This trip report was originally written by Roland Marill and posted on 14ers.com. Roland has since deleted his account and this trip report is no longer posted anywhere else. Justin and I spent some time in the Sangres recently and it reminded me of this fun climb on the Prow. I thought it might be fun to share this report again.
- Laura
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The Prow on KC (or is it Watchumacallit now?) Laurabelle & Roland ...plus
much more for one of us |
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Peaks: |
Kit Carson Peak - 14,165
feet |
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Post
Date: |
09/26/2011 |
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Date
Climbed: |
09/24/2011 |
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Posted
By: |
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The short story: Laura (Laurabelle) & I climbed the Prow car to car on Saturday. Plus Laura went on to Challenger & Columbia & Kat Carson &... for a moment I though she was going for all the Sangres.
The long version:
Laura is making me revisit some of the most enjoyable climbs & hikes of my youth. Although "youth" is a relative term in this case because I was in my 50s when I first climbed those, but that was the previous decade so technically I was younger. Well...not just technically.
So last September we had a very cold but fun day on Ellingwood Ledges on Crestone Needle
Because of Laura's busy schedule, more on this later, and also because my wife & I like to spend at least some of the week-end together, we made it in a single day which isn't too bad and has some advantages. For instance I remember going up there an afternoon in July 2002 (or was it 2003?) and the hike in with camping + climbing gear was tough. The Spanish Creek drainage is one hot place in July!
More apologies back & forth and I was on my way for the next pitch. Everything else went very well.
We simul-climb a good portion of the top sections.
Which one do you want to see coming with SAR?
I chatted for a little while with her owners that we would meet again on the summit. Then just like that Laura was back.
We tied back in the rope and made short time of the final pitch from the Avenue to the top.
On the summit we met some friendly 14ers.com members and then the dog and her owners arrived. Laura & the young lady who was wearing and Ironman triathlon T-shirt exchanged stories of ironmen triathletes (That doesn't sound right, does it?) and talked race strategy etc... I was exhausted just listening.
After a while we said goodbye and were on our way down. Well at least I was. We got back to the lowest point of the Avenue then hopped over to the South couloir. Laura went up to Columbia
and Kat Carson while I waited at the top of the couloir.
She really didn't take long at all and we were on our way down for good this time. We went down the scree in the couloir proper for a little bit then moved out of it skier right and down grassy & slabby slopes that we followed almost to the bottom. Back in the valley we managed to pick up the trail fairly quickly and were on our way. We were treated to the beautiful sights of the sunlight playing through the canopy of a forest of huge aspens.
We got back to the car crossing the creek 5 times (not 6 as described on MP...Maybe I should get some money after all), tried for a beer at the "Laughing Bhudda Lounge" but they had a private party going on and we hadn't been invited. So we just hit the road to the Springs. While I drove Laura tried to relax and prep up for her next big day...Sunday morning she had signed up to go run a 50K race in Lakewood.
So Sunday while I relaxed in the hot tub sipping on some cool Pinot Grigio, Laura was running a 50K race. I hope she did well too because "I ain't climbing with no slacker" "Hand me the Pinot please."
Direction:
Drive 3.6 Mi from the start of Baca Grande.
On your way pass 2 creeks 0.8 and 2.2 Mi. There are some road markers when going over the creeks. The 3rd is Spanish Creek.Large pullout on left after the ashram and just before the Zen center. We just dropped our tent behind the car (10pm till 4am). Down the road for just a little bit to get on the South side of the creek. Then hit the trail going east through private land. (This is not a ranch owned by Texans so you won't get shot at but might as well keep quiet anyway) On my 2 trips down there I never saw anyone.
You'll cross the creek an odd number of times overall because you begin on the south side of it and must end up on the north side going up. We may have crossed 7 times on the way up but only 5 times (for sure we counted) on the way down
First the trail turns into a dirt road then back to a trail moving away and then closer to the creek.
The creek crossings are pretty obvious. If you're on one side and begin to bushwack for too long then retrace your steps until you find where to cross because most than likely the trail is on the other side of the creek.
In the fallen timber area follow the cairns. It's passed mostly on the right of the area when going up.
Tech:
I had a small rack. 9 cams (#3, #2, #1, #.75 C4 BD, red alien and red metolius, grey, yellow, green aliens). I'm sure I used all the aliens while climbing & the bigger stuff for our first belay.
Did mostly hip belays after this.
The rope: 8.2mm 1/2 rope. Not my brightest idea but it is light. On this type of terrain obviously you don't want to take a lead fall so the diameter of the rope isn't too important. It's runnout, certainly by today standard, but the rock is solid and the climbing not very difficult. It's steep at the beginning but holds are plentiful. It's conglomerate though, so if you happen to pull a rock out of its socket just hang on and you've got yourself a new hold. The route is easy to follow, it's a pretty narrow ridge, just follow the obvious pass of least resistance and that's it. Up left after the initial overhang then ascending right then back left to the middle of ridge for the first pitch. The rest is very obvious.
