Challenger Point by Brian Schultz Sunday August 20, 2000
Challenger isn't an official fourteener in everybody's eyes but someday it may achieve that status. Steve Helle and I ran out of time and energy last year to climb it from Kit Carson but after hearing how enjoyable the route was from Willow Lake we arranged to do a climb from that side. As my departure from Minnesota neared, Steve was one peak from finishing his 54th fourteener and scrubbed Challenger to fit his last one in. I postponed it also and made plans to join him and his brother on Crestone Peak two days after my scheduled finish on Longs, but those ambitious intentions were made before I left Minnesota. Climbing the Bells and Longs left me totally worn out- my sore feet couldn't do Crestone Peak on just a day's rest and as much as I wanted to be with Steve on his last fourteener I had to call and bail out. I drove to Denver anticipating two full days of rest and put Challenger back on the list as a solo hike.
By Saturday morning I was in better shape and called Steve's house to tell his wife I was driving later to the Willow Lake trailhead, and if my feet were good on Sunday morning I'd be attempting Challenger. She reported great news- Steve had just called her from the top of Crestone Peak to let her know they made the summit! Way to go Steve!
I drove to the small quiet town of Crestone and called home before heading into the National Forest. The trailhead was easy to find and several cars had even made it up to the parking area when I arrived in the late afternoon. I backed up the truck and parked, the extent of setting up camp for the night other than unrolling the sleeping bag. I talked with two returning climbers who made it to Kit Carson and watched a large group, also returning, unpack gear into their cars while cranking up a Led Zeppelin tune. But nearly everyone else I saw or talked to had only driven up to the parking lot for a look and promptly left. I took a stroll up the trail to see if the Willow Lake cutoff was marked, not wanting to miss it in the morning darkness, and found a sign marking the turn off.
Back at the parking lot, two fellows soon arrived separately and each said they were backpacking up to the lake even though the daylight hour was getting late. Chris hadn't packed a single item before leaving Denver and slowly loaded up his scattered gear, seemingly unconcerned about the time. After talking to him a while, I excused myself to make dinner, and he was still packing as the sun dropped lower and lower. I wondered how far he'd get before dark and thought he was going to too much trouble for too little mileage, but he eventually pulled out a headlamp, strapped it on and declared himself ready. Chris crossed the parking lot and when I glanced up a few minutes later he was still there, standing on the rise of the trail talking on a cell phone. Apparently not in any hurry.
Meanwhile, David Mullings ditched the backpacking plan when he realized he couldn't reach the lake before dark and set up his tent in a nice camping area just below the parking lot. We ate dinner together and talked hours into the evening about our common line of work and of course fourteeners. Living in Ouray, he's climbed Sneffels numerous times and when I mentioned my climb in July '97 with a chopper circling and then landing in the Yankee Boy Basin, he vaguely remembered a search and rescue going on at that time and said he'd check into it and send details to me later. For this climb, he was planning a morning departure, after sunrise, and wondered if he could make Kit Carson by 10:00 or so. I told him not to count on it unless he was really fast. Getting sleepy at midnight, I retired to my truck and turned in.
I slept a decent 5 hours. For the first time in a week my feet slipped into my boots without the usual difficulty and I gave Challenger the green light. I left after breakfast, at 5:45, with poles ready and flashlight beaming, to cross South Crestone Creek and begin the long haul up to the lake. The trail through the woods was excellent and I set a moderate pace up the many switchbacks, hoping to get to the lake with just a minimum of rest stops. Skies were cloudy when I shut off the flashlight but not threatening, and near the first waterfall I saw a small tent just barely off the path. It had to belong to Chris, for anyone else would've likely made the lake, and I quietly strode by in case he or whoever was sleeping. The trail grinded along past another waterfall and I finally reached the west end of beautiful Willow Lake, a little later than hoped for, at 8:20. I could see why everybody likes this approach- the magnificent scenery made me forget about all the tiring switchbacks and provided a spark to charge forward. For anybody not wanting to dayhike Challenger and Kit Carson, this is an ideal backpacking destination.
The trail followed the left side of the lake and offered more than one way to ascend through thick willows to get above the waterfall across the lake. Unpleasant bushwhacking along with some steep gain couldn't be avoided but above the waterfall the trail opened into a pretty valley with a great view of Kit Carson ahead and Challenger's long ridge dominating the skyline to the right. Up ahead and taking a break was Chris, the only person I'd seen all morning, and indeed it was his tent I passed. I took my first long break and had a bite to eat under the sunny clear skies. We left together at 9:10 on a trail that led up the grass and rock slope before fading out, then I made my way up the steep terrain following sporadic cairns while Chris lagged behind. The relentless rock scramble forced me to take many brief standing breaks. Even so, I pushed way ahead of Chris and finally gained the ridge by climbing up a short couloir only to find the exposure on the other side incredible! And definitely the wrong place to gain the ridge. This was supposed to be just a class 2+ climb and after a quick admiring peek over the sheer cliffs I backtracked.
I went down and traversed over to a much larger couloir to get back on the ridge but was disappointed to see heavy clouds drifting in and shrouding much of the surroundings. I found cairns marking a route on the west side but as of yet still hadn't seen the summit of Challenger, and to make matters worse, the thick clouds quickly socked in the entire area. Seems to be my luck in the Crestones! I continued on but no longer spotted any cairns and wondered if I was getting off route. Stopping for a moment to think, I was surprised and relieved to see a group of three descending climbers who told me I was still on route and only 30 minutes from the summit but suggested getting back on the east side where the going was easier.
They no sooner left and the entire cloud cover just blew away, revealing the remaining route and the summit itself! Elated, I scrambled up the rocky ridge in 20 minutes and at 11:53 stepped on top of Challenger. Considering it took six hours and a fair amount of effort to reach it, I hereby put my vote in for official fourteener status!
I said hello to two young guys already on the summit and sat my weary body down for lunch. Their interesting approach was from a high camp on the Spanish Creek trail and they climbed Kit Carson before traversing to Challenger. It was wonderful to look around and actually see the other fourteeners, unlike last year and the year before. The view of Crestone Peak had me shaking my head in disbelief- from this vantage point it looked impossible to climb and I was immediately thankful for the easier ascent I did on the south face two years ago. But these guys climbed the Northwest Couloir route on the Peak yesterday and the Needle before that, knocking off all the hard peaks using difficult routes on just one backpacking trip. And one of the guys was only on his 6th fourteener! Gazing down at the famous Kit Carson Avenue gave me half a notion to at least walk it to the corner and look at the jagged ridge of Kit Carson's sub peak, but the time was late and I didn't like the dark clouds rolling in from the west. So I just relaxed and enjoyed the summit alone while watching the fellows descend back to the Avenue and walk it until they dropped down out of sight.
I began my own descent at 12:30 and passed Chris about 10 minutes later. He was still hoping to climb Kit Carson despite the late hour and further down the ridge was David, also wanting to grab Kit Carson- both got a warning to watch the weather. I reached Willow Lake at 2:25 and took a 10 minute break to rest the legs. Determined to push all the way from there, I stopped only once more when thunder rumbled, to put on rain gear, and hiked back in intermittent rain to reach the trailhead at 4:50.
A satisfying day but the elevation gain and distance on Challenger made for a tough day hike.
Total hiking time: 11 hours 5 minutes (including 35 minutes on the summit and numerous breaks)
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