LEMKE CLIMBS
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    • Contact
  • Washington
    • North Cascades >
      • Sahale Peak, Boston Peak
      • Eldorado Peak, Klawatti Peak
      • Black Peak
      • Forbidden Peak West Ridge
      • Primus Peak Attempt
      • Big Snagtooth
      • Liberty Bell Beckey Route
      • Burgundy Spire North Face 5.8
      • Ragged Ridge - Katsuk, Kimtah and Cosho Peaks
      • Colfax Peak
      • South Early Winters Spire via SW Buttress
      • Chilliwack Mini-Slam
      • Mesahchie Peak
      • Inspiration Traverse
      • Mount Shuksan Ski
      • Full Pickets Traverse
      • Mount Goode NE Buttress & Storm King
      • Mount Baker North Ridge WI3
      • Snowfield Peak
      • Lincoln Peak
      • Silver Star Mountain
      • Mount Buckner & Horseshoe Peak
      • Azurite Peak
      • Tower Mountain & Golden Horn
      • Mount Logan
      • Custer Ridge & Easy Mox
      • Mazama Dome
      • Sherman Peak
      • Mount Ballard
      • Southern Pickets Traverse
      • Corteo Peak
      • Whatcom Peak
      • Castle Peak
    • Glacier Peak Wilderness >
      • Buck Creek Pass, Cloudy Peak, Spider Gap
      • Dome Peak, Spire Point
      • Mt. Maude and Seven Fingered Jack
      • Mount Formidable NE Face 5.6 Second Ascent
      • Dumbell and Greenwood Mountains
      • Glacier Peak Wilderness Mountain Massacre
      • Clark and Luahna Peaks
      • Sinister Peak
      • Chiwawa Mountain
      • Tupshin & Devore Peaks
      • Buck & Fortress Mountains
      • Glacier Peak
      • Snowking Mountain
    • Olympic Peninsula >
      • Buckhorn Mountain
      • Flapjack Lakes Hike
      • Grey Wolf Peak, High Divide Trail
      • Mount Ellinor
      • Mount Constance West Arete
      • Mount Olympus
    • Alpine Lakes Wilderness >
      • Chikamin Peak
      • PCT - Snoqualmie to Pete Lake
      • Necklace and Tank Lakes
      • Enchantments Day Hike
      • Granite Mountain (Snoqualmie)
      • Colchuck Peak
      • Cannon, Enchantment and Stuart
      • Ingalls Peaks
      • McClellan Peak
      • Dragontail Peak
      • Web Mountain
      • Mount Index Attempt
      • Snow Creek Wall Orbit 5.8+
      • The Tooth South Face
      • Eightmile Mountain
      • Argonaut Peak NE Couloir
      • Little Annapurna South Face 5.5
      • Snow Creek Wall Outer Space 5.9
      • Cashmere Mountain
      • Sherpa Peak North Ridge 5.8
      • Chair Peak NE Ridge
      • Lichtenburg Mountain
      • Mount Index
      • McClellan Butte
      • Chimney Rock
      • Alpine Lakes High Route
    • Pasayten Wilderness >
      • The Craggies
      • Tiffany Mountain
      • Pasayten Mini-Slam
      • Remmel Group
      • Jack Mountain
      • Robinson Mountain
      • Monument Peak Group
    • Mountain Loop Highway >
      • Vesper Peak
      • Mount Dickerman
      • Sloan Peak West Face 5.8
      • Mount Forgotten
      • Whitehorse Mountain
      • Gothic Peak
    • Lake Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness >
      • Star, Courtney, and Grey Peaks
      • Hoodoo Peak and Raven Ridge
      • Abernathy Peak
      • Mount Bigelow
      • Reynolds Peak
      • Oval Peak
      • Gardner Peaks
      • Chelan Sawtooth Trio
    • Southern WA >
      • Mount Adams
      • Mount Rainier - Emmons Route
      • Mount Saint Helens
      • Goat Peak
      • Lane Peak, Plummer Peak (Tatoosh)
      • The Unicorn (Tatoosh)
      • Little Tahoma
      • Liberty Cap
    • WA Rock and Ice Cragging >
      • Index Town Walls
      • Vantage
      • Mount Erie
      • Exit 38
      • Leavenworth
  • Colorado
    • San Juan Mountains >
      • Mount Sneffels Lavender Snow Climb
      • Uncompahgre, Matterhorn Peaks
      • Redcloud, Sunshine Peaks
      • San Luis Peak
      • Vermilion, Fuller Peaks
      • Stewart Peak, Baldy Alto
      • Jones, Niagara, American Peaks
      • Wetterhorn Peak, Handies Peak
      • Wilson Group
      • Arrow Peak
      • Mount Sneffels SW Ridge
      • Jagged Mountain, Chicago Basin
      • Teakettle Mountain
      • Dallas Peak
      • Vestal Peak Wham Ridge, Greystone Peak
      • Organ Mountain
      • Phoenix Peak
      • Half Peak
      • Point 13832 Group
      • Golden Horn
      • Mount Sneffels Snake Couloir
      • Pigeon, Turret Peaks
