Crestone Needle Climber's Log

Viewing: 1-20 of 187
RC Cola

RC Cola - Jul 13, 2009 3:27 pm Date Climbed: Jul 28, 2004

great climb!  Sucess!

One of my all-time favorites!

skyward22

skyward22 - Jul 13, 2009 6:47 am Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2009

the arete  Sucess!

climbed w/Blumsky as his first 14er, my 9th? great climb but we got all the way up on ledges to the point where the face meets the arete, and in doing so passed the red knob. made for only about 3 technical pitches of climbing. got off-route on the downclimb and found some lower 5th downclimbing in one of the gullies. got down okay to find a marmot had chewed on my pack and had eaten by hat!

Liba Kopeckova

Liba Kopeckova - Jul 8, 2009 4:10 am

from South Colony  Sucess!

via Broken Hand Pass. Done over Labor Day weekend, very crowded that day. My dog did jump better than a mountain goat.

Pablohoney

Pablohoney - Mar 27, 2009 8:05 pm

Ellingwood  Sucess!

What a great climb, Ellingwood Arete with the traverse to Crestone Peak..This has to be one of the best areas of Colorado!

SarahThompson

SarahThompson - Jan 6, 2009 6:35 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2005

In all 4 seasons, 5x total  Sucess!

7/16/05 - Climbed the standard route after backpacking from the 2WD TH and camping near South Colony Lakes. Dropped my camera and was able to rescue it but not the memory card :(. After fetching a new one at camp we capped off the day with an easy climb up Humboldt.

7/17/05 - Climbed the standard route again after climbing Crestone Peak so I could retake the pictures :)

5/28/06 - Classic traverse from Crestone Peak. Climbed down standard route and added on Broken Hand Peak before returning to camp along Cottonwood Creek.

2/21/09 - Winter ascent, standard route. Backpacked in along Cottonwood Creek. My most challening winter summit to date - quite an epic climb. Simulclimbed up the south couloirs, proper anchor/belay was necessary occasionally. Couloir crossover made for a spicy crux. Rapped/climbed down from 13,800 ft in the dark.

12/2/12 - Backpacked to South Colony Lakes, climbed Needle's standard route, and traversed to Crestone Peak. Very dry for December.

Hope to get back sometime for Ellingwood Arete :)

bmcnary1

bmcnary1 - Nov 24, 2008 8:36 pm

Rad  Sucess!

Great break from work with friends

Gahugafuga

Gahugafuga - Sep 14, 2008 11:36 pm Date Climbed: Sep 14, 2008

S Face  Sucess!

Fun route. The crux traverse between gullies was saucy. But for my money, the N Ridge of Kit Carson is still the best non-technical climb in the Crestones.

shanrickv

shanrickv - Sep 7, 2008 5:10 pm Date Climbed: Sep 6, 2008

Standard Route  Sucess!

What a beautiful and challenging mountain! Originally planned to do the traverse from Crestone Peak, but high winds pushed us do the east to west gulley on the Needle. Climbed with long time climbing partner, Alan. Went on to climb Humbolt Peak that evening in beautiful Sangre de Cristo weather.

Asphazell

Asphazell - Sep 2, 2008 7:42 pm Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2008

Standard route  Sucess!

I never thought I would climb this peak when I first saw it on Roach's 14ers book. I have come a long way since then. The rock is outstanding and exhilerating! Excellent holds made this a pure joy! I'll be back for the Arete!

alpspitze

alpspitze - Aug 13, 2008 12:59 pm Date Climbed: Jul 24, 2008

Standard Route  Sucess!

This is one that I have been looking forward to for a long time. Had the mountain to myself. Started at 6am and summited at 8am.

myrone

myrone - Jul 19, 2008 9:58 am Date Climbed: Jul 18, 2008

Crestone Needle via Upper S. Colony TH  Sucess!

Started up at 6:25AM. Route finding isn't the easiest on this peak, but prevailed with help from friends I met along the way; reached summit at 10:25. Rising clouds socked-in a good portion of the views from the summit. Started back down at 10:45 and back to the TH at 2:08PM as it started to rain. My 41st 14'er...sweet!!

Sierra Ledge Rat

Sierra Ledge Rat - Jul 18, 2008 12:32 am

1990: S Face  Sucess!

With Duane "Buzz" Inderdahl

astrobassman

astrobassman - Mar 20, 2008 8:06 pm

Beautiful Mountain  Sucess!

I will return and try the traverse and/or a different route some day.

MountainHikerCO

MountainHikerCO - Feb 12, 2008 9:06 pm Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2007

Third Time  Sucess!

This was my third time climbing the Needle. We went the standard route via Broken Hand Pass from South Colony Lakes.

MountainHikerCO

MountainHikerCO - Feb 12, 2008 9:04 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 1991

Standard Route  Sucess!

This was my first climb of the Needle. We went the standard route via Broken Hand Pass from South Colony Lakes.

tomlauren

tomlauren - Feb 3, 2008 7:46 am Date Climbed: Aug 31, 2007

Crestone Traverse  Sucess!

From camp at Cottonwood Creek, climbed the South Face of Crestone Peak, performed the traverse to Crestone Needle, then descended the Needle's South Face back to camp. This was the final of the Four Great Fourteener Traverses for me. I thought that route-finding on this traverse was the most difficult of the four, especially near the Black Gendarme. I stayed on the summit for only 30 seconds due to a nasty storm cloud hovering directly overhead.

AltitudeSickness

AltitudeSickness - Dec 20, 2007 12:03 am Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2006

Route Climbed: South Face: East Gully, off route  Sucess!

Started out as an early morning hike up to Broken Hand Pass for a bite of breakfast at sunrise because the rest of my crew decided not to climb that day. One member of my crew joined me about an hour after the sun came up and we decided to make a summit attempt. We pushed up the East Gully and were off route because the difficulty exceeded the trip reports assessment of it being class 3 & 4. We continued on up for several hundred feet on some loose cobblestone. I pulled off a piece twice during the climb. Quite scary for me. I nearly decided to call it off. After gathering my wits, pushed on to the summit. Was so glad I did. What a wonderful climb. Even though we were off route we both enjoyed it a great deal. The mountain goats made us feel bad by how easy they made the climb look. Fantastic day, elated at the end.

cavufool

cavufool - Dec 14, 2007 6:40 pm Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2007

Peak to Needle Traverse  Sucess!

Such a fun route. We ascended the Red Couloir after waiting 3 days for the weather to be favorable. The last part of climbing the Needle was a blast and required some difficult route finding because visibility was down to ~20 feet. An absolutely stellar mountain.

MattGreene - Dec 1, 2007 9:16 pm

Traverse  Sucess!

I started before first light so I could complete the traverse to the Needle and be off the mountain by early afternoon. Fortunately I was successful and back in camp before noon, because wicked thunderstorms rolled in and unleased rain and electricity from 12 to 2. I know of at least one climbing party that would've been in the thick of things if they'd stuck to their original schedule. I thought of them all afternoon, but still don't know if they turned around or pressed through the storm.

spannring29

spannring29 - Oct 21, 2007 12:22 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2007

# 1  Sucess!

Favorite mountain to date. The route finding and scrambling were a blast.

Viewing: 1-20 of 187
Return to 'Crestone Needle' main page