Ryan Kowalski - Jun 14, 2006 5:15 pm Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2006
LB-Blanca traverse
This was simply one of the most amazing routes I've ever seen or done. Great rock, great exposure, and constant scrambling make this one an uberclassic. Loved every minute of it. The traverse took our group of four about 2 hrs and 15 minutes with good breaks here and there. For extra fun, make sure you climb the crux tower, it goes well.
pacojgarza - Jun 14, 2006 5:33 am Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2006
Como Lake route
I started hiking at 5 AM just 2 miles from the highway were the forest starts, after six hours of torture I stood on the rocky summit of Blanca. Ellingwood, Little Bear, Lindsey, Spanish peaks and the icy lakes down below looked awesome!
Got back to my car by 2:45 after 20 min at the top.
That nasty road tored up my knees (not to mention my trail runners).
jratk - Jun 13, 2006 3:39 am Date Climbed: May 24, 2006
2006
4 wheeled for a while up the road, hiked in and did ellingwood and blanca. Great weather, set up a bivy and climbed little bear the next day via nw face.
Kiefer - May 27, 2006 11:47 am Date Climbed: May 25, 2006
West Face
For as high as this mountain is and steep as the North Ridge rises, this was a surprisingly quick climb. A few snowfields lower down lingering. The shallow bands of cliffs had ice in the AM and water in the PM. Had the WHOLE MOUNTAIN to myself!
Great views of Ellingwood and Spanish Peaks. Perfect weather.
myrone - May 21, 2006 3:33 pm Date Climbed: May 19, 2006
Blanca Peak-from Como Lake Road
Started up at 9:12AM from back down on the road, reached Como Lake at 11:15, reached the summit at 3:03PM, back to the truck at 6:35PM. A long day but beautiful weather and scenery everywhere. My 22nd 14'er........sweet!!!
crzyjt - May 15, 2006 7:37 pm Date Climbed: May 15, 2006
West Face Snow Route
Awesome climb. We climbed the snow route that ascended to just right of the summit. I ended up climbing a small chute that topped out on an exposed section of the end of the blanca/little bear ridge and somehow my partner ended up on the other side of the ridge - made for some sketchy exposed moves, but lots of fun. With the hike in and the great line, Blanca is a spectacular climb. If the weather had been better, we might have bagged Ellingwood and Little Bear as well, but it's a great reason to head back to Como some other time.
Mountain Jim - Mar 3, 2006 5:06 am Date Climbed: Jun 23, 1969
From Como Lake
Still had a lot of snow on the upper part of the mountain.
markhyams - Mar 2, 2006 11:51 pm Date Climbed: Jul 30, 1996
Little Bear traverse
Did the traverse. On the section where you have to drop below the ridge and go up a talus field, I had a rock the size of a mini-fridge fall on my foot. I thought I had shattered it, but it was only badly bruised, thanks to my heavy leather boots I was wearing.
Route Climbed: ridge from Ellingwood Pt. Date Climbed: September 1999
Very high mountain, almost 7,000 feet down to the desert floor from summit. Very scenic area, lots of fun. Did along with Ellingwood's classic west ridge. Great day!
Route Climbed: Como Lake Date Climbed: May 05, 2005
Deep deep snow and steep ice made the the climb considerably tougher than the standard summer route. We were forced to traverse several avy chutes 1 at a time to be safe. Some had run, some had not. In the end, we found the snow high up to be deep powder leading to a freezing summit. Somebody forgot to tell mother nature it was spring up there. Would have been an awesome ski descent. Back at the jeep around 9800' it was near 80 degrees.
Route Climbed: Como Lake Trailhead Date Climbed: October 2, 2005
A little snow and ice lead to some tricky footing close to the summit, but still a short, sweet hike/climb from high camp, beautiful day. LOOONG hike back down to Lake Como Trailhead.
What an awesome one-day solo ascent of Blanca and Ellingwood. Parked about one mile past the trailhead and began hiking at 7am. Summitted Blanca at 11:45am, the last 100 feet was a little more time consuming because of fresh ice and snow. Stayed about 150 to 200 feet below the ridge while traversing to Ellingwood. No snow or ice on Ellingwood. Some route finding issues on the way down Ellingwood. Hiked out and returned to the truck by 6pm. I love fourteeners in the Fall!
