| I'd been looking forward to this one since my first foray in Las Trampas over a year ago. Finally, opportunity and conditions came together, and I backpacked halfway in and camped on snow. I hiked to the lakes by headlamp and was high on the ridge at sunrise. It was smooth sailing over Sheepshead to UN 12,900, and a very fun scramble to N. Truchas and back. I had come with visions of a “Las Trampas Circuit” route, ascending by the canyons west ridges and coming down the east. But it was not to be. As I ventured down UN 12,900’s NE ridge, the ground quickly became very sketchy: poor footing, snow, very exposed. I pushed on, not wanting to return over the sketchy ground. Finally, I made a white-knuckle climb over what I thought was the crux, onto a prominent gendarme. But the other side of the block presented a sheer cliff. I turned back, found some slightly less sketchy ways to re-ascend, and made the long slog out. |
Sangre de Cristo Mountains > "Sheepshead Peak" & UN 12,900 > Climber's Log