      • Trinity Peaks
    • Elk Mountains >
      • Four Pass Loop
      • Castle, Conundrum Peaks
      • Snowmass Mountain
      • Cathedral Peak
      • South Maroon Peak
      • The Pyramids
      • North Maroon Peak, Sleeping Sexton
      • Capitol Peak, Mount Daly
      • Malemute Peak
      • Hagerman Peak
    • Sangre de Cristo Mountains >
      • Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Point
      • Challenger Point
      • Mount Adams
      • Spread Eagle Peak
      • Humboldt, Obstruction, Columbia Peaks
      • Mount Lindsey, Huerfano Peak
      • Little Bear Peak
      • Crestone Needle Ellingwood Arete
      • California Peak
      • Crestone Peak North Buttress
      • Operation Dark Snake
      • Kit Carson Mountain
    • Sawatch Mountains >
      • Iowa Peak
      • Point 13,618 - Hunky Dory Lake
      • Gold Dust Peak, Notch Mountain
      • Mount Jackson
      • Mount Belford
      • Shavano, Tabeguache Peaks
      • Mount Antero, Cronin Peak
      • Twining Peak
      • Mount Massive
      • Casco Peak
      • Mount Huron
      • Mount Elbert
      • Mount Oxford
      • Mount Hope
      • Mount Yale
      • Lackawanna Peak
      • Mount Columbia
      • La Plata Peak
      • Rinker and Twin Peaks
      • Bull Hill, Mount Princeton
      • Missouri Mountain
      • Mount Oklahoma
      • French Mountain
      • Mount Ouray
      • Grizzly A, Garfield Peaks
      • Mount Harvard
      • The Three Apostles
      • Emerald Peak
      • Holy Cross
      • Mount Aetna
      • Deer Mountain
    • Greater Park Range >
      • Kneeknocker Pass, Piney Lake
      • Drift Peak
      • Sherman Peak, Dyer Peak
      • Gore Range Traverse
      • Quandary Peak
      • Pacific, Atlantic Peaks
      • Clark Peak
      • Crystal Peak, Peak 10
      • Fletcher Mountain
      • The DeCaLiBron
      • Loveland Mountain
      • The Mosquito Traverse
      • Mount Arkansas
      • Clinton Group
      • Eagles Nest, Peak C
      • North Star Mountain
      • Peak X
      • Wheeler Mountain
    • Front Range >
      • Mount Evans, Spalding
      • Mount Bierstadt
      • Mount Parnassus, Bard Peak
      • Cupid, Sniktau, Grizzly D Peaks
      • James Peak
      • Mount Silverheels
      • Grays and Torreys Peaks
      • Mount Edwards
      • Mount Flora, Longs Peak
      • Square Top Mountain
      • Petit Grepon South Face 5.8
      • Mount Meeker Dreamweaver Couloir
      • Santa Fe Peak
      • The Citadel & Pettingell
    • Colorado Ice Climbing >
      • Lincoln Ice Falls
      • Ouray Ice Park
      • Avocado Gully and The Drool
      • Hidden Falls
    • Colorado Rock Climbing >
      • Eldorado Canyon
      • The Flatirons
      • North Table Mountain
      • Colorado National Monument >
        • Independence Monument
  • Wyoming
    • Wind River Mountains >
      • Gone With the Winds
      • Union Peak - Solar Eclipse
      • Wind River Peak
      • Wind River Slam
    • Teton Range >
      • Grand Teton Owen Spalding 5.4
      • Mount Owen Attempt
    • Wyoming Absarokas and Gros Ventre Range >
      • Jackson Peak
      • Francs Peak
    • Yellowstone National Park >
      • Top Notch Peak
    • Bighorn Range and Great Divide Basin >
      • Boars Tusk
      • Loaf Mountain
      • Cloud Peak
      • Black Tooth Mountain
    • Devils Tower
    • Cody Rock and Ice Climbing
  • Montana
    • Beartooth Mountains >
      • Whitetail Peak Group
      • Beartooth Mountain
      • Spirit Mountain Group
      • Mount Peal
      • Granite Peak Group
      • Castle Rock Group
      • Castle Mountain NE Couloir
      • Mount Inabnit and Sylvan Peak
      • Mount Hague South Slopes
      • Mount Villard and The Granite Peaks Traverse - 5.4
      • Spirit Mountain NE Ridge - 5.4
      • California Ice WI 4
      • The Ramp 5.8
      • Linea Alba 5.10d
      • Iceberg Peak
      • Metcalf Mountain North Rib 5.8
      • Villard Spires HP West Ramp
      • Cairn Mountain
      • Snowbank Mountain
      • Mount Wood Group
      • Bears Tooth
      • Glacier Peak Catch-a-Sunrise FA
    • Southwest Montana Ranges >
      • Madison Range >
        • Koch Peak
        • Sphinx Mountain
        • Beehive Peak
        • South Sheep Mountain
      • Gallatin Range
      • Bridger Range >
