Ellingwood Arete and the Crestones

Crestone Needle and Ellingwood Arete (right ridgeline)

My buddy, Adam Renfrow, and I had set aside some time to get back to a vintage part of Colorado. Adam is finishing up the Fourteeners this summer and Crestone Needle was next-to-last on his list. I had been really wanting to climb Ellingwood Arete on the Needle for years, so we were excited for this unique opportunity.

Crestones Group

It rained severely most of our drive to the Sangre de Cristo Range. We were unsure whether we were going to be able to pack in to lower South Colony Lake as planned, but as we got closer to the trailhead the weather improved dramatically.

Crestone Needle

We hit the trail at 7pm on the night of August 2nd. Four miles and two hours later we reached our campsite and began preparing for the next day's big objective.

Moon setting over Crestone Needle's summit

Guided by the moonlight, we enjoyed the pre-dawn sky and moonshine before making our way to the base of Ellingwood Arete. As dawn crept in, we began simul-climbing several hundred feet of easy to moderate 5th class terrain in a large open-book dihedral at the base of the Arete.



Morning light reached us for the first time at the top of the lower pitches. We packed up the rope and began a 1000 feet of excitingly exposed scrambling to gain the upper headwall.

Two pitches of 5.7 alpine climbing does very well for the soul. Adam and I were having the time of our lives on vertical terrain at 14,000 feet.

Humbolt Peak

Chillin' before the final pitch.

Hero Shot on top of the Needle

After "threading the Needle," the weather was looking mighty fine for a bonus project - the classic traverse over to Crestone Peak. We scampered off the summit and made good work of another much-sought-after route in Colorado's mountains. This was Adam's third of four Colorado Classic Fourteener Traverses...my second time across.

Adam down-climbing the 4th-class ramp off of the Needle's summit.

Looking back on the first half of the Crestones Traverse.

Topping out on Crestone Peak. The Needle looms in the background.

The views were immense on the high point of this part of the range. Crestone Peak soars above everything else. We made some phone calls on the summit and soaked the whole experience in.

Looking up nearly 2000 feet to Crestone Peak. Our descent route was the red-colored gully in the center.

A little dip in Cottonwood Lake

Making our way up to Broken Hand Pass - well above Cottonwood Lake.

Crestolita

Ellingwood Arete

The return to camp was long and taxing, but we were determined to get home at a reasonable hour that night. Adam took a dip in Cottonwood Lake while a herd of bighorn sheep looked on. The day had become fairy tale! We both were grateful to God for such splendor to behold and grace given throughout this memorable journey.