Colorado 14'er bagging: June 28th 2007

Back on schedule we were up and sleep walking past the lake by 6 am. Once above the falls we could see the route ahead up Challenger Point and decided that we didn't need to haul our ice axes any higher. After caching them under a rock we proceeded up the steep slopes with loose rocks that characterized Challenger's north side.

We were both woken up on this ascent, feeling out of shape and breathing hard. Opinions of our fitness were reassured when I checked my watch and saw that were had climbed nearly 1,500 feet in a little over an hour. Above us we could see Jim and a two other climbers as everyone picked their own route up the slopes.

After reaching the ridge top we followed the trail through a few steep gullies on narrow ramps. Thankfully, the Crestones are composed of an interesting conglomerate that fractures with great hand and foot holds. Soon we were back on the ridge top then followed a faint trail right which led us out to some exposed class 4 climbing. I didn't recall the guidebook saying anything about getting this far off the ridge crest, so I led us upward and and away from a worsening situation.

The rest of the climb to the summit was easy and just before reaching the top two of the climbers ahead of us passed by on their way back down. I asked about Kit Carson Peak, the neighbor to Challenger and they said it was too icy to climb so they were headed back down. I tried not to think about the ice axes we'd left back near the lake as they descended.

Jim was on top when we arrived and we all initially agreed with the assessment of Kit Carson's conditions. So we spent a lazy hour on the summit chatting and enjoying the great views south to Blanca and the Great Sand Dunes and north to Mount Adams (a very high 13'er) and the other Crestone Peaks nearby. Then we all determined to at least take a close look at the conditions on the ramps that encircled Kit Carson and led to an easy summit route.

As we dropped to the saddle between Challenger and Kit we could see the first ramp, which definitely still had snow on it. I was hopeful we could cross the snow at some safe point and then hug the outer edge of the ramp which looked snow free. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too loose or steep there.

Unfortunately I didn't see a really safe place to cross the snow and gain the ramp once we were up close. I climbed up and tried kicking steps but the snow was too hard to do this safely. Retreating for a minute I picked up a sharp hatchet-head-sized rock and began to chip steps in the snow. Proceeding slowly I carved a route across the icy slope until we could access the top of the snow patch were it had melted away from the rock and traverse across the ramp. Success seemed at hand until we rounded the counter and found more snow on the south facing side of Kit.

Still, we needed to continue our investigation. Once again the snow was a little hard at first, so I half kicked steps, half chiseled with primitive stone tools. Then we crossed over a snow arete and I was able to down climb softer snow, kicking solid steps back to the rock. From here we continued on the ramps just below any remaining snow patches and being extremely careful around loose rocks.

Finally, we came around to the east side of Kit Carson and found the gully that led to the summit. Easy scrambling and crossing one minor snow field brought us to the top. Jim was especially happy, since he'd had two previous attempts on Kit Carson. The weather was beautiful and we all admired the views and felt satisfied with the way we'd handled the route's challenges with the tools at our disposal.

We returned the same way, the route a little easier this time with softer snow and prepared steps. We also ran into an Englishman, Steve, on holiday, but he'd hiked in from the trailhead that morning and felt too tired to continue to Kit's true summit. Instead he joined us as we all returned up to Challenger for a final summit rest before heading down to Willow Lake.

Clouds were gathering and beginning to obscure Kit's summit by the time we reached the lake, plus it had been a long day, so we holed up in the tent and consumed what food remained (ramen, tomato soup, cheesecake mix, a few ounces of fresh blueberries). Re-energized we packed up after a light rain stopped and headed back down the trail leaving behind the most beautiful spot in the world.

Helen and I agreed on the need for a complete rest day, so we headed back to Breckenridge, planning a stop in Salida for dinner. As we approached Salida, we started fantasying about what food we craved. As we listed: a great salad, wood-fired pizza with artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers and beer I thought for sure we were setting ourselves up for disappointment. Amazingly some locals directed us to a brewpub that served everything on our list.