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| North Ridge   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 40.08800°N / 105.633°W Route Type: snow to technical rock and scrambling Time Required: Half a day Difficulty: 5.6, II
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| Page By: ben Created/Edited: Jul 21, 2003 / Aug 27, 2006 Object ID: 158348 Hits: 1763 Loading... Page Score: 73.74% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
ApproachFollow the normal approach from Brainard Lake up to Mitchell Lake, and on to Blue Lake. Circle around the North side of Blue Lake, and head up and North to the saddle between Mt. Toll and Paiute Peak. There was some snow and rock on the way up to the saddle when I did the route in mid-July, and I used my ice axe.
Route DescriptionThe climb begins at the saddle North of Mt. Toll. Generally, the climbing is easier but looser to the West (climber's right), and harder but more solid to the East. There's a lot of options up this ridge, but here's what I did:
I started up and right an obvious 5.0 ramp then stepped left to short 5.6 crack that was a little bit wet and had some plants in it. After this first crux, I continued up, and then traversed right around a large boulder. I climbed above and left around the boulder to a ~20 foot tall chimney with a fixed pin at the top which is visible from the bottom of the chimney. The chimney is the crux of this route - be careful of the large loose block at the top.
A short bit of 4th class ground leads to the large ledge. More (and perhaps more difficult) climbing continues straight up the buttress, but I went right, traversing West along the ledge for about 30 feet. An obvious gully lead upward to the summit with one more 5.5 move. I believe that continuing the traverse around would lead to some 4th class scrambling to the summit as well.
Essential GearIt's a 5.6 alpine route, so it depends on conditions, your ability, etc. Some may be comfortable soloing it in hiking boots, some may want a extra big rack. My rough judgement would be that a 5.7 leader might want a rope, a set of nuts, a half a dozen draws, and a cordolette for the anchor. A 5.9 leader (alpine rock) could probably solo it, but would want at least a half set of nuts and 3 draws to set up anchors if they were bringing someone less experienced up as an into to alpine climbing type trip.
An ice axe can be handy for a short section of the approach, and for the long glissade descent.
In the comments, it has been suggested that you should bring more gear. I believe that you shouldn't set out underprepared for the mountains, so have an escape plan if your rack is light. Images
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Indian Peaks (CO)