        • Sacajawea Peak
        • Saddle Peak
        • Baldy Mountain
        • Ross Peak
      • Montana Absorakas >
        • Arrow Peak
        • Black Mountain
        • Mount Cowen
      • Tobacco Root Mountains >
        • Hollowtop Mountain
        • Belle Point
        • Noble Peak
        • Leggat Mountain
      • Crazy Mountains >
        • Crazy Peak
    • Glacier National Park >
      • A Taste of Glacier National Park
      • Divide Mountain
    • MT Rock and Ice Climbing
  • Utah
    • Uinta Mountains >
      • Kings-Emmons Ridge Run
      • Hayden Peak
      • Iron Hayden Wall Rock Climbing
    • Wasatch Range >
      • The Sundial Eleventh Hour 5.8
      • Mount Timpanogos
    • San Rafael Swell >
      • Ramp, Cistern Canyons
      • Salt Wash, Black Mountain, Moroni Slopes
      • Ding, Dang Canyons
      • Little Wild Horse, Bell Canyons
      • Quandary Canyon
      • San Rafael Knob
      • Miners Hollow (Knotted Rope Canyon)
      • Temple Mountain
      • Chimney Rock
      • Bottleneck Mesa
      • Window Blind Peak
      • Lower Baptist Draw & Upper Chute Canyon
    • Capitol Reef National Park >
      • Cathedral Valley Tour
      • Sheets Gulch
      • Halls Creek Narrows
      • Brimhall Canyon and Strike Valley Overlook
      • George Benchmark
    • Moab Area, Canyonlands, Arches >
      • Maze District
      • Needles District
      • Maze District
      • White Rim Trail Biking
      • Elephant Butte, Bullwinkle Tower and Lizard Rock
      • South Six Shooter
      • Elephant Canyon
      • Parriott Mesa
      • Ancient Art
      • Castleton Tower North Chimney 5.8
      • Klondike Bluffs
      • Mount Peale & Tukuhnikivatz
    • Robbers Roost Country >
      • Horseshoe Canyon, Goblin Valley
      • Bluejohn Canyon
      • Happy Canyon Narrows
      • Shenanigans, Leprechaun Slots
      • Larry Canyon
      • Merry Piglet Slot
      • Lower Maidenwater Canyon, Turkey Knob
      • Morocco Canyon
      • Monkey Business Slot
      • Hog Canyon Slots
      • Upper Maidenwater Canyon Slots
      • Mount Ellen
      • Buck Canyon
      • Point 4906
      • Alcatraz Canyon
      • Hard Day Harvey Slot
      • Mount Ellsworth
      • Good Day Jim Canyon
      • White Roost Canyon
      • Upper Stair Canyon
      • Dragon Canyon
    • Escalante National Monument >
      • Phipps Canyon and Arch
      • Red Breaks Slot
      • Dry Fork Slots, Coyote Gulch
      • Little Death Hollow/Wolverine Canyons
      • Egypt 3 Slot
      • Egypt 1 Canyon
    • Zion/Bryce >
      • Ataxia Tower Ashtar Command 5.9
      • Mount Kinesava Cowboy Ridge
      • Birch Hollow
      • Aires Butte
      • West Temple
      • Mystery Canyon
      • Crazy Streak
    • Cedar Mesa Region/Valley of the Gods >
      • Eagle Plume Tower Eagle Feather 5.10b
  • California
    • High Sierras, Southern CA Ranges >
      • Telescope Peak, Manly Beacon
      • Tahquitz Rock Whodunit 5.9
      • Tahquitz Rock Long Route 5.9
      • Palisade Traverse
      • White Mountain
    • Yosemite National Park, Central CA
    • Northern CA Cascades >
      • Lava Beds National Monument
      • Mount Shasta
  • Oregon
    • Oregon Volcanoes >
      • Three Fingered Jack
      • Mount Scott
    • Blue Mountains >
      • Twin Peaks
    • Trout Creek Rock Climbing
  • Alaska
    • Eagle Peak and Mount Ewe
    • Jatt Peak and Portage Pass
    • Rainbow Peak
    • Mount Brooks Attempt
    • Arrigetch Peaks Trek
    • Ab Mountain Hike
    • South Suicide Peak
    • Mount Hunter West Ridge Attempt
    • Cantata Peak Attempt
    • East Twin Peak
    • Mount Alice
    • Crow Pass and Hope Point Hikes
    • Indianhouse Mountain Attempt
    • Lynx Peak
    • Harding Icefield Hike
    • Hatcher Pass and Grapefruit Rocks Climbing
    • Mount Sanford
    • Mount Hunter West Ridge
    • Mount Fairweather
  • Nevada
    • Ginger Cracks 5.8
    • Mescalito Dark Shadows 5.8
    • Birdland and Olive Oil
    • Frogland 5.8
    • Johnny Vegas 5.8
    • Schaeffer's Delight & Triassic Sands
    • Solar Slab - 5.6
  • British Columbia
    • Mount Matier
    • Taiya Peak
    • Bugaboo Spire NE Ridge
    • Mount Sabine Easy Honey 5.10b
    • Mount Sir Donald NW Ridge Attempt
    • Black Tusk
    • Slesse Mountain NE Buttress
    • Warden Peak
