This was day two on a grand tour of the Sangres near Blanca. My son asked for a rappel into the Gash but otherwise soloed. I was injured near the summit when a large block detached and hit me.
DougHemken - Jun 12, 2012 8:28 am Date Climbed: Jun 6, 2012
Long day
Great 4th class route! I thought the Gash was unusual in that the best line almost always stayed right on the ridge - the best, solid rock seemed to be right on the crest the whole way.
We carried a rope but never broke it out. We found two rap stations, one to return to the Huerfano-Winchell gap (fairly new) and one to get into the final Gash going up (two pitons, old and faded perlon, we down-climbed around it).
The hardest part of the day was getting off Blanca and back to the Huerfano. We went down the south ridge of Blanca about 7/10 of a mile to a point where there was some shattered red rock on the ridgeline, then headed toward the N Winchell Lake. The descent involved loose, open ledges and a small 3rd class move to a pinnacle (on a line between the lakes), then down a snowy N facing coulior. Finally we hiked around the lake, back to the gap where the Gash started, and on back to the Huerfano trailhead.
Brad Snider - Jun 27, 2011 2:34 pm Date Climbed: Jun 22, 2011
Fun climb...
... when the rock is dry. Wouldn't want to do it in wet conditions. Plenty of scrambling along the ridge, maybe just a couple of 5.0 moves. Mix of solid and loose rock, decent exposure. Gash itself was anticlimactic IMO.
Mumbly_Joe - Jul 6, 2020 2:01 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2020
Sangres grand tourThis was day two on a grand tour of the Sangres near Blanca. My son asked for a rappel into the Gash but otherwise soloed. I was injured near the summit when a large block detached and hit me.
DougHemken - Jun 12, 2012 8:28 am Date Climbed: Jun 6, 2012
Long dayGreat 4th class route! I thought the Gash was unusual in that the best line almost always stayed right on the ridge - the best, solid rock seemed to be right on the crest the whole way.
We carried a rope but never broke it out. We found two rap stations, one to return to the Huerfano-Winchell gap (fairly new) and one to get into the final Gash going up (two pitons, old and faded perlon, we down-climbed around it).
The hardest part of the day was getting off Blanca and back to the Huerfano. We went down the south ridge of Blanca about 7/10 of a mile to a point where there was some shattered red rock on the ridgeline, then headed toward the N Winchell Lake. The descent involved loose, open ledges and a small 3rd class move to a pinnacle (on a line between the lakes), then down a snowy N facing coulior. Finally we hiked around the lake, back to the gap where the Gash started, and on back to the Huerfano trailhead.
Brad Snider - Jun 27, 2011 2:34 pm Date Climbed: Jun 22, 2011
Fun climb...... when the rock is dry. Wouldn't want to do it in wet conditions. Plenty of scrambling along the ridge, maybe just a couple of 5.0 moves. Mix of solid and loose rock, decent exposure. Gash itself was anticlimactic IMO.