Mount Wilson from El Diente's summit, due east
Photo by Aaron Johnson

We arrived the afternoon of the 4th and car camped near the top of Lizard Head pass. A great place with a great view to camp to be sure, BUT, the mosquitoes were the worst I've ever seen in the San Juans. Literally hundreds were flying in our faces a minute after stepping out of the vehicle. It was a real battle to eat, shit or do anything. We relaxed the rest of the day and turned in early, which was a relief from the mosquitoes since we slept inside the Pathfinder.

We awoke at 4:00, got up and got going at daybreak. We were at the trailhead that Jim, Vern and me visited years back within twenty minutes. What we did not realize back then is that as you round the tree covered bluff to the north on the trail, you lose altitude, but it's gentle enough not to notice it. (The return hike isn't bad either). But it helped with our speed because we were at the Kilpacker Basin trail within an hour. We blazed up that trail, crossing the creek and gently climbing into the lower Kilpacker Basin. A beautiful spot to be sure. View the pictures on the El Diente page posted by SP members. You can also read nickd's and Randy Winter's Trip Reports. Be sure to check out the links to other reports as well.

At the camp site below the lower Kilpacker Falls, the trail heads north and climbs up through the trees steeply for 100 feet, meanders through some scrub and willows along the creek, then climbs steeply again to the talus slopes of El Diente, north of the upper falls. The next two miles are hiking across talus slopes. The route has packed the talus and it is pleasantly stable (as San Juan talus goes), but it wore Ellen out pretty quick, since she is not quite as used to it. As we climbed above the upper falls, some gorgeous clusters of flowers graced the slopes of rock, but as we went higher, all signs of life simply faded away. The Wilson massif above 11,800 feet is just a great wasteland of rock that supports no life.

The messy south slopes of El Diente
Photo by Aaron Johnson

Once in the higher basin, the well-cairned route climbs north up El Diente's ever steepening slopes. Snow fields were still present, so we broke out the ice axes and ascended them when we could, just to get off of the rock. The route winds around some initial low cliffs to an orange rock rib. Some cairns then cut away left up a slope of loose rock toward the summit. Another cairn route led up the rock rib, which was much more stable, so we opted for that, immediately going from Class 1 to Class 3 climbing. Exposure was moderate, but as we climbed higher either along the rib in a couloir or on the rib itself, the angle steepened and exposure increased as well.

All rocks are potentially loose on El Diente
Photo by Aaron Johnson

At the top of the narrow, snow filled couloir, the cairns went off to the right around the rib and further away from the summit into highly exposed territory. I did not care for the course the route was taking and opted to keep the summit in our sights. We climbed straight up a jumble of massive rocks, reminiscent of Snowmass' West Slopes route, but it was vertical climbing. At the top of this climb we were just feet beneath the infamous El Diente-Wilson ridge traverse. Cairns were spotted leading toward the well known Organ Pipe section of the ridge traverse, which we followed.

Lots of interesting climbing obstacles were met along this stretch, none too difficult but interesting enough to keep us focussed and engaged. Once past the Organ Pipes, we climbed up a couloir similar to the Citadel's, only higher and narrower, but equally as loose. This then put us on the north side of the ridge, where the route crossed narrow ledges above yawning chasms of cliffs to which there seemed to be no bottom. Footing was iffy in spots due to persistent patches of snow, now half transformed into ice. We executed these moves with care, coming to yet another snow filled couloir on the mountain's north side. We climbed up along this couloir's left side, since the snow was likely very hard and steep. The run out below was not visble as the slope steepened below us. A fall or slip here would be obviously fatal. The climbing itself never exceeded Class 3, but it was challenging and steep Class 3 nonetheless.

Crux portion of the route below the summit
Photo by nickd

Once on top of the couloir, we continued west on the ridge over the crux of the climb, a clump of rock atop the ridge with yawning drop-offs on both sides. This segment did not feel like a crux move until it was time to do it reverse from the summit. Stepping down from the top of this rocky perch, one simpy scrambles back up again further west to the very craggy summit. We ate, took pictures and wasted no time in beginning our descent. We were on top for about 30 minutes. The main desire on my mind was to be safely off El Diente. As fine a challenge it was, next to Potosi, El Diente is the ricketiest mountan I've ever been on. I'm amazed it holds together. A serious earthquake would level it substantially. The route is surprisingly solid, but much loose rock abounds and is waiting to make its move.

A descending traverse across unstable slopes
Photo by Aaron Johnson

Downclimbing El Diente was actually pretty pleasant. During our improv 4th class climb, we saw a group of climbers descend from the summit, but we never intercepted them. I'm guessing they came down the route we saw at the beginning of the rock rib, which meant crossing a steep slope of potentially very unstable rock. But I was determined to try that route rather than downclimb what we came up. This turned out to be a good idea.

View southwest from the summit of El Diente
Photo by Aaron Johnson

The descent was as loose as we had expected, so with that to consider, it went very well. I did put my hand on an arrow shaped rock the size of a rocking chair and the whole thing moved, with all of the rocks above, supported by it, moving as well. I removed my hand and the rocks remained in their place, percariously perched, waiting for the next unsuspecting climber to come by. Had these rocks fallen, I would have been seriously injured when they fell on me, and the resulting cataclysm of rock tumbling down the steep grade would have caused a substantial landslide. We veered away from this jumble of doom and promptly danced our way down the mountain.

As suspected, loose rock was everywhere. I brought all of my mountainineering experience to bear on this mountain. Our past experiences really paid off here. I think on the whole trip, only one significant rock was dislodged by us. We aimed for and achieved the base of the rock rib, completing our loop climb on the south slope. Loose as it was, this descent route is the way to climb up El Diente, unless you're looking for a good Class 4 climb, which ultimately is straight up by the time you top out. Great fun, more solid, but lots of exposure.

This descent route across a slope of loose San Juan debris can be tolerated either way, though, and for expediency, it's the way to go. Once below the rib, we retraced our steps down the snow fields, stopping to filter water out of the high basin before descending the great wasteland of rock for the next two miles across El Diente's talus slopes. Trudging across this stuff was like marching across shards of porcelain. After a while, you learn to ignore the sharp sounds that result from your marching.

Once back down in the basin and crossing the creek, I changed into my tennis shoes and we high-tailed it back to the car, making great time. I think Ellen totaled our time, minus time on the summit, to 10 hours and 40 minutes. We threw our stuff in the car to avoid the bugs and immediately took off for the Silver Pick trailhead, where we would spend the night and rise once again, very early, in the hopes to climb Mount Wilson and Wilson Peak.

For the continuation of this trip report, click here.

Images