Laura is making me revisit some of the most enjoyable climbs & hikes of my youth. Although "youth" is a relative term in this case because I was in my 50s when I first climbed those, but that was the previous decade so technically I was younger. Well...not just technically.
So last September we had a very cold but fun day on Ellingwood Ledges on Crestone Needle
Ellingwood Ledges...cold
Ellingwood Ledges end of 2nd pitch
Ellingwood Ledges class 4 scramble
This year a balmy and most enjoyable day on the Prow.
The Prow Basking in the sun at the base
Because of Laura's busy schedule, more on this later, and also because my wife & I like to spend at least some of the week-end together, we made it in a single day which isn't too bad and has some advantages. For instance I remember going up there an afternoon in July 2002 (or was it 2003?) and the hike in with camping + climbing gear was tough. The Spanish Creek drainage is one hot place in July!
This time, in the fresh hours of the early morning, carrying just what was needed for the climb (small rack & 8.2mm 1/2 rope 70m) and a day out, the hike in wasn't bad at all. Even the fallen timber area wasn't as bad as I remembered it. In spite of the fact that we had to hike for 1hr30 in the dark we didn't get lost too many times on the "disappearing" trail. I guess I won't get any money from Tim, then. We had a bet that I wouldn't get lost by following the instructions posted on MP. We left the pull out on the road at 4:30am and were below the short initial pitch of the Prow around 8:30 or so.
Climb up & left to a good stance, where I put 2 cams one for pro & one to clip Laura's bag. She sent my bag on the rope, then hers. And I was on my way. That's when I screwed up. I'm pretty sure that the first time I climbed the Prow I had setup a first belay somewhere around halfway up the first buttress. Instead this time I went up all the way for almost the entire length of the rope to the top of the buttress (I have to say that I was really enjoying the climbing), where, lucky for me, I set up a very good belay using the last 3 cams on my rack. Every single one fit perfectly. What are the chances of this? Although Laura said she could hear me I couldn't hear her at all. Either sound travels better on the way down than up or I need to believe Marcia, my dear wife, when she suggests not to discard all these hearing aid ads I receive all the time.
At first the total lack of communication wasn't a problem: I pulled up the few meters of slack left and felt tension, put Laura on belay and felt that she was starting to climb for a few feet... But then the rope went tense and all movement stopped. This situation lasted for sometime. I was calling Laura on top of my lungs but couldn't hear a peep in return. Growing more and more concerned I slowly released the length of rope that I had pulled, I could feel that the rope wasn't weighted so this reassured me a little bit, and I put myself on a single rope rappel. I went down and when I came across my last protection I took the sling and re-used it as a flimsy autoblock... It didn't work well at all on an 8.2mm single rope. I had a thought for all the wider ropes I could have chosen but left at home instead. I rappelled down until I could see and talk to Laura. She was as always happy & smiling enjoying every bit of what was happening. Big sigh of relief ! We apologized profusely to each other "I'm sorry Roland"..."No. It's my fault I screwed up" etc... And she explained to me that she needed some slack to get pass the initial overhang because with tension the rope would get stuck under the overhanging face on the left and she couldn't remove it and hold herself at the same time. So it's on the Internet now: Laura can't do a pull up using only the pinky finger of one hand.
So up I went again, pushing the autoblock up the rope to "protect" myself as I climbed, it looked even flimsier now, until I was back at the belay station. Now I knew what to do with the belaying and Laura went up the pitch very fast as usual. Just stopping briefly to get her bag and remove the pro.
Such perfect weather for climbing, and such a splendid view too. Short initial pitch, done pretty quickly. Then the real 1st pitch with the bouldering style crux right of the gate. Not bad at all. Pull up, grab some good holds, move left.
Climb up & left to a good stance, where I put 2 cams one for pro & one to clip Laura's bag. She sent my bag on the rope, then hers. And I was on my way. That's when I screwed up. I'm pretty sure that the first time I climbed the Prow I had setup a first belay somewhere around halfway up the first buttress. Instead this time I went up all the way for almost the entire length of the rope to the top of the buttress (I have to say that I was really enjoying the climbing), where, lucky for me, I set up a very good belay using the last 3 cams on my rack. Every single one fit perfectly. What are the chances of this? Although Laura said she could hear me I couldn't hear her at all. Either sound travels better on the way down than up or I need to believe Marcia, my dear wife, when she suggests not to discard all these hearing aid ads I receive all the time.
At first the total lack of communication wasn't a problem: I pulled up the few meters of slack left and felt tension, put Laura on belay and felt that she was starting to climb for a few feet... But then the rope went tense and all movement stopped. This situation lasted for sometime. I was calling Laura on top of my lungs but couldn't hear a peep in return. Growing more and more concerned I slowly released the length of rope that I had pulled, I could feel that the rope wasn't weighted so this reassured me a little bit, and I put myself on a single rope rappel. I went down and when I came across my last protection I took the sling and re-used it as a flimsy autoblock... It didn't work well at all on an 8.2mm single rope. I had a thought for all the wider ropes I could have chosen but left at home instead. I rappelled down until I could see and talk to Laura. She was as always happy & smiling enjoying every bit of what was happening. Big sigh of relief ! We apologized profusely to each other "I'm sorry Roland"..."No. It's my fault I screwed up" etc... And she explained to me that she needed some slack to get pass the initial overhang because with tension the rope would get stuck under the overhanging face on the left and she couldn't remove it and hold herself at the same time. So it's on the Internet now: Laura can't do a pull up using only the pinky finger of one hand.
