Challenger Point
Peak Name: Challenger Point
Rank: 35th
Height:14,081
Date: 19 May
Route
Ascent North Slopes
Descent Kirk Couloir
Difficulty Moderate
Elevation: Base: 8,880 (est)
Summit: 14,081
Elevation Gain: 5,220 (est)
Distance:From Willow Creek Trailhead to Summit: 4.6 miles (est)
Summit to Trailhead (Kirk Couloir 6 miles (est)
Total Distance: 10.6 miles (est)
Time Start 5:30 a.m.; Summit 1:00 p.m.; Finish 10:30 p.m.
Trail Description: From trailhead east to Willow Creek Park the trail
was very nice through dense forest – few rocks – very easy.
From Willow Creek Park to the 1st headwall (11,000 feet) the trail was
moderate. All three stream crossings up to this point involved bridging
or wading – the creek was very swollen with runoff. The trail was
generally free of obstacles; a good Class II hike; the switchbacks above
the headwall on the south side of creek presented the first deep snow
encountered. Snowshoes were required. Deep snow was present from the headwall
to Willow Lake and the cliffs on east side of lake. The northwest ridge
from Willow Lake to the summit was bare of snow for most part, but tough
Class II climbing; the NW corner of ridge at 13,800 feet required several
Class III pitches. Heavy snow on the north side of mountain was present
up to the ridgeline. Cornices were present all along the ridge; the summit
was covered with snow. The northwest snowfields were completely intact
from summit down to the cliff bands. Kirk Couloir was very stable. There
was deep snow in the run out between bottom of Kirk Couloir and cliffs
above Willow Lake.
Conditions:
Weather: Sunny
Temperature: 40 Degrees @ trailhead; 35 degrees at summit; great weather
– bright and sunny
Climbing Companions: Winston; Milo (Sheepdogs)
Trip Discussion: I began this outing by driving from Colorado Springs,
CO to the Willow Creek trailhead, just east Of Crestone, CO. The jeep
trail from Crestone to the trailhead was unremarkable and easy with 2WD.
My companions were my two Old English Sheepdogs, Winston, age 5 and Milo,
age 3. We arrived at the trailhead at 4:30 a.m., 19 May 2001 and proceeded
to gear up. As for the climb itself, we left at 5:30 a.m. and used the
Willow Lake Approach as described by Roach. This involved Class II hiking
and the trail itself was in very good shape, for being early in the season.
The trail to the 1st headwall and waterfall was free of snow but there
were three creek crossings that required bridge building or wading. The
weather was warm and sunny – perfect conditions. The switchback trail
on the south side of the creek at the 11,000 was heavily snowed and snowshoes
were required. The trail is not well marked this early in the season,
and there were few footprints to use as reference. Staying parallel to
the creek was easy, however, and Willow Lake is unavoidable, despite being
completely frozen. The trail to the north of the lake is difficult to
follow, but is free of snow and is recommended. This allows you to circumvent
the cliffs on the east side of the lake. Once above the lake, I proceeded
on the extreme NW ridge of Challenger Point to obviate the need to use
snowshoes in the mighty snowfields that were still extant on the true
north slope of the mountain. This approach is considerably farther west
than described by Roach, and it involved Class III scrambling along several
rock outcroppings at the 13,800 point. The entire ridge from the west
heading to the summit consists of precarious cornices at this time and
should be traversed with extreme caution. There are two false summits
along this ridge, but the true summit is only 4/10ths of a mile once the
13,800 point is reached. After a brief rest on the summit, I glissaded
directly NE down the north snowfield from the summit to an elevation of
approximately 13,500 (right above the cliff bands) and then proceeded
to traverse SE and entered the Kirk Couloir just above the cliff bands.
I downcimbed the Kirk Couloir and my dogs followed in the steps I created.
The couloir was very steep, (an extreme ski descent) and the snow was
deep and stable. I observed no evidence of large avalanche action present
during my climb. Once out of the couloir, I returned to the lake through
the willows, which were just starting to poke through the snow. I failed
to cross over to the south side of the creek below Willow Lake, and I
was subsequently stuck on the headwall at 11,200. This required me to
backtrack ½ mile and then cross the creek above the 1st waterfall
on the trail. We arrived back at the trailhead at 10:30 p.m., very tired.
The dogs led the way the last three miles, which were traversed in total
darkness without headlamp (mistake). Thank goodness for man’s best
friend. Round trip estimated at 11.5 miles, at 16h.
Timothy P. Edinger
Director of Operations
Analytical Systems, Inc.
1785 N. Academy Blvd., Suite 111
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
(719) 597-4955
(719) 597-4956 (FAX)
www.TeamASI.com
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