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| East Colouir   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Colorado, United States, North America Route Type: Mountaineering Season: Summer, Fall Time Required: One to two days Difficulty: Class 3/4
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| Page By: Niederbayer Created/Edited: Jul 25, 2009 / Jul 26, 2009 Object ID: 533301 Hits: 209 Loading... Page Score: 87.65% - 7 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview
Climbing Peak F (and alternatively Peak G) from the Black Creek Drainage leads you into rarely visited parts of the Gore Range.
The great panoramic vistas you will see along the way come come with a price tag - getting to the summit of Peak F requires a long and arduous hike/climb - a mix of bush whacking, scree scrambling and snow climbing.
In total you will gain 5200 ft from Piney Lake to summit Peak F (you will loose 1200 ft when descending the Eastern Slope of Kneeknocker Pass which have to be regained)
Climbing Peak F / G from the East requires a commitment of two days (except you are fit as Reinhold Messner in his best days).
Following Kane's example I will not provide a topo map and will give only a short description of the trail.
Route
Hike from the Piney River Ranch to the area where the trail meets the river close to where the Piney River starts tumbling down a series of waterfalls.
100 yards (approximately) down the path you will see a cairn to your left, marking the turn off of a hikers trail leading up to the basin between Mount Powell and Peak C.
Trail is often overgrown and not always easy to follow - stay north of the creek.
Cross the beautiful basin and hike on a steep trail up to Kneeknocker Pass, marking the lowest point of the ridge connecting Mount Powell and Peak C.
The trail ends here - from here until your return to Piney Valley it is very unlikely that you will see another soul.
The East slope of Kneeknocker Pass is most likely snow covered all year long (snow layer was at least 10 ft deep in July 2009) - time to get your crampons and ice axe out.
Climb downhill on the snowfield until you are right below the pyramid shaped Point 12664.
Hike/scramble up a small creek valley joining in from the south - from the crest you will see Bubble Lake below you - a good spot for a bivouc.
Hike along Black Creek uphill to another nameless lake at 12,000 ft - lake is solid frozen most of the year. Time to get your crampons on again.
Climb up the snowfield (which is actually one of the last glaciers in Colorado) in direction of the obvious deep notch between Peak G (left) and Peak F (right).
Snowfield steepens considerably on the last part below the notch.
Notch itself gives easy access to Peak G , but no easy access to Peak F (blocked by a cliff requiring a class 4-5 climb)- you have to scramble up a pretty treacherous snow/earth/rock band on the far right side of the snowfield (separated by rocks from the main snow field) to gain the summit ridge of Peak F.
Once on the ridge it is a fun and short Class 3 climb on solid granite to the summit.
Easiest way back to your car is the tedious descent down the gully right below you, back to the valley bottom of Piney River.
Mountain Condition/Essential Gear
The lower part of the Black Creek Drainage is private property - accessing the upper reaches of the drainage from this side is therefore not an option.
Climb is only feasible from late spring to fall - during the rest of the year you would walk for hours through avalanche area.
You will be in the middle of nowhere - probably only a handful of people visit this area every year - it is a long way out the moment you cross onto the East side of the Gore Range - this is not a place for beginners testing their snow climbing skills.
This is a pristine area - tread lightly and keep your impact as low as possible.
Helmet, ice axe, crampons are absolutely essential - hiking sticks are a great help on the loose talus.
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Gore Range
