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South Face Route Description:
From the South Colony Lake road, follow the 4X4 trail all the way to
the forest service closure. There is ample camping near the
parking area.
From the parking area, head west past the forest service gate that
prevents vehicles from going further. Sign in at a register on
your left shortly past the gate. Continue west on the trail
toward the mountain in front of you. In spring or early summer,
this trail may still be buried under avalanche debris. The trail
will the break north(right) and into the trees. Follow this trail
through several switchbacks as you gain elevation. The trail will
once again head generally west toward lower S. Colony Lake(not yet
visible). As you head west toward the lake, you will come upon a
sign that says "Crestone Needle" standard route.
Take this turnoff as Crestone Peak(South Face Route) and Crestone
Needle both share the same climb up Broken Hand Pass. At
this point you will be heading south and west toward Broken Hand
Pass. The trail will begin switching back and forth as you
ascend through the rocks and boulders. |
(Photo by DB--July 01,
2002)
Dan on the rout to Brokenhand pass.
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After a few switchbacks,
the trail will head generally west toward the gully(may be snow filled)
that runs down from
the saddle between Crestone Needle and Brokenhand Peak. In the
above right picture, I am sitting on the trail leading toward the
gully. Once on the snow in the picture, you climb straight
up. You will
cross a couple of snow fields, that will very in size depending on the
time of year, and then head straight up toward the saddle. There
is one pretty steep section of rock, followed by the final scramble
that is covered in loose rock and dirt. Be careful not to kick
rocks down onto those who may be below. Even small rocks
hurt. Once you reach the saddle, you are sitting around the
13,000 foot mark. Unfortunately, this route now requires a
descent into the valley in front of you. Follow a good trail(much
much better than the Brokenhand Pass trail) down into the valley.
You will head west, with Crestone Needle above you on the right.
Take the trail past Cottonwood Lake, keeping the lake on your
left. Just past the lake, you will want to look for a trail that
meanders to the right(north). In front of you will be the south
face of Crestone Peak, and the connecting ridge to Crestone
Needle. This will not look like the pictures that you find in the
guide books as they were taken from a higher vantage point than you are
presently at. The next part of this route really requires that
you proceed against the "path of least resistance." Continue on a
northward route, hopefully on a trail, toward the south face of
Crestone. Look for what looks like a ramp that angles up from
right to left(east to west). You will approach this ramp, hike
east toward the lowest point, and then follow along the top, heading
back west. You will cross the runoff from the Red Coulior,
that is essentially the largest runoff on that face. Once across,
look to break right(north) into the Red Coulior. Depending on how
much snow is present, you may choose to hug the sides that will most
likely be rock. Take this coulior straight up for a couple of
thousand feet. Just shy of the saddle, you will see cairns off
to the left. These lead to Crestone Peak's main summit.
Follow this trail to the summit. From the saddle, you can also
head right(east) to Crestone's East summit.
After summiting, you have the option to descend the way you came, or
take on the Class IV traverse to the Needle. If you wish to
attempt the traverse, look for the exit out of the Red Coulior at about
13,600 feet. As of summer 2004, there was a cairn marking the
start of the traverse, and several beyond the initial
cairn.
As for descending the North Coulior, I am not sure that I would
consider this a great alternative.
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