Little Bear Peak (14,037) by Brian Schultz Thursday August 26, 1999
Everything was in order for an attempt on this most feared peak and I left Minnesota very nervous but also excited. After five years of studying, planning, dreaming, and dreading Little Bear, it was really going to happen. I called Tim from North Platte, Nebraska on Tuesday night for a last minute confirmation- our plan was to meet just above Lake Como before dark on Wednesday evening. The long drive in and subsequent backpack would require a super early start in the morning.
The weather on Wed was sunny all day. I watched Little Bear come into view from the highway as I neared the area, and driving up the Lake Como road in a 4x4 allowed me to get about a mile and a half beyond the usual parking for cars. Under a welcome clear sky I hoisted up the pack and set out at 2:30. If this was last month it would surely be raining by now. Every day on that trip rained but early starts allowed for successful summits on all peaks except one- Maroon Peak. Bad weather drove us off its high ridge at 13,300 feet but the day wasn't a total bummer- two climbers on their way down gave some very useful advice for Little Bear.
Having been up this road in 1997, I expected an unpleasant hike but I felt great physically and began at a decent pace. The nice weather put me in a good mood and my trekking poles worked wonders. Not needing to stop much, I arrived at the lake at 5:20 and continued up the never ending road to a nice camping area right across from the gully to Little Bear's west ridge. Considering the huge elevation gain from Nebraska (2,800 ft to 11,900 ft) I thought I did rather well.
I chatted with a guy from Wisconsin who mentioned talking to a group that took 10 hours on their Little Bear climb the day before. And two years ago when I did Blanca a group of men told me they needed 7 hours. I never figured how much time to allot but was thinking at least 7 hours also. I scouted out some flat spots for the tents and all of a sudden, much earlier than expected, Tim came bounding up the road. I sure was glad to see him! We set up camp and Tim gathered wood for a fire while I made dinner. We gazed up at Little Bear- it didn't seem that far away- and talked a long time as it got dark. The evening was beautiful (no rain!) and the fire warmed us as nighttime brought a chill to the air.
When we turned in I suddenly started getting really sick. The high altitude was making me nauseous, so sick I wondered whether I'd be able to go in the morning. This was worse than at Capitol last year. I sure didn't want to bail out after getting this far. I took ibuprofen, gulped down water and chewed on some Rolaids. I kept drinking as much water as I could stand. I slept off and on for two hours and then lied awake until nearly 3:00. At 4:40 I awoke, unable to sleep anymore but feeling strangely well. It defies explanation- this happened on Capitol and Snowmass also.
After a bite to eat, Tim and I started at 5:30 in the dark, using flashlights, to cross the stream and begin our climb up to the west ridge. It was wonderful to see stars in the sky. And no clouds! Despite the darkness, the climbing was fairly easy and we reached the top in 30 minutes. We knew of two others who also were doing Little Bear- our neighbors camped behind us- but we wanted to be the first ones in the "Bowling Alley" if possible. They said their departure would be 6:30, giving us a one hour head start. When we topped out on the ridge we looked in front and behind us, not spotting anybody in the increasing daylight.
It took an hour to scramble the rocky ridge and traverse to the base of the Bowling Alley on a well marked route. After a short food break we put our helmets on and started up the class 3 section and entered the dreaded class 4 gully. A small stream of water ran down the middle and it quickly became obvious why the gully is so dangerous. Both sides rise high and steep, leaving the climber with little chance to get out of the way if a rock comes barreling down from above. Fortunately no one was above us- we kept a careful watch for others who might have somehow beat us to the gully.
We went up the middle in the water and to the left at times, but the rock on the left was very smooth and we noted that downclimbing it might be especially difficult without ropes. Climbing in the gully was steep but not that hard. Going up went well and soon the steepness gave way to easier climbing. I then saw for myself how dangerous a falling rock was as I inadvertently loosed one. It flew down, took a high bounce and shot right into the gully. Thank God no one was below.
We went for better rock towards the right and climbed to the ridge, finding ourselves between Little Bear and its south peak, our only routefinding mistake. We tried to follow the ridge to the summit but it was too dangerous- sheer dropoffs to the right and technical moves in front forced us drop down a bit on our left. From there we scrambled fairly easily up to the summit, happily pulling ourselves up on top at 8:05. We did it- Little Bear at last!
I was thrilled- I spent so many waking moments worrying about this peak and now we were here. Then totally satisfied because we handled the gully well and our timing was great. We weren't racing to make the top- we were very cautious yet it only took two and a half hours to summit.
To be on top of Little Bear viewing the Crestones, Ellingwood, Lindsey, and Blanca was the best! We enjoyed the sunny warm summit (too early in the morning for sunlight in the gully) taking photos and eating. I looked down at the connecting ridge to Blanca and decided it was something I wouldn't ever want to do. After 30 minutes it was time to leave.
At 8:35 we headed down, extremely careful to avoid kicking any rocks loose. We couldn't see into the gully yet and we didn't know where the neighbors were or if they were even there at all. But we soon spotted them in the gully working very slowly with a rope. We hollered to them and said we'd wait for them to get clear. Twenty minutes later they safely made it up and pulled over to the side, letting us begin our descent. We pointed out the direction to the summit as we passed them and then decided to follow the advice given me by the climbers on Maroon Peak.
They suggested when going down the gully, to go right back down the water where the holds were better- and that's what we did. Facing outward and getting gloves, boots, and behinds wet, we downclimbed that gully right in the water, sitting in it at times while securing holds but never feeling desperate. In short order we were down both the class 4 and 3 sections. I hollered "We're clear & thank you" and we stepped safely around the corner for a water break and to remove our helmets. Both of us concurred on how well it went.
With the worst behind us we scampered along the ridge to the last gully and at 10:35 pulled back into camp. We could hardly believe our timing- 5 hours and 5 minutes for the climb including all the breaks. Tim was pleased- he'd have time to get home and catch a parent conference at school in the evening. We packed up and set off at 11:15. I must have left caution up on Little Bear because I slipped and fell later on the road, rather embarrassing after just scaling the peak. We reached Tim's truck first at 1:00. He dropped me off at mine and we bid each other goodbye.
It was when I took off my backpack that I felt so thankful. I hadn't sensed any life threatening danger on the peak but was glad to be off it and in one piece. How hard was Little Bear really? Not as hard as I thought it would be. But only because we had the best of factors- superb weather, mostly dry rock and no climbers above us. If there was some ice in the gully, climbers above the gully, or if it was raining or foggy- my opinion would be entirely different.
Photo of gully to west ridge- taken at camp after descent
Backpack to camp- 2 hours 50 minutes
Total climb time from camp to summit and back- 5 hours 5 minutes
Backpack to Tim's truck- 1 hour 45 minutes