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Home » Activities » Backpacking » That Awesome Rock on Crestone Needle
BackpackingColoradoFourteenersHiking

That Awesome Rock on Crestone Needle

Posted on4 Jan 20216 Apr 2021 class 3, Sangre de Cristo Mountains Leave a Comment 3319 Views
Crestone Needle

H & I climbed Crestone Peak in 2017. After two trips up Cottonwood Canyon to the Crestones, I’d had enough of that trail. For climbing Crestone Needle in 2019, we’d do the standard route from South Colony Lakes.

The road up to the South Colony Lakes Trailhead is not to be taken lightly. We had no problem in the jeep, but I wouldn’t’ve wanted to be in anything with less clearance. H & I were joined by Georgia for the drive, and Mike was meeting us in camp for the climb the next morning. The hike up the now-closed old jeep road to the lakes was quite sloggish at a steady and unrelenting 4.4 miles and 2,000′ of elevation gain. We made camp and Mike arrived shortly afterwards. Then the usual meal and to bed for the early rise.

We started in the dark to get a jump on any weather, and the sun was up by the time we were on atop the crappy rock going up Broken Hand Pass.

And then the fun began. No, really. The rock is sooooo nice. The Crestone conglomerate gives you just the best holds. And Needle gives a climber much more variety than Peak. For Peak it’s pretty much the Red Gully Show for many hundreds of the feet. Needle gives you two gullies, both much narrower. By the time you’re tired of the east gully, you traverse over to the west gully. And from there it’s a straight run up to the summit.

  • Starting Up to Broken Hand Pass
    Starting Up to Broken Hand Pass
  • Climbing Starts on Crestone Needle
    Climbing Starts on Crestone Needle
  • Working Up the East Gully
    Working Up the East Gully

The top of Needle — Peak, too — is unique for Fourteeners. There’s four other Fourteeners — Peak, Kit Carson, Challenger, & Humbolt — grouped closely around. All so close you could almost reach out & touch them. Then to the south is Great Sand Dunes NP with the Blanca group rising behind it. It’s an iconic panorama. We had our summit snacks and enjoyed the view.

  • Summit Snacks
    Summit Snacks
  • Blanca Group and Sand Dunes
    Blanca Group and Sand Dunes
  • Humbolt from Needle
    Humbolt from Needle

The weather was good so we took our time and enjoyed the downclimb. We passed above Cottonwood Lake, where we camped when we did Peak.

  • West Gully Descent
    West Gully Descent
  • West Gully Descent
    West Gully Descent
  • Cottonwood Lake & the San Luis Valley
    Cottonwood Lake & the San Luis Valley
  • Resting after Descending Broken Hand Pass
    Resting after Descending Broken Hand Pass

Once at Broken Hand Pass, we knew the fun scramble was over. We picked our way down through the loose rocks & dirt, packed up camp, and began the backpack out.

Humbolt and the Pack Out
Humbolt and the Pack Out

Normally, we would’ve taken a bit of a break but we had to make time. H, Georgia, & I had to drive south and set up camp near the Lily Lake trailhead for our Mount Lindsey climb the next day.

Climbing Crestone Needle is definitely in the top 5 Fourteener experiences — to setting from camp to summit was memorable, the rock was solid, and the climb was just fun.

Crestone Needle from South Colony Lakes

  • When: 30 Aug 2019
  • Distance: 2.6 mi RT
  • Total Elevation: 2,537′
  • Total Time: 6:15 hrs
  • Colo 14er Rank: #20
  • Difficulty: class 3

Previous Article Little Bear Peak
Next Article A Grumpy Day on Mount Lindsey

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Fourteener Maps

I also make maps of all the Fourteeners. The link below takes you to my Etsy store. [etsy-shop shop_name="FlatWorldStudio" section_id="31906964" limit="1" offset="0"]

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Greg WillisThanks for stopping by! This site is about my travels both in the US and abroad. I try to be entertaining, but if not at least there’s plenty of photos! Find out more about me

 

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