Crestone Peak

On Aug 29, I went with two friends to the Sangre De Cristo Wilderness to climb Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, and Humboldt Peak. We met at an IHOP parking lot at 1AM and started hiking at 3:30AM. The "standard route" begins on the east side of the Sangre De Cristo mountain range, just south of the town of Westcliffe. The route leads past a couple of glacial lakes and over Broken Hand Pass, down the west side, then finally up the last 3000 feet to the summit through the "Red Gully."



It was dark until we got to the Red Gully; I took this photo of the pass on a different trip. The pass is that low notch in the rugged ridge between Crestone Needle on the right and Broken Hand Peak on the left.

The Red Gully is a slightly softer layer of rock that has formed into a small canyon. Most of the gully is solid rock but there are stretches where every step is on loose rock. It is a challenge to keep from knocking loose any rocks and endangering those below. Everyone we saw was wearing a climbing helmet.



At the top of the Red Gully, you come to a notch between East Crestone Peak on the right and Crestone Peak itself (from where the photo was taken). You can see my climbing partners in the center of this photo just as they reach the saddle. The other side (left) is a sheer 3000-foot cliff.



We finally gained the summit at around 9:15. This photo shows me, Rick, and Mark on the summit with Kit Carson Peak in the background.



By the time we got back down the Red Gully then back up to the top of Broken Hand Pass, weather was moving in so we decided to head back to the car.