    • Triple Peak
    • Gimli Peak
    • Mount Waddington
  • Alberta
    • Mist Ridge Hike
    • Mount Temple Attempt
    • East Wendell Peak
    • Loder Peak
    • Tower Mountain Attempt
    • The Rimwall
    • Mount Yamnuska Directissima 5.9
    • Mount Lawrence Grassi
    • Mount Lorette
    • Roche A Perdrix
    • Mount Edith Cavell East Ridge 5.3
    • Mount Louis Kain Route
    • Eiffel Peak
    • Mount Alberta
    • Canadian Rockies Ice Climbing
  • Other States
    • Arizona >
      • Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail
      • Beanfest at Cochise Stronghold
      • Baboquivari Peak
      • Humphreys Peak
    • New Mexico >
      • Philmont Trek August 2008
    • Yukon >
      • Canyon Peak
  • International
    • Mexico & Central America >
      • Mexico - Pico de Orizaba, Izta
      • Guatemala Volcanoes
    • South America >
      • Chile >
        • An Introduction to Patagonia
        • Exploring Pucon and Lanin Volcano
        • Cerro Puntado & Palo
        • Cerro Colorado
        • Cerro Puno & Agudo
        • Cerro Trinidad Attempt
        • Volcan Quetrupillan
        • Cerro Placas
        • Volcan Puyehue
        • Cerro Conico
        • Cerro Barros Arana
        • Cerro Cordillerano
        • Ojos del Salado
      • Argentina >
        • Nahuel Huapi National Park & The Frey
        • Cerro Helio Azul & Tronador Attempt
        • Aguja Guillaumet Amy Couloir
        • Nevado de Acay
        • Chiaro de Luna
      • Peru >
        • Cordillera Blanca - Tocllaraju and Urus
        • Cordillera Blanca - Ishinca Peak and Artesonraju
        • Cordillera Blanca - Quitaraju & Alpamayo
        • Exploring Southern Peru
      • Bolivia >
        • Pequeno Alpamayo
        • Huayna Potosi
        • Illimani
    • Oceania >
      • Exploring New Zealand's South Island
      • Puncak Jaya
      • Mount McPherson and Talbot
      • Single Cone
      • Mount Cook
      • Mount Aspiring
      • Manakau
      • Mount Wilhelm
    • Central Asia >
      • Kyrgyzstan 2021
    • Europe >
      • Iceland & Faroe >
        • Snaefellsjokull
        • Kaldbakur
        • Slaettaratindur
  • Sorted by Year
    • 2008 Trip Reports
    • 2009 Trip Reports
    • 2010 Trip Reports
    • 2011 Trip Reports
    • 2012 Trip Reports
    • 2013 Trip Reports
    • 2014 Trip Reports
    • 2015 Trip Reports
    • 2016 Trip Reports
    • 2017 Trip Reports
    • 2018 Trip Reports
    • 2019 Trip Reports
    • 2020 Trip Reports
    • 2021 Trip Reports
    • 2022 Trip Reports
    • 2023 Trip Reports
  • Vanlife
    • Conversion Journal >
      • Floor Installation
      • Folding Bed
      • Coffee Table
      • Thinsulate Installation
      • The Couch
      • The Wardrobe
      • Bookshelf
      • Water System
      • Electrical System
      • The Pantry
      • Refrigerator
      • Tire Upgrade
      • Heating System
      • Composting Toilet
  • About
    • Whats New
    • 2019 Goals/Wishlist
    • Contact
  • Washington
    • North Cascades >
      • Sahale Peak, Boston Peak
      • Eldorado Peak, Klawatti Peak
      • Black Peak
      • Forbidden Peak West Ridge
      • Primus Peak Attempt
      • Big Snagtooth
      • Liberty Bell Beckey Route
      • Burgundy Spire North Face 5.8
      • Ragged Ridge - Katsuk, Kimtah and Cosho Peaks
      • Colfax Peak
      • South Early Winters Spire via SW Buttress
      • Chilliwack Mini-Slam
      • Mesahchie Peak
      • Inspiration Traverse
      • Mount Shuksan Ski
      • Full Pickets Traverse
      • Mount Goode NE Buttress & Storm King
      • Mount Baker North Ridge WI3
      • Snowfield Peak
      • Lincoln Peak
      • Silver Star Mountain
      • Mount Buckner & Horseshoe Peak
      • Azurite Peak
      • Tower Mountain & Golden Horn
      • Mount Logan
      • Custer Ridge & Easy Mox
      • Mazama Dome
      • Sherman Peak
      • Mount Ballard
      • Southern Pickets Traverse
      • Corteo Peak
      • Whatcom Peak
      • Castle Peak
    • Glacier Peak Wilderness >
      • Buck Creek Pass, Cloudy Peak, Spider Gap
      • Dome Peak, Spire Point
      • Mt. Maude and Seven Fingered Jack
      • Mount Formidable NE Face 5.6 Second Ascent
      • Dumbell and Greenwood Mountains
      • Glacier Peak Wilderness Mountain Massacre