Route Climbed: Como Lake Date Climbed: September 20, 2005
Climbed with Duane Gilliland on our Ultra-prominence trip to Colorado and Utah. Blanca was the highest peak in Colorado we hadn't climbed. Traversed over to Ellingwood Point before heading back to Lake Como. By the next morning the weather was threatening, so we figured we could bag Little Bear as a day climb on a future trip.
Good hike for the first one. As anyone can tell, don't try and drive up the road to far. If you're tired, the road down is full of ankle twisting rocks.
Route Climbed: Little Bear - Blanca Traverse Date Climbed: 3 September 2005
This ridge was a blast - moderately difficult but almost always very secure climbing. The exposure is thrilling, especially since you know you're not likely to fall - like looking out of an airplane window. After Little Bear, this ridge was a relief. Clouds, wind, rain, and snow sent me packing down back to Crater lake. I left Boulder at 1:15am, started hiking at 6:15am, and arrived back at my car a little before 10:00pm. I guess that counts as a long day.
Route Climbed: Standard Route (Ellingwood Point Ridge, from Lake Como) Date Climbed: 28 August 2005, 1:00 pm
Como Road tough even for an ATV. Large parking area at 7880 to Lake Como is 6.9 miles according to ATV odometer. The Climb from Lake Como to Blanca is Medium Talus for all but the first mile. Good worthwhile climb but definitely not a walkup. Thunder and snow on the peak sent us down hill after a few pics and signing the register. See my forthcoming trip report.
Route Climbed: Traverse from Ellingwood Date Climbed: 27 Aug 2005
Continued on to Blanca from Ellingwood, staying as high as possible without having to do much scrambling. The weather held up and I made a nice leisurely descent back to my camp below Little Bear's face.
Ryan Kowalski - Jun 14, 2006 5:15 pm Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2006
LB-Blanca traverseThis was simply one of the most amazing routes I've ever seen or done. Great rock, great exposure, and constant scrambling make this one an uberclassic. Loved every minute of it. The traverse took our group of four about 2 hrs and 15 minutes with good breaks here and there. For extra fun, make sure you climb the crux tower, it goes well.
pacojgarza - Jun 14, 2006 5:33 am Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2006
Como Lake routeI started hiking at 5 AM just 2 miles from the highway were the forest starts, after six hours of torture I stood on the rocky summit of Blanca. Ellingwood, Little Bear, Lindsey, Spanish peaks and the icy lakes down below looked awesome!
Got back to my car by 2:45 after 20 min at the top.
That nasty road tored up my knees (not to mention my trail runners).
jratk - Jun 13, 2006 3:39 am Date Climbed: May 24, 2006
20064 wheeled for a while up the road, hiked in and did ellingwood and blanca. Great weather, set up a bivy and climbed little bear the next day via nw face.
Kiefer - May 27, 2006 11:47 am Date Climbed: May 25, 2006
West FaceFor as high as this mountain is and steep as the North Ridge rises, this was a surprisingly quick climb. A few snowfields lower down lingering. The shallow bands of cliffs had ice in the AM and water in the PM. Had the WHOLE MOUNTAIN to myself!
Great views of Ellingwood and Spanish Peaks. Perfect weather.
myrone - May 21, 2006 3:33 pm Date Climbed: May 19, 2006
Blanca Peak-from Como Lake RoadStarted up at 9:12AM from back down on the road, reached Como Lake at 11:15, reached the summit at 3:03PM, back to the truck at 6:35PM. A long day but beautiful weather and scenery everywhere. My 22nd 14'er........sweet!!!
crzyjt - May 15, 2006 7:37 pm Date Climbed: May 15, 2006
West Face Snow RouteAwesome climb. We climbed the snow route that ascended to just right of the summit. I ended up climbing a small chute that topped out on an exposed section of the end of the blanca/little bear ridge and somehow my partner ended up on the other side of the ridge - made for some sketchy exposed moves, but lots of fun. With the hike in and the great line, Blanca is a spectacular climb. If the weather had been better, we might have bagged Ellingwood and Little Bear as well, but it's a great reason to head back to Como some other time.
