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Blanca Peak & Ellingwood Point - Trip Report |
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Stuart Anderson and I, both flatlanders from Southern Illinois, set out from apx 8000' on the jeep road trail to Lake Como with real concern about weather. It was gray and cloudy, and the three major peaks of the Blanca massif were obscured with clouds that periodically spat sleet on us. Still, this kept the long, tedious backpack up to the 11,500' lake cool and comfortable.
We set out at 9:30 am along the jeep road up to Blue Lakes, at about 12,500'. This road finally gives out and becomes trail at a series of switchbacks left of a waterfall, then becomes a more familiar type of mountain trail. The Alamosa valley below was covered with clouds early in the morning, but they cleared up and the day was clear and still and between 45 and 50 degrees.
Instead of ascending to the low point in the ridge between Blanca and Ellingwood point, we chose a more direct route up the northwest face of Blanca, taking advantage of firm snow to ascend. While this method was slower, it was a lot more enjoyable and challenging than scrambling on loose rock. Bring your ice axe! It's a fun way to go, like the central chute up Little Bear. We reached the peak at 3:30 with clear skies and great views of surrounding peaks, including Lindsey, Culebra, and the Crestone area peaks. Stuart took a nap and I dried socks in unusually warm weather. Last year at this time we were in below zero weather in the Missouri basin.
The Blanca-Ellingwood connecting ridge is not tricky or technical like Blanca- Little Bear, but offers some spectacular views and good exposure, if you like that. It was a windless day, and we did. Stuart headed for camp at the low point and I continued up Ellingwood, traversing beneath a large gap in the ridge and ascending at an angle toward where the ridge resumes just below the peak. The day was getting late and time was important, but Ellingwood is a pretty straightforward peak from the connecting ridge. I reached the top at 6:35 pm, quickly jotted down a few things, completed the register, and zoomed down a talus shoot to make time since light was quickly fading. I actually reached the trail again at dark, met another climber coming down from an aborted trip up Blanca, and made it back to camp at Lake Como at 8:45.
A note: I would absolutely not recommend coming down the way I did, and I wouldn't do it again. Several times my route became completely vertical and I was using some 5.5 + techniques to get down, in near darkness. It was scary, and since there is a lot of brittle rock on both these mountains, I was extra careful with hand and footholds.
Given that any other route would have had me in total darkness long before reaching the trail, I made the right call, but it would be better to go back toward the connecting ridge or to take the west ridge on well-supported talus.
Be warned. The baseball- to softball-size rocks that fill the jeep road make the long descent from the lakes miserable, especially with heavy packs. Your ankles will be grateful for short patches of plain dirt along the way.
Steve Wilkinson
Anna, IL
This article used with permission of the author.
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