      • Clark and Luahna Peaks
      • Sinister Peak
      • Chiwawa Mountain
      • Tupshin & Devore Peaks
      • Buck & Fortress Mountains
      • Glacier Peak
      • Snowking Mountain
    • Olympic Peninsula >
      • Buckhorn Mountain
      • Flapjack Lakes Hike
      • Grey Wolf Peak, High Divide Trail
      • Mount Ellinor
      • Mount Constance West Arete
      • Mount Olympus
    • Alpine Lakes Wilderness >
      • Chikamin Peak
      • PCT - Snoqualmie to Pete Lake
      • Necklace and Tank Lakes
      • Enchantments Day Hike
      • Granite Mountain (Snoqualmie)
      • Colchuck Peak
      • Cannon, Enchantment and Stuart
      • Ingalls Peaks
      • McClellan Peak
      • Dragontail Peak
      • Web Mountain
      • Mount Index Attempt
      • Snow Creek Wall Orbit 5.8+
      • The Tooth South Face
      • Eightmile Mountain
      • Argonaut Peak NE Couloir
      • Little Annapurna South Face 5.5
      • Snow Creek Wall Outer Space 5.9
      • Cashmere Mountain
      • Sherpa Peak North Ridge 5.8
      • Chair Peak NE Ridge
      • Lichtenburg Mountain
      • Mount Index
      • McClellan Butte
      • Chimney Rock
      • Alpine Lakes High Route
    • Pasayten Wilderness >
      • The Craggies
      • Tiffany Mountain
      • Pasayten Mini-Slam
      • Remmel Group
      • Jack Mountain
      • Robinson Mountain
      • Monument Peak Group
    • Mountain Loop Highway >
      • Vesper Peak
      • Mount Dickerman
      • Sloan Peak West Face 5.8
      • Mount Forgotten
      • Whitehorse Mountain
      • Gothic Peak
    • Lake Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness >
      • Star, Courtney, and Grey Peaks
      • Hoodoo Peak and Raven Ridge
      • Abernathy Peak
      • Mount Bigelow
      • Reynolds Peak
      • Oval Peak
      • Gardner Peaks
      • Chelan Sawtooth Trio
    • Southern WA >
      • Mount Adams
      • Mount Rainier - Emmons Route
      • Mount Saint Helens
      • Goat Peak
      • Lane Peak, Plummer Peak (Tatoosh)
      • The Unicorn (Tatoosh)
      • Little Tahoma
      • Liberty Cap
    • WA Rock and Ice Cragging >
      • Index Town Walls
      • Vantage
      • Mount Erie
      • Exit 38
      • Leavenworth
  • Colorado
    • San Juan Mountains >
      • Mount Sneffels Lavender Snow Climb
      • Uncompahgre, Matterhorn Peaks
      • Redcloud, Sunshine Peaks
      • San Luis Peak
      • Vermilion, Fuller Peaks
      • Stewart Peak, Baldy Alto
      • Jones, Niagara, American Peaks
      • Wetterhorn Peak, Handies Peak
      • Wilson Group
      • Arrow Peak
      • Mount Sneffels SW Ridge
      • Jagged Mountain, Chicago Basin
      • Teakettle Mountain
      • Dallas Peak
      • Vestal Peak Wham Ridge, Greystone Peak
      • Organ Mountain
      • Phoenix Peak
      • Half Peak
      • Point 13832 Group
      • Golden Horn
      • Mount Sneffels Snake Couloir
      • Pigeon, Turret Peaks
      • Trinity Peaks
    • Elk Mountains >
      • Four Pass Loop
      • Castle, Conundrum Peaks
      • Snowmass Mountain
      • Cathedral Peak
      • South Maroon Peak
      • The Pyramids
      • North Maroon Peak, Sleeping Sexton
      • Capitol Peak, Mount Daly
      • Malemute Peak
      • Hagerman Peak
    • Sangre de Cristo Mountains >
      • Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Point
      • Challenger Point
      • Mount Adams
      • Spread Eagle Peak
      • Humboldt, Obstruction, Columbia Peaks
      • Mount Lindsey, Huerfano Peak
      • Little Bear Peak
      • Crestone Needle Ellingwood Arete
      • California Peak
      • Crestone Peak North Buttress
      • Operation Dark Snake
      • Kit Carson Mountain
    • Sawatch Mountains >
      • Iowa Peak
      • Point 13,618 - Hunky Dory Lake
      • Gold Dust Peak, Notch Mountain
      • Mount Jackson
      • Mount Belford
      • Shavano, Tabeguache Peaks
      • Mount Antero, Cronin Peak
      • Twining Peak
      • Mount Massive
      • Casco Peak
      • Mount Huron
      • Mount Elbert
      • Mount Oxford
      • Mount Hope
      • Mount Yale
      • Lackawanna Peak
      • Mount Columbia
      • La Plata Peak
      • Rinker and Twin Peaks
      • Bull Hill, Mount Princeton
      • Missouri Mountain
      • Mount Oklahoma
      • French Mountain
      • Mount Ouray
