La Plata Peak 14,344'
Ellingwood Ridge
September 1, 2023
Laura and I have talked about climbing Ellingwood ridge on La Plata Peak for quite a few years. It's never been top of our list but when weather looked great and Isaac, Ethan and Nicole invited us along for a day trip, we jumped at the opportunity.
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| Creek crossing in the dark |
Staying at the cabin the night before, we set a 2:30 am alarm and after a quick breakfast were on the road to meet up with the rest of the crew at 4:30. Headlights turned on full blast, we set off from the cars at 4:45 am and made steady pace up the road and to the trail cutoff toward Ellingwood ridge. We were soon bushwhacking or walking on a lightly traveled path, headed uphill through the forest and eventually to a clearing that holds a large boulderfield and our access to the ridge. After rock hopping up the boulders and loose talus to the ridge, we took a break for some food and water before continuing on. We knew the length of the route and amount of time it would take and figured being efficient was important today, more so than most.
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| Beautiful sunrise as we were working through the boulderfield |
Once we were on the ridgeline, some in the group stayed below the ridge on easier terrain. I chose to scramble as close to the ridge proper as I could. It made for some fun low 5th class scrambling and an enjoyable time moving quickly over varied terrain. I'd climb ahead for a while and then wait and watch as everyone continued along their chosen path. Occasionally I would climb to a point I could not downclimb off the other side of so I'd backtrack and join up with the others for a short time.
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| Justin climbing somewhere along Ellingwood Ridge |
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| Laura scouting the route somewhere on Ellingwood Ridge |
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| Finding our way down off a gendarme along the route |
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Justin taking in the views from a high point along the ridge
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After 4 or 5 hours of climbing, we were just over halfway on the ridge. We came to a pillar that was not climbable. There were more than a few options to climb down and around but we chose a path that was not efficient. I went down and through a hole in the rock and the others chose a path down a loose gulley. After a while, we all made it through but it was time consuming. From this point on, we all got back on track and collectively made our way along the long remainder of the ridge to the summit. The scrambling continued to be enjoyable and for the most part we were able to stay on solid rock.
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| Relaxing on the summit |
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| Ready to head down |
We all made it to the summit 8.5 hours after starting off that morning. After resting for 30 minutes, we took a group photo and descended by the standard northwest ridge and back to the cars right at 12 hours round trip. A post climb beer was in order in the parking lot and after a few laughs and smiles, we were all off toward home.
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| Easier creek crossing on the route down |
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| Neat waterfall neat the trailhead |
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| Nicole at an old mining cabin near the trailhead |
We spent the rest of the holiday weekend splitting wood at the cabin, fishing with Hazel, who caught eight fish, and visiting the burro days exhibits in Fairplay.
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| Hazel wasn't too sure about touching them at first |
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| This is five! |
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| That's a big one! |
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| Might as well eat some fish |
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| Mom's a world champion! |
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