So up I went again, pushing the autoblock up the rope to "protect" myself as I climbed, it looked even flimsier now, until I was back at the belay station. Now I knew what to do with the belaying and Laura went up the pitch very fast as usual. Just stopping briefly to get her bag and remove the pro.
Laura finishes our 1st pitch
Higher up
Note to self: When simul-climbing DO NOT let Laura in the lead. Reason: the lady has no clue whatsoever about the fact that most of us MUST BREATHE FOR A LIVING.
So GASP! GASP! I made it to the Avenue where Laura asked how long I thought it would take to go to Challenger. I said 20 minutes...I meant 20 minutes one way, Laura, not round trip.
I passed on Challenger, I have been there 3 times, each time on my way back from KC NR and as recently as July so I had good reasons not to go again. But really I just wanted to put my feet up and snooze a little. We had been on the go for at least 8 hours.
And so I did snooze and daydreamed in the sun for a short while until I was awaken by a friendly growl. It was a dog looking a little bit like a dry Saint Bernard but smaller. For those not familiar with the various breed of Saint Bernard I include some pictures below. The physiological difference between the dry Saint Bernard and the Saint Bernard (not to be called "wet Saint Bernard") is obvious.
dry Saint Bernard
Saint Bernard
I chatted for a little while with her owners that we would meet again on the summit. Then just like that Laura was back.
On the summit we met some friendly 14ers.com members and then the dog and her owners arrived. Laura & the young lady who was wearing and Ironman triathlon T-shirt exchanged stories of ironmen triathletes (That doesn't sound right, does it?) and talked race strategy etc... I was exhausted just listening.
After a while we said goodbye and were on our way down. Well at least I was. We got back to the lowest point of the Avenue then hopped over to the South couloir. Laura went up to Columbia
and Kat Carson while I waited at the top of the couloir.
She really didn't take long at all and we were on our way down for good this time. We went down the scree in the couloir proper for a little bit then moved out of it skier right and down grassy & slabby slopes that we followed almost to the bottom. Back in the valley we managed to pick up the trail fairly quickly and were on our way. We were treated to the beautiful sights of the sunlight playing through the canopy of a forest of huge aspens.
We got back to the car crossing the creek 5 times (not 6 as described on MP...Maybe I should get some money after all), tried for a beer at the "Laughing Bhudda Lounge" but they had a private party going on and we hadn't been invited. So we just hit the road to the Springs. While I drove Laura tried to relax and prep up for her next big day...Sunday morning she had signed up to go run a 50K race in Lakewood.
So Sunday while I relaxed in the hot tub sipping on some cool Pinot Grigio, Laura was running a 50K race. I hope she did well too because "I ain't climbing with no slacker" "Hand me the Pinot please."
Direction:
Drive 3.6 Mi from the start of Baca Grande.
On your way pass 2 creeks 0.8 and 2.2 Mi. There are some road markers when going over the creeks. The 3rd is Spanish Creek.Large pullout on left after the ashram and just before the Zen center. We just dropped our tent behind the car (10pm till 4am). Down the road for just a little bit to get on the South side of the creek. Then hit the trail going east through private land. (This is not a ranch owned by Texans so you won't get shot at but might as well keep quiet anyway) On my 2 trips down there I never saw anyone.
You'll cross the creek an odd number of times overall because you begin on the south side of it and must end up on the north side going up. We may have crossed 7 times on the way up but only 5 times (for sure we counted) on the way down
First the trail turns into a dirt road then back to a trail moving away and then closer to the creek.
The creek crossings are pretty obvious. If you're on one side and begin to bushwack for too long then retrace your steps until you find where to cross because most than likely the trail is on the other side of the creek.
In the fallen timber area follow the cairns. It's passed mostly on the right of the area when going up.
Tech:
I had a small rack. 9 cams (#3, #2, #1, #.75 C4 BD, red alien and red metolius, grey, yellow, green aliens). I'm sure I used all the aliens while climbing & the bigger stuff for our first belay.
Did mostly hip belays after this.
The rope: 8.2mm 1/2 rope. Not my brightest idea but it is light. On this type of terrain obviously you don't want to take a lead fall so the diameter of the rope isn't too important. It's runnout, certainly by today standard, but the rock is solid and the climbing not very difficult. It's steep at the beginning but holds are plentiful. It's conglomerate though, so if you happen to pull a rock out of its socket just hang on and you've got yourself a new hold. The route is easy to follow, it's a pretty narrow ridge, just follow the obvious pass of least resistance and that's it. Up left after the initial overhang then ascending right then back left to the middle of ridge for the first pitch. The rest is very obvious.
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