Crestone Needle Climber's Log

Viewing: 1-20 of 187
brandon

brandon - Oct 1, 2005 2:11 pm

Route Climbed: Ellingwood Arete Date Climbed: 8/14/05  Sucess!

Solo save for the head crack, with Andrew... 6:30 car to car

K_G_Wright

K_G_Wright - Sep 23, 2005 4:16 pm

Route Climbed: Standard South Couloir Date Climbed: September 8, 2005  Sucess!

Had the whole ridge / valley to myself on a Thursday! Soloed the standard South Couloir route in windy, sunny, dry conditions! AWESOME!

shanahan96

shanahan96 - Sep 19, 2005 1:39 am

Route Climbed: South Couloir Date Climbed: September 17, 2005  Sucess!

2nd Needle summit. this one wasn't on the schedule but i was presented with the opportuniy of canceling my own plans to help two people who didn't believe they could do this mountain have the climbing experience of their lives. oh yeah, it's still my favorite mountain!



jamie

Ed F

Ed F - Sep 15, 2005 8:33 pm

Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: September 15, 2005  Sucess!

Fun! Loved the sustained scrambling.

tdoughty

tdoughty - Sep 5, 2005 1:49 pm

Route Climbed: South Face  Sucess!

With Paul and Paul.

Mike Mc

Mike Mc - Aug 28, 2005 10:30 pm

Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: August 13, 2005  Sucess!

Awesome Climb! The summit was rather foggy.

kylerlott

kylerlott - Aug 27, 2005 1:45 pm

Route Climbed: Unmarked "farther south side route" Date Climbed: 8-20-05  Sucess!

Wow, what a rugged set of mtns. in that area. Needle was surprising. There is a lot of trail maintenance going on up there right now, so the main trail can be confusing at times. Well at least that was our excuse for going the wrong way. We were following the trail from south lakes, then once on the saddle we totally over shot the trail. We ended up in some very vertical / technical / wet sections the rest of the way to the summit. We figured class three scrambling shouldn't be too bad, but what we ended up in was definatley not class 3, let alone a trail or route. It took us 6 to 7 hours just to make the summit, but I was just thankful to have made it in one piece. Doulbe check your route most of the way up, there were rock cairns everywhere, and it was very hard to make out which one was the right one. Some of the cairns were in places where if you went to them you couldn't turn back unless your a damn good "down climber" with no rope. Damn, what a mountain.

doumall

doumall - Aug 4, 2005 12:50 pm

Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: July 31st 2005  Sucess!

Even better than the Peak! 49th 14er!

edlins

edlins - Aug 1, 2005 12:31 pm

Route Climbed: Ellingwood Arete Date Climbed: August 31, 2005  Sucess!

Spectacular!!! Summiting Crestone Needle is an accomplishment by any route.

shanahan96

shanahan96 - Jul 28, 2005 2:17 pm

Route Climbed: South Couloir Date Climbed: 8-2-04  Sucess!

absolutely the greatest climb i've ever done! the couloir completely rocks and the 900-foot vertical climb of the congolmerate was a thrill.............there's no reason whatsoever to switch couloirs.



climb this route!

Brad Snider

Brad Snider - Jul 25, 2005 2:17 am

Route Climbed: Peak-to-Needle Traverse Date Climbed: July 24, 2005  Sucess!

Summitted with bc44caesar. Awesome traverse, especially from the Black Gendarme and up the crux 4th class wall. Dicey coming down the south couloir from the Needle, especially once the storms hit, but quite a memorable day!

bc44caesar

bc44caesar - Jul 25, 2005 1:23 am

Route Climbed: Traverse from the Peak, Descended South Couloir Date Climbed: 24 Jul 2005  Sucess!

Traversed from the Peak in 2hrs 15min. Had a little route finding trouble below the Black Gendarme. The final climb to the summit was enjoyable, but thunderstorms were nearly upon us. Fortunately the skies didn't open up until we were part ways into the descent during which we got quite a soaking.



Oh, and the 4x4 road to Colony Lakes is way overrated - it isn't that hard for any 4x4 - I have a stock SUV and made it down in like 45min...

alpine master

alpine master - Jul 24, 2005 1:07 pm

Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: July 22 05  Sucess!

Great climb. Quick from South Colony lake. Not as bad as it looks.

Genghis Climber

Genghis Climber - Jul 15, 2005 12:43 am

Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: July 13, 2005  Sucess!

A fun climb, took about 3 hours to get from camp to the summit. Conditions were perfect and the couloir was in good shape. The trip would have been better it if weren't for the horrible approach. The 6 miles to camp sucked ass and it was even worse the next day after climbing. A 4x4 is HIGHLY suggested so you don't have to kill yourself on the approach.

sjvista

sjvista - Jul 2, 2005 1:40 pm

Route Climbed: standard Date Climbed: July 4, 2003  Sucess!

totally clear day. What a road to get back to the trailhead though. By far the toughest 4x4 road I've been on in the state.

Foxy Long Bottoms

Foxy Long Bottoms - Jun 20, 2005 1:57 pm

Route Climbed: Ellingwood Arete Date Climbed: 7/03  Sucess!

Not only did I reach the summit but I slept on top of it. We got very lost on the descent. It was getting dark and we found ourselves downclimbing 5.2. Our only choice was to go back up and wait for daylight. Coldest night of my life. It was worth it for such a beuatiful Peak. Looking to to the Peak to Needle traverse next time. Any takers?

km_donovan

km_donovan - Jun 6, 2005 10:47 pm

Route Climbed: South Face II Date Climbed: June 2, 2005  Sucess!

Check out the full Trip Report.

ColoradoScott

ColoradoScott - Feb 3, 2005 12:52 pm

Route Climbed: South Face from South Colony Lakes Date Climbed: August 8, 1979  Sucess!

After our success on Longs the year before, us Kansas boys were ready for another adventure. We backpacked up the entire road, then climbed Humboldt the next day, and then the Needle the following day. In those years the snowpack was much greater than it has been lately; we had a snowbank over the creek below our campsite, and there was only one other climbing party in the valley (those were the days). Unfortunately, we should have had ice axes (which we didn't) to reach the Broken Hand Pass, so we improvised with pointed rocks!!! On the summit the other party arrived twenty minutes after us and started smoking pot! We made it down to the pass before the daily hailstorm and rain broke loose, and while we were donning our raingear, the dopers came down with their plastic ponchos flapping in the rain and wind, and proceded to glissade the steep snow below the pass (no axes either). One slipped, and I thought we were going to watch him crash into the boulders at the bottom, but he was able to right himself. Whew.

DaveC

DaveC - Jan 9, 2005 1:52 pm

Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: July '99  Sucess!

Like climbing a ladder. Love that conglomerate!

Gareth

Gareth - Sep 11, 2004 1:42 pm

Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: September 6, 2004  Sucess!

Awesome climb! It was almost like a pilgrimage for me climbing the mountain that Albert Ellingwood made so much Colorado mountaineering history on. I arrived at the trailhead late in the afternoon and was lucky to get a ride most of the way up in the back of a truck-fun ride! The 4WD roads that I have driven in the San Juans weren’t anything compared to this one! I made it to the lakes just as night was falling. The climb was great. There was some ice in the Couloir, but could be avoided. The class 3 and 4 climbing on the knobby rock was a real treat. Once at the summit, I climbed down to the traverse rappel anchor just for a little more fun. It must have been quite exposed as no one else would climb all the way down to it. On the way down, I took the time to climb down to the top edge of the Ellingwood Arête and look down. This day I climbed / hiked all the way from the Needle to the plains, neat experience.

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