      • Grizzly A, Garfield Peaks
      • Mount Harvard
      • The Three Apostles
      • Emerald Peak
      • Holy Cross
      • Mount Aetna
      • Deer Mountain
    • Greater Park Range >
      • Kneeknocker Pass, Piney Lake
      • Drift Peak
      • Sherman Peak, Dyer Peak
      • Gore Range Traverse
      • Quandary Peak
      • Pacific, Atlantic Peaks
      • Clark Peak
      • Crystal Peak, Peak 10
      • Fletcher Mountain
      • The DeCaLiBron
      • Loveland Mountain
      • The Mosquito Traverse
      • Mount Arkansas
      • Clinton Group
      • Eagles Nest, Peak C
      • North Star Mountain
      • Peak X
      • Wheeler Mountain
    • Front Range >
      • Mount Evans, Spalding
      • Mount Bierstadt
      • Mount Parnassus, Bard Peak
      • Cupid, Sniktau, Grizzly D Peaks
      • James Peak
      • Mount Silverheels
      • Grays and Torreys Peaks
      • Mount Edwards
      • Mount Flora, Longs Peak
      • Square Top Mountain
      • Petit Grepon South Face 5.8
      • Mount Meeker Dreamweaver Couloir
      • Santa Fe Peak
      • The Citadel & Pettingell
    • Colorado Ice Climbing >
      • Lincoln Ice Falls
      • Ouray Ice Park
      • Avocado Gully and The Drool
      • Hidden Falls
    • Colorado Rock Climbing >
      • Eldorado Canyon
      • The Flatirons
      • North Table Mountain
      • Colorado National Monument >
        • Independence Monument
  • Wyoming
    • Wind River Mountains >
      • Gone With the Winds
      • Union Peak - Solar Eclipse
      • Wind River Peak
      • Wind River Slam
    • Teton Range >
      • Grand Teton Owen Spalding 5.4
      • Mount Owen Attempt
    • Wyoming Absarokas and Gros Ventre Range >
      • Jackson Peak
      • Francs Peak
    • Yellowstone National Park >
      • Top Notch Peak
    • Bighorn Range and Great Divide Basin >
      • Boars Tusk
      • Loaf Mountain
      • Cloud Peak
      • Black Tooth Mountain
    • Devils Tower
    • Cody Rock and Ice Climbing
  • Montana
    • Beartooth Mountains >
      • Whitetail Peak Group
      • Beartooth Mountain
      • Spirit Mountain Group
      • Mount Peal
      • Granite Peak Group
      • Castle Rock Group
      • Castle Mountain NE Couloir
      • Mount Inabnit and Sylvan Peak
      • Mount Hague South Slopes
      • Mount Villard and The Granite Peaks Traverse - 5.4
      • Spirit Mountain NE Ridge - 5.4
      • California Ice WI 4
      • The Ramp 5.8
      • Linea Alba 5.10d
      • Iceberg Peak
      • Metcalf Mountain North Rib 5.8
      • Villard Spires HP West Ramp
      • Cairn Mountain
      • Snowbank Mountain
      • Mount Wood Group
      • Bears Tooth
      • Glacier Peak Catch-a-Sunrise FA
    • Southwest Montana Ranges >
      • Madison Range >
        • Koch Peak
        • Sphinx Mountain
        • Beehive Peak
        • South Sheep Mountain
      • Gallatin Range
      • Bridger Range >
        • Sacajawea Peak
        • Saddle Peak
        • Baldy Mountain
        • Ross Peak
      • Montana Absorakas >
        • Arrow Peak
        • Black Mountain
        • Mount Cowen
      • Tobacco Root Mountains >
        • Hollowtop Mountain
        • Belle Point
        • Noble Peak
        • Leggat Mountain
      • Crazy Mountains >
        • Crazy Peak
    • Glacier National Park >
      • A Taste of Glacier National Park
      • Divide Mountain
    • MT Rock and Ice Climbing
  • Utah
    • Uinta Mountains >
      • Kings-Emmons Ridge Run
      • Hayden Peak
      • Iron Hayden Wall Rock Climbing
    • Wasatch Range >
      • The Sundial Eleventh Hour 5.8
      • Mount Timpanogos
    • San Rafael Swell >
      • Ramp, Cistern Canyons
      • Salt Wash, Black Mountain, Moroni Slopes
      • Ding, Dang Canyons
      • Little Wild Horse, Bell Canyons
      • Quandary Canyon
      • San Rafael Knob
      • Miners Hollow (Knotted Rope Canyon)
      • Temple Mountain
      • Chimney Rock
      • Bottleneck Mesa
      • Window Blind Peak
      • Lower Baptist Draw & Upper Chute Canyon
    • Capitol Reef National Park >
      • Cathedral Valley Tour
      • Sheets Gulch
      • Halls Creek Narrows
      • Brimhall Canyon and Strike Valley Overlook
      • George Benchmark
    • Moab Area, Canyonlands, Arches >
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LEMKE CLIMBS