Mountain Jim - Mar 3, 2006 5:06 am Date Climbed: Jun 23, 1969
From Como LakeStill had a lot of snow on the upper part of the mountain.
markhyams - Mar 2, 2006 11:51 pm Date Climbed: Jul 30, 1996
Little Bear traverseDid the traverse. On the section where you have to drop below the ridge and go up a talus field, I had a rock the size of a mini-fridge fall on my foot. I thought I had shattered it, but it was only badly bruised, thanks to my heavy leather boots I was wearing.
jomal - Feb 6, 2006 1:03 am
Route Climbed: ? Date Climbed: June 2005Still a ton of snow on the way up, with water running everywhere. An awesome hike!
sprosseda - Jan 25, 2006 5:20 pm
Route Climbed: ridge from Ellingwood Pt. Date Climbed: September 1999Very high mountain, almost 7,000 feet down to the desert floor from summit. Very scenic area, lots of fun. Did along with Ellingwood's classic west ridge. Great day!
barratt - Jan 19, 2006 9:05 pm
Route Climbed: Standard - Lake Como Date Climbed: 8/22/04Road up to Como Lake with 4WD buddies through strong Hailstorm. Summited following day with Texer. Route was slick due to previous days hail. 14er #13
1mvertical - Nov 22, 2005 7:08 pm
Route Climbed: Como Lake Date Climbed: May 05, 2005Deep deep snow and steep ice made the the climb considerably tougher than the standard summer route. We were forced to traverse several avy chutes 1 at a time to be safe. Some had run, some had not. In the end, we found the snow high up to be deep powder leading to a freezing summit. Somebody forgot to tell mother nature it was spring up there. Would have been an awesome ski descent. Back at the jeep around 9800' it was near 80 degrees.
colohiker - Oct 4, 2005 11:40 pm
Route Climbed: Como Lake Trailhead Date Climbed: October 2, 2005A little snow and ice lead to some tricky footing close to the summit, but still a short, sweet hike/climb from high camp, beautiful day. LOOONG hike back down to Lake Como Trailhead.
Old Ickabod - Oct 4, 2005 3:55 pm
Route Climbed: Como Lake Date Climbed: 9/30/05What an awesome one-day solo ascent of Blanca and Ellingwood. Parked about one mile past the trailhead and began hiking at 7am. Summitted Blanca at 11:45am, the last 100 feet was a little more time consuming because of fresh ice and snow. Stayed about 150 to 200 feet below the ridge while traversing to Ellingwood. No snow or ice on Ellingwood. Some route finding issues on the way down Ellingwood. Hiked out and returned to the truck by 6pm. I love fourteeners in the Fall!
Bob Bolton - Sep 30, 2005 10:10 pm
Route Climbed: Como Lake Date Climbed: September 20, 2005Climbed with Duane Gilliland on our Ultra-prominence trip to Colorado and Utah. Blanca was the highest peak in Colorado we hadn't climbed. Traversed over to Ellingwood Point before heading back to Lake Como. By the next morning the weather was threatening, so we figured we could bag Little Bear as a day climb on a future trip.
Bob Sihler - Sep 30, 2005 10:03 pm
Route Climbed: standard Date Climbed: July 15, 2004started at 4 to have it to myself and then went to Ellingwood
samajax - Sep 12, 2005 1:32 pm
Route Climbed: Como Lake Date Climbed: 20Aug98Good hike for the first one. As anyone can tell, don't try and drive up the road to far. If you're tired, the road down is full of ankle twisting rocks.
jwproulx - Sep 6, 2005 7:28 pm
Route Climbed: Little Bear - Blanca Traverse Date Climbed: 3 September 2005This ridge was a blast - moderately difficult but almost always very secure climbing. The exposure is thrilling, especially since you know you're not likely to fall - like looking out of an airplane window. After Little Bear, this ridge was a relief. Clouds, wind, rain, and snow sent me packing down back to Crater lake. I left Boulder at 1:15am, started hiking at 6:15am, and arrived back at my car a little before 10:00pm. I guess that counts as a long day.
nmmi9100 - Aug 30, 2005 4:15 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Route (Ellingwood Point Ridge, from Lake Como) Date Climbed: 28 August 2005, 1:00 pmComo Road tough even for an ATV. Large parking area at 7880 to Lake Como is 6.9 miles according to ATV odometer. The Climb from Lake Como to Blanca is Medium Talus for all but the first mile. Good worthwhile climb but definitely not a walkup. Thunder and snow on the peak sent us down hill after a few pics and signing the register. See my forthcoming trip report.
bc44caesar - Aug 29, 2005 10:41 am
Route Climbed: Traverse from Ellingwood Date Climbed: 27 Aug 2005Continued on to Blanca from Ellingwood, staying as high as possible without having to do much scrambling. The weather held up and I made a nice leisurely descent back to my camp below Little Bear's face.