Blanca Peak

Memorial Day Weekend, my partner and I made for the summit of Blanca Peak via the Class 1 and 2 ascent to the saddle between Blanca and Ellingwood Point. Of course, in order to get there (and not ascend 6,000+ feet), we took the four-wheel drive road from CO 150 up the valley. They aren’t kidding when they say this is the hardest 4-wheeling road in Colorado! High clearance vehicles need only apply. We followed the road past the first obstacle, popularly known as “Jaws 1” where we left the truck (off the
trail) and backpacked to Lake Como. The rest of the road was mostly clear including the second and third obstacles. However, after that the road was still covered with snow in many places.

The lake was still frozen in places, but in our short 24 hour stay in the area, the ice was melting rapidly. We made an early start Monday morning for Blanca. The snow was still deep most of the way up, and later in the day, we were post holing most of the way down. We used crampons and ice-axes for the Class 2 ascent. There was evidence of several avalanches in the area after the recent snowstorms, so pay attention to snow conditions. Early in the morning, the snow was crusty enough to make the ascent easier. Later in the day, the sun and 50+ degree temperatures made the snow a lot slushier along the entire route. On the plus side, the slush made glissading a lot of fun, if not extremely wet. NOTE: if at all possible, I would suggest avoiding the rocks up the middle of the route. They are dangerously loose in some places, which made to going very slow.

Bottom line: get up and down quickly. The snow is icier early in the morning, but wait too long, and you’ll be up to your hips in a posthole more often than not. The weather has been in the 50s and 60s up there over the past few days, and the snowfields were diminishing before our eyes. It’s likely that there will be no more significant snow up there in two or three weeks.

Another note: someone broke into our truck. Nothing was stolen, thank goodness, but the back window was jimmied open, and we believe the violators intended to steal the vehicle, not the contents. I don’t need to say how not cool this is, considering that were we parked was another 20 miles from a phone. Left a bad taste in our mouths after a great summit.

Heather Kalny
Associate Director of Marketing
Opera Colorado
303-778-0215
hkalny@operacolorado.org

Other Information

• What to Bring on a Hike
• Safety And Survival
• There's Weather Out There
• Learning Safety Through the Experience of Others
• The Leave No Trace: Skills & Ethics: Rocky Mountains A must read for every backcountry user!