Kit carson mountain

kit carson mountain - 14165' - The prow class 5.8
My Colorado 14er finisher - ​august 2020

Despite the horribly smoke air we have been having here in Colorado, my current roommate and I wanted to climb The Prow route up Kit Carson Mountain. Kit Carson is a large mountain in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado, and sits just across the more famous Crestone Peak. This was my final Colorado 14er, which finished the Colorado portion of a low priority quest for me to finish all the 14ers in the CONUS. I started my first 14er during my very first semester in College back in September of 2008, but didn't get the chance to finish all 58 of them before I graduated in 2012. After that, I left Colorado and didn't really come back until fall of 2019.

Kit Carson actually has given me some grief over the years, and I have three attempts where I tried to reach its summit all be foiled due to the prescance of snow when I was much less expereinced travelling over steep snow. Twice, I scrambled up Chellenger Point, which is the peak next to Kit Carson, and didn't reach the summit due to snow covering the Kit Carson Avenue. These attempts were back in 2011. These days I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but I had much lower limits on what I was comfortable with back then. Then, in May of 2012 I ascended Humboldt and Columbia Point, but was not comfortable making the traverse to Kit Carson due to snow and ice covering the steep class 3-4 scramble down from Columbia Point. So alas, I never got around to finishing Kit Carson before I left Colorado for good in June 2012.

Yesterday, the time had finally arrived for me to finish. I was never in a hurry to complete the 14ers, and I always put Kit Carson on the back burner in more recent years until I could find someone to climb the Prow with, since this was a route I developed the desire to do once I became more versed in technical alpine rock climbing.

My biggest concern on this route is the afternoon thunderstorms, and the overhanging crux on the bottom of the route. Once you climb above that crux on the first pitch you're committed to the top. My second concern was the smoke in the air from Colorado's most historic wildfire season in recent memory that is currently going on. Since two of my roommates did this route a few weeks ago, my third roommate and I decided we wanted to do it as well. This was also going to be my finisher so I had plenty of motivation. Last weekend, we planned to go for it dut a deteoriating weather forecast and unrelenting smoke had us push it back a week.

With the weather calling for just a 20% chance of thunderstorms after 3pm in the Sangres, we drove out Friday evening to the Spanish Creek Trailhead. We did not camp at this trailhead though since it sits on private property, but instead drove partway up the road to the Willow Creek TH and car camped just past the NF wilderness boundary. We didn't arrive until 11pm so we went right to sleep as soon as we arrived with a 4am alarm.

Once we woke up, we drove back through the town of Crestone and down to the Spanish Creek Trailhead which is a small pull off on the east side of Camino Baca Grande right where it intersects the Spanish Creek Trail Road. This pullout is also about 120 feet north of where Camino Baca Grande crosses Spanish Creek. This approach via Spanish Creek has a long history of issues due to the private property it crosses at the beginning before reaching the national forest lands. I hope to provide some recent info about this approach here.

By 5am we were off, and started up the old jeep road following fairly close to Spanish Creek consistentely 150 feet north of it for the first quarter mile or so. Back in 2008, the private property issues were settled out, and a public access trail was established, which follows the steps outlined below. The overall distance of the approach from the trailhead to the base of the Prow is 4 miles and gains 3350 feet.

1. From the pullout mentioned above, hike east on the old jeep road, narrowing into a single track trail which is easy to follow through sparse trees for 0.3 mile, passing just below and slightly south of the Crestone Mahalakshmi Temple, which is a Hindu place of gathering and worship (actually a pretty cool sounding cultural experience to visit if they allow non-Hindus).

2. The trail in step 1 meets up with a more established road heading east towards the valley. Follow this road for 200 feet where you'll come across a small pool of water, and a water storage box next to the creek. There was a white painted 2 by 12 lumber bridge crossing the stream here that is used to make the first of 6 stream crossings. Please be respectful and quiet when hiking from the trailhead through to this first crossing, and beyond until reaching the FS boundary, and do not camp or start fires. Also, Spanish Creek is the only source of water for the temples and residences along the segment entire Camino Baca Road around Spanish Creek. Please do not taint them!

3. After crossing to the south side of the creek, follow the trail up a small hill for 400 feet, where you cross a water pipeline following another road. Walk east up this road, passing by a hot tub sized water storage tank buried into the ground, and enter the valley where the ridges on both start to steeply jut up adjacent to you. Follow the trail up the valley, and cross Spanish Creek 5 more times, with the final, 6th crossing bringing you back to the north side. All these crossings have nice log bridges and are in the first mile from the trailhead.

