. I started taking a few steps in the direction of the Crestone Needle route and before I knew it, I had started the climb. Wear a helmet and be willing to turn back if you notice your energy levels waning. May, 2003: The Crestones seen from the west and south. Continue pass the road through a gate at the end. At times, the climb had me feeling more like I was on a route designed for sport climbers in a gym – in the best way possible. NEW TO 14ERS? Looking up at Crestone Needle.
Author's Note: These are very dangerous climbs. It's extremely exposed in a way that a single mistake would most likely be deadly in many sections. You have been warned. Photo Credit: Spencer McKee. After I made it through the red gully, a short scrambling section brought me to a tricky summit block and the top of Crestone Peak. October, 2000: Sunset on The Crestones - taken from Colorado highway 17. Getting down from that ridge would be the last technical section that had to be traveled on the way back to the long class stretch that led to my car. If you're off to climb any of Colorado's fourteeners, it's important that you're extremely aware of the risks and that you heavily research the route beforehand.
Note the Great Sand Dunes in the backdrop. The standard route up the peak is a challenging Class 3 climb, following a long 7 mile approach hike. However, taking every effort possible to minimize the risk can be the difference between life or death. A search and rescue team member moves down technical terrain during the mission to find and recover a missing hiker on Crestone Needle.
Enter the bottom of the Red Gully from the right. It has been said the Crestone Traverse is one of Colorado's top 5 traverses. The Needle was first climbed by Albert Ellingwood and Eleanor Davis on July 24, 1916 via the Crestone Peak/Needle Traverse. At this point, it was around 4:30 PM. I could either continue on class three terrain by cutting over from the east gully to the west gully or I could make the jump to class four terrain by pushing directly up the mountain.
After many miles you will reach a turnoff to the right from the main road, stay left on the road. Two jagged peaks that rise to 14,000 feet in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, the Crestone Needle (14,197') and Crestone Peak (14,294') are mountains admired by many, but summited by few. Error! Note the hiker in the orange near the top right of the image for scale. October, 2000: The Crestones, Challenger, and Kit Carson behind San Luis Lake. Soon, I was at the summit, again surrounded by spectacular views. Slowly, but surely I reached the bottom of the gully shortly after those ahead of me. If you seek these hikes out, proceed with extreme caution. According to a report from CBS Denver, Deardorff took a fatal fall during his descent from the summit. Share with Us. Overview: Crestone Needle is one of the fourteeners of Colorado, in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Range. Crews operate on snowy terrain. January, 2011: Humboldt and The Crestones (left) from 13er Marble Mountain. It's impossible to remove all of the risk, even with the right gear and ample experience. August, 2001: Crestone Needle at sunrise.
From there, hikers have the option to continue down into a valley below toward the standard class three Crestone Peak route or up a steep and rocky climb to the top of Crestone Needle with class three and class four options. I was now on the dirt trail leading back to Broken Hand Pass. Upon reaching the base of Broken Hand Pass, a large boulder field is encountered. Look to the south to see the Great Sand Dunes National park, and look north to see the rest of the Rockies. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Getting to the summit is optional, but getting down from the mountain is mandatory. After a bit of search and deliberation, we found a cairn leading us in the right direction and continued. July, 2002: The Peak seen from the summit of Challenger Point. To further that, the Colorado hiking community as a whole. Albeit a bit longer, I found that Crestone Peak was a much less technical ascent comparatively to Crestone Needle. Photo Credit: Custer County SAR (via Facebook).
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Nowadays, however, many a hiker can summit Crestone Needle via the South Face route, an impressive climb in its own right. or anything. September, 2005: Crestone Needle from Lower South Colony Lake.
We'd love to hear eyewitness From the summit of Broken Hand Pass, turn right on an obvious dirt trail. As I made my way up the difficult class three slope, I eventually hit a split in the route. This is the most technical part of the climb to the Crestone Peak summit, requiring route finding up steep and loose terrain with high exposure. Author's Note: These climbs are very dangerous. Author's Note: I opted for Korkers overshoe traction during this climb. Signup today for free and be the first to get notified on new updates.
Photo Credit: Spencer McKee.
While dangerous, this was also some of the most fun I've ever had climbing Colorado's fourteeners. Take a right beyond the lake and begin regaining elevation along the trail. We get lots of visitors on these climbs. Photo Credit: Spencer McKee. The standard route to the top is a class three hike with 4,400 feet of vertical gain and 12 miles of distance round trip.
A small section of the red gully. Custer County Search and Rescue posted a heartfelt message on Facebook about the incident: "We cannot begin to imagine the tragic heartbreak this places on Mr. Deardorff's family and friends. August, 2001: Crestone Peak from the summit of Humboldt. It drops hikers into a large alpine valley that's home to the South Colony Lakes and surrounded by stunning mountain peaks with Crestone Needle (14,197') and Humboldt Peak (14,064') dominating the wraparound views. July, 2009: Humboldt seen from the Broken Hand Pass area. Crestone Peak has a longer route, including the need to regain Broken Hand Pass on your way back to the trailhead. September, 2005: Taken during a climb of Crestone Needle. Overall, I loved this hike. Thanks! Photo Credit: Spencer McKee. Crestone Peak as seen from Crestone Needle. Rick C. at trailhead, ready to hike the 4 ½ miles and 1400’ to camp at S. Colony Lake. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Bring a buddy on your first ascent, preferably someone experienced. > Mt Bierstadt> Mt Evans> Longs Peak> Pikes Peak> Grays Peak> Torreys Peak, > Quandary Peak> Mt Democrat> Mt Lincoln> Mt Cameron> Mt Bross> Mt Sherman, > Mt Elbert> Mt Massive> Mt Harvard> La Plata Peak< Mt Antero> Mt Shavano> Mt Princeton> Mt Belford> Mt Yale> Tabeguache Peak> Mt Oxford> Mt Columbia> Missouri Mountain> Mount of the Holy Cross> Huron Peak, > Blanca Peak> Crestone Peak> Crestone Needle> Kit Carson Peak> Challenger Point> Humboldt Peak> Culebra Peak> Mt Lindsey> Ellingwood Point> Little Bear Peak, > Uncompahgre PeakMt WilsonEl Diente Peak> Mt SneffelsWindom PeakMt EolusSunlight Peak> Handies PeakNorth Eolus> Redcloud PeakWilson PeakWetterhorn Peak> San Luis Peak> Sunshine Peak, Castle PeakMaroon PeakCapitol PeakSnowmass MountainConundrum PeakPyramid PeakNorth Maroon Peak. July, 2016: The Crestones seen from 13er Broken Hand Peak. Head to the right to skirt a steep section at the bottom of the South couloir up Crestone Peak.Then take a right up the rough trail as you head towards the base of the gully. Take your time moving up the ledges, aiming for a notch at the top that separates Crestone Peak from the traverse towards the Crestone Needle. Crestone Needle is a shorter route, with a bit more difficult scramble.
March, 2010: Humboldt from its east ridge. I charged upward. We got to the Lake, spotted a great campsite and were greeted there by a family of Colorado Big-Horn Sheep.
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