SummitPost.org

I am going if anyone wants to go along.

Hi KM,

A friend and I are flying into Dever tomorrow to do some climbs on Fri-Sun. I am very interested in Kelso Ridge but am unfamiliar with the mountain/route beyond what I've read here. My buddy is a bit concerned about the class 4 section, is it possible to backtrack and take a separate route up if either of us is not comfortable with continuing? Also, do you have any gear recommendations given the conditions in Colorado now? We would both appreciate your input since we haven't been in the area before. Thanks! Brian

Donovan, you end up climbing it?
I saw your post after I was up there- was going to climb it Friday as well but slept like garbage and felt ill in the morning. Seemed like it might have been pretty blustery...

A bit late on the beta for you griffs, but for anybody else, yes, you can retrace your steps. If you start from Steven's Gulch you can readily retrace your steps back down Kelso to the basin and then take the slopes route up. Just be prepared to be downclimbing all that... which may not be feasible if the terrain sketches you out in the first place. I can't imagine you'd like the route in reverse if you don't like it going up. Just standard gear this time of year, really. Snow is clearing out really fast due to the light snowpack.