4. After the 6th crossing, follow the trail up as it steepens, then levels out where the old burn area is, and eventually reaching the base of the Prow, which is reached just under 3 more miles from the 6th crossing. The trail is very cairned and generally easy to follow despite past reports saying otherwise. Perhaps over the past 5 years or so enough people have taken it to improve it dramatically. Reall the only obstacles are the occational logs to step over or crawl under. The trail reaches a point directly below the Prow at 11,600 feet, which is where you leave the trail and begin ascending stright up.

It started to get light as we approached shortly before we started the steeper part of the trail. There is a section of the valley between about 10,000 and 10,800 feet that is fairly steep, but nothing to worry about. Once we reached 11,600 feet right below where the Prow drops down from Kit Carson, we dropped one of our packs, put the harnesses on and started scrambling north steeply up the talus towards the base of the lower part of the buttress. From 12,000 to 12,440 feet we scrambled up class 2 grassy ledges and short gullies to where the lower buttress steepened, and we continued up class 3 rock on the famous Crestone Conglomerate, weaving our way straight up the crest until it flattened out for a bit at 12,700 feet. The smoke was thick, but got slightly better as we gained elevation. For some information about how devestating the fires in Colorado have been this year, read this article. The Pine Gulch fire is set to surpass the 2002 Hayman Fire as the largest in state history real soon.

We then followed the crest, crossing just to the right of a small rock tower, then up some 4th class terrain until we reached the base of the first pitch (which most will call a scramble pitch). We solod it by veering to the left (west) side of the ridge and followed a ledge until we were right below the platform right at the crux overhang. We scrambled up a low 5th class wall with small ledges for holds until reaching the platform where we rested and finished racking up. Climbing up the crux overhang was actually pretty tricky. I gave my partner a bit of a boost since I am so tall, and she was able to lead up through it. I was also to reach uphigh over the overhang to place a small nut for some extra pro as she made the sequence to pull over. After getting up, it's an immediate traverse to the left, then continuing up on somewhat runout face climbing.

Starting the scramble up
 
Challenger Point
View of the Prow
First scramble pitch
Challenger Point
Climbing above the overhang
 
Columbia Point
Crestone Peak


The climb itself was pretty great, with 5 pitches of fun 5.5-5.6 climbing after surmounting the 5.8 overhang. Each pitch had a perfect ledge to belay from. At the top of the second pitch, there is a really cool gendarme that must be climbed over. The third pitch descends a few feet from the top, then traverses to the next step. After the 5th pitch we started simul-climbing as the angle mellowed out, and just as we neared the top of the Prow where it intersects with the Kit Carson Avenue, it started hailing, and then I heard the rocks buzzing and got shocked everytime I tried to move my hands. We were on the worst part of the route when the storm bluw over, due to the narrow exposed fin at nearly 14000 feet elevation! We were still 40 meters apart as we hadn't finished simul-climbing yet as well. After 25 minutes of wondering if I was going to get struck by lightning, it passed, and then started to drop lightning on the Crestones just across the valley from us.

We found a nice rock cave along the Avenue to wait out the next batch of hail, which continued for nearly an hour, but luckily there still wasn't any lightning hitting Kit Carson. When I saw a potential break in the storm, we made a dash for the summit. Since the final 5.6 pitch that heads straight up the continuation of the Prow was now wet, we opted to descend the Avenue (which is a big ledge that encircles the entire south side of the upper mountain) to meet the standard route, then run up the final 500 feet of class 2 terrain to the top. We reached the top with merely minutes to spare, as another large storm was approaching from the NW. After standing on top for only a few minutes, my climbing partner noticed my hair start to stand on end, and we bolted it down! What a way to finish the 14ers!

 
 
Beautiful exposed climbing
Climbing up and over the gendarme
 
Looking up our 4th pitch
Crestone Peak
 
Storm rolling in
View of the final pitch
Challenger Point
 
 
Columbia Point
View north from the summit
 
 
View south from the summit
Excited to be on top


We continued descending down towards the east to the start of the south couloir. It was a straightforward class 3 descent down the skiers right side of the couloir. We did not enter the narrow couloir as it was filled with loose rubble. As we descended we got an ever improving profile view of the route we had just climbed. It was incredible looking. Once we reached the valley floor once again, it was a nice evening walk out, and we reached the trailhead just as it got dark. The 4 hour drive back to Denver was difficult, but we switched driving roles and made it back just before 1am...long day!

While this was my final 14er, I still have 4 of the Centennial peaks left to do (which are the highest 100 peaks in Colorado). As of this writing only 2 people have completed both the Colorado Centennials and the WA Bulgers (Eric Gilbertson was the second to finish both lists this summer). It's pretty likely I'll end up being the 3rd. The Centennials are 1/10 the overall difficulty as the Bulgers though.

Profile view of the lower pitches
Looking up the steep south face of Kit Carson
 
 
 
 
A look back at the Prow from Spanish Creek
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