Blanca Peak (14,345) and Ellingwood Point (14,042) by Brian Schultz Sunday July 6, 1997
The past winter found me spending many free moments planning the peaks for this summer and making an attempt to deal with my fear of exposure. After my paralysis on the false summit of Wilson Peak in Sept of '95 I resigned myself then to doing only the easy fourteeners. I enjoyed hiking them very much but the exposure problem really nagged at me. I climbed an indoor rock wall to see if I could handle looking down from the top and likewise climb back down without freaking out. Although roped in I went up and down on my own power and gained some confidence, enough to reconsider doing some of the harder fourteeners. The comforting thought was that none of the fifty four fourteeners absolutely required ropes and equipment to get to the summits.
I was ready for my first backpacking trip also. I loaded the pack in Minnesota and hoped I didn't forget anything for the weekend up at Lake Como. When I got into Colorado on Saturday I headed straight for Hwy 160 and the turnoffs to the lake. Finding them was easy enough and I only drove a short distance before parking the car. Why take a chance for the little bit of walking I could save? I knew how rough the road was going to be.
Drinking lots of water and situating my pack, I started up under a hot, sunny sky at 3:15 PM. Right away two guys were just about back to their car and I noticed helmets and rope dangling from their packs. They told me how they did Little Bear, the traverse to Blanca, and then Ellingwood all today. That was amazing! I planned on Blanca and Ellingwood for sure and the possibility of Little Bear a day later (wishful thinking- big doubts about that one!).
At first I couldn't feel the weight of the pack but it didn't take too long before the straps started digging into my shoulders. I'd lift one shoulder up then the other but couldn't get comfortable. I was working up a sweat mighty fast and found many rest stops necessary.
As I gained elevation I slowed down considerably- it was difficult adjusting to altitude coming right in from Minnesota, especially with the heavy pack on. And the pack seemed to get heavier the further I went. I visited with a group of guys on their way down who also did Little Bear- they said it was treacherous with lots of ice on the rocks and it took them over seven hours to get up and down. They waited a long time for climbers above them to descend before going up the gully.
That certainly gave me food for thought. I put my focus on the two I knew I could do and trudged on. I came upon the horrible sections of the road where it didn't seem possible to drive anything on and was suddenly surprised to see an old International coming down. That was a sight!
I thought for sure I was getting close to the lake but there was no end to this road. It just kept going up and up. When I thought I was close to collapsing I came into a wooded area and there was the lake!
With my remaining energy I hiked to the other side of the lake and dropped the pack. It was 8:15 and I had to get the tent up- daylight was fading. Not wanting to crowd the neighbors I set up close to the lake. It was dark when I finished and I was starving. And the mosquitoes were the worst I've ever seen in Colorado, I might as well have been back in Minnesota. My sweaty clothes were now chilling my body in the cool air and I changed before cooking dinner by flashlight.
Expecting to sleep well after the exhausting hike, I lied awake most of the night. When I finally awoke, I peeked out of the tent around 6:00 or so and saw my ice ax completely frosted over. Man it was cold out there! I ate breakfast and threw on the pack. At 6:45 I was ready to conquer Blanca.
I headed up the never ending road as it continued up through the trees for a ways and finally petered out. I caught up to three guys and hiked with them until they branched off for Ellingwood. When I reached the ridge it looked terribly steep but was fairly easy once I got on it. Near the top was an exposed area on the left side of the ridge which I wasn't expecting. It didn't bother me and moments later I stepped onto the summit. The time was 9:15. Beautiful weather gave super views of Little Bear, Ellingwood and Lindsey. Ellingwood's face looked mighty steep from up here and I would be traversing it shortly to get to its summit.
Three different fellows joined me on the summit. One of them had enough just climbing up to Blanca but the other two would be climbing Ellingwood too. After a nice break I descended back down the ridge with those two following me. The traverse across the face was much easier than it looked and I persisted until arriving on the summit. Wow- did Blanca ever look imposing from here! I kicked back and waited for the guys. When they made it, they no sooner signed in and then left again. Paul was a solo hiker who happened to converge with the other two on Blanca. He was up here on a day hike, something I couldn't imagine doing, and he was very eager to get back down. It felt so neat up here I stayed for lunch and soaked in the views.
When I finally went down, instead of taking the traverse, I went straight down the face. At one point I found myself in a cliffy area and had to do an interesting maneuver down a fifteen foot crack, placing hands and feet on opposite sides and inching down to solid terrain. From there I glissaded the snowfield and regained the trail. The two guys who split up on Blanca were back together here and said Paul was lagging behind them. After a short chat they left. I waited a while and when Paul showed up he did a double-take. He couldn't believe I beat him here. We hiked out together and I gleaned lots of info on the harder fourteeners and better times to climb them. He was at number 41, more than twice my count.
He told me about Wetterhorn which was next on my list. I was concerned about the ledge climbing and exposure. He described what to expect and said I could handle it with no problem. Sure, easy for him to say! We parted ways at the lake at 1:30. I still had a semi-serious notion about climbing Little Bear the next day and since it was plenty early, I walked back up the road thinking I might climb up to the west ridge and survey the route from there. My mind evidently had more energy than my body did, I wasn't even out of the trees before I turned around. I was tired, sweaty and sore and didn't realize it until I regained a little elevation. Besides, it was foolish to consider doing Little Bear alone; I surely couldn't count on others being there and letting me hook up with them.
I decided to pack up and leave. When I was ready to go I realized something else. I never would have had enough water for another night anyway. I had packed in water (one reason the pack was so heavy on the way up!) and I'd be lucky to hike out with what was left. It was hot up here and it got worse as I descended back down the road.
When I got to the last shady area before open sunshine I took a long break and a fellow hiking up with two packs (one completely full of camera gear) asked me if I had any water to spare. He said he had a filter but couldn't find any of the streams that his topo map indicated. I figured he had a long ways to find water so I gave him most of what I had. His load had to be much heavier than what I had the day before and it was steaming hot out. I felt sorry for him and I wasn't that far from the car anyhow.
I finally made it back to the car and was so glad to get the pack off. I drove to Monte Vista to get a room and was already thinking about the next morning.
Backpacking up to the lake and overnighting made Blanca and Ellingwood easier to do, but I was worn out and sore when I finished. The two days put over 15 miles on my legs. And, I will buy a water filter for the next backpack trip. Fun peaks!
Total hike time from lake to summits and back to lake- 6 hours 45 minutes