Ellingwood Arete - 5.7 popular
Average Rating : 4.36 out of 5Route sequence (left to right): 1
Route Summary | Ascent Notes (23)
Rock
Medium to large stoppers and medium cams plus some extra runners.
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Description:
A fantastic 2000' line up the blunt arete of Crestone Needle.
From the parking lot follow the trail to the upper South Colony Lake and around the lake to the southwest. The direct start (5.6) scales the talus field in front of you and up a right-facing dihedral for a few pitches to the grassy ledges above. The regular start begins far left of here and goes up the grassy ledges and rock steps to the right until you get to the blunt arete.
The first 1500' or so can be scrambled and only occasionally needs a rope (depends on how comfortable you are w/o a rope on class 4 scrambling with 1000' of exposure - we roped up for most of it).
When you get to a wide grassy ledge at the base of a headwall, take a few steps around the corner to the left and ascend the cracks for 3 pitches (the crack directly in front of you is a great 5.9 variant).
From the top of the 3rd pitch, scramble up the steep rock to the summit.
The descent is where the "Real" fun begins. It's a pretty serious undertaking that includes downclimbing a tricky 4th class scramble down some couloirs, always trying to angle left (east). If done properly (not what we did), you will end up at the low pass of Broken Hand and can easily follow the large cairns back to the lakes and back to camp.
Guide books suggest 6 hours for the ascent and 3 hours for the descent - might take you considerably longer if you rope up alot on the lower 1500'. The afternoon thunderstorms generally begin around 1 or 2p.m., so begin early to avoid them.
Good luck, it's considerably more serious than the 5.7 rating would lead you to believe.
Submitted by: rck_climber on 2002-07-17
Views: 3821
Route ID: 12102
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23 Ascents Recorded
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Difficulty | 5.7 |
Safety Rating | PG13 |
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LONG day
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Difficulty | 5.8 |
Safety Rating | G |
amazing
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Difficulty | |
Safety Rating | PG13 |
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Fun Factor |
fun route, but crowded and loose rock
We tried to traverse to Crestone peak, but got off route, pulled off lots of loose rock, and decided to call it a day.
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Safety Rating | G |
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Difficulty | |
Safety Rating | PG13 |