On July 22 Mike Patrick (St Paul, MN) made the pilgrimage to attempt the Ellingwood Ridge on La Plata Peak near Twin Lakes, Colorado. Not to be confused with the Ellingwood Ledges on Crestone Needle, this Ellingwood route is much more involved.
Meeting at 0130 at the La Plata trailhead, we began the long and obscure climb up to the beginning of the ridge. Darkness, obscure routes, and less than prominent landmarks warrented the use of the old GPS. After a short detour we arrived above treeline.

Mike P. arriving at the base of the Ellingwood Ridge
The base of the ridge presented us with over 1500 vertical feet of horrendous talus (loose microwave blocks). After the tedious slog we finally gained some ground just as the sun was rising. It really is a special treat to experience an alpine sunrise. One of the many pleasures found among the masochism of Alpine climbing.

Alpine Sunrise on La Plata peak
 Once on the Ridge, the real challenges begin. Over two miles of spires, pinnacles, ropework and delicate weaving before the summit is reached. We mused that the route was really more like a giant traverse of this beautiful alpine basin. The ridge proved to be very slow going, and due to fatigue and threatening T-storms, we decided that after 1.75 miles of climbing, we were spent.

This route is absolutely one of the most committing alpine routes in the state. Those who are steady and quick with loose rock and forth class scrambling should expect over a 12hr day.  As illustrated above, any escape options once committed to the ridge will be complex, loose, and potentially dangerous.  Nonetheless, this is a classic alpine adventure… Thanks for a great day.

I’ve been super busy lately, about 13 guiding days straight.  As some of you may know, I spend the majority of my year in Crested Butte, Colorado guiding with Crested Butte Mountain Guides. Our peak summer season is generally the middle of July, but in three seasons guiding in the butte I can’t recall a work streak quite this long.

Rock climbing in the area seems to be all the rage recently. With a new guidebook Gunnison Rock, the valley seems to be exploding with interest.

I’ve been posting over on the CBMG website, checkout a blog I wrote here about rock climbing down in Lake City.

On an only somewhat related note, check out the “roller skate” hard at work…

 Mike Bromberg