On the summit with clouds circling in.

All Locations > Colorado > Alpine Rock > Sangre de Crist… > Crestones > Ellingwood Ledges (5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b)

On the summit with clouds circling in.

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Fun in the Winter, too.<br>
March, 1975.

Sun on the headwall of The Needle.

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4.9 from 13 votes

JP Griffith

Jun 6, 2014

“On the summit with clouds circling in.”

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Ellingwood Arete (aka Ledges) routes.

Fun in the Winter, too.<br>
March, 1975.

On the summit with clouds circling in.

Sun on the headwall of The Needle.

Don't step on the flowers.

Ellingwood Ledges as seen from the summit of Humboldt.

Here are some ways to start [[105748714]]. I have not done the starts labeled "Direct" and "Most-Ledges".
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The "Full-Ledges" start - after a little up climbing and a little down climbing - passes just above a large slung horn with old rap rope as of July 2016. The old rap rope was knotted off for a two-stranded rap, and it was a little sun-bleached with some sheath damage visible in one strand about 15 feet down from the anchor.
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In July 2017, the rap station was gone.

Mystery of the Head Crack pitch....

View of Ellingwood Ledges in the morning. The full route is visible. Picture taken from Humboldt's saddle.

Summit view - Sandunes!

Crestone Needle

Looks good.

Ellingwood Arete...and me thinking 'I should have been at the base of the climb about an hour ago....'

Shiny bolt anchors on the 3 pitch direct start. (We simulclimbed the direct start in one pitch, using a microtraxion as pictured in the photo.)

Starting up the final (crux) pitch. <br>
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Photo by Dan Perry.

Options for the final headwall pitch. Option A or B must be the Head Crack pitch. We climbed option C, which seemed to fit the descriptions of other climbers who recommended climbing a steep right-facing dihedral, but the move over the overhang was strenuous, feeling more like 5.9 than 5.7. The cracks to the right were lower angle and appeared easier, but we weren't sure if they ended on a ledge. Option F looked like it was the easiest.

The upper section of Ellingwood Arete. We took the left variation, which our topo called 5.7, and I call B.S., but it was memorable!

Crestone Needle approach map.

Getting to the trailhead for South Colony Lakes entails 2.6 miles of rough road. We had a Highlander and stopped 1 mile short and walked to the trailhead, only to be humbled by a couple of "lesser" vehicles in the parking lot!

Looking down the 5.7 pitch.

First hard headwall pitch.

A route overlay of the Ellingwood Arete/Ledges route as seen from approach to the direct start.

Interesting chimney exit sequence on the left final pitch(es) variation, which is the gift that keeps on giving.

The direct start. 3 pitches of 5.6.

The start of the first headwall pitch.

Sunrise on the one of the namesake ledges.

The crux pitch.

Looking up the technical headwall pitches higher up on the route.

Mike Schillaci on the arete, 1990.

Topping out on the crux pitch.

Grassy ledges start.

The start of the climb can accessed via the diagonalling ramp through the black cliff.

Ellingwood Ledges as seen from near the end of the 4WD road.

Me on one of the belay ledge immediately after the crux pitch.

A friendly Marmot poses a few feet below the summit of Crestone Needle in the early morning. Humbolt Peak is silhouetted in the background.

Carol about halfway up Ellingwood Ledges. August 26, 2000.

The steepness of the left exit is apparent in this photo. Good thing the knobs were big, because there wasn't any pro except for the lone piton!

Max crawling up the early 3rd class.

A climber taking a direct variation to the start, with the first piece of pro visible. I placed gear in a similar spot but found the climbing easier and better protected doing the undercling to traverse left.

4th class climbing above the Red Tower. The complex final Headwall is visible high above.

This is one of the goats we saw while simulclimbing the ledges start. There was a family of 15 or so with babies that did not like having us anywhere near them. She and a few others made some aggressive noises and followed us down all the way to camp.

Another angle on the start of the first headwall pitch.

John Bissel on the 5.9 variation.

This was the obvious line for us.

Starting up the easy 3rd class at the beginning of the route.

Marcello leading the 2nd hard pitch, near the crux.

Taken low on the route where the direct and normal starts merge. Above George's head is the "Red Tower" - most parties rope up for the pitch that goes just left of it.

1st ledges after simul-climbing past the Direct. Note the mackerel sky! Photo of Josh Hobgood.

Practically a paved highway up to the ledges!

Looking up the Ellingwood Ledges from the valley below.

Sunrise looking back toward campsites from the approach to The Needle.

Escaping the Direct Start after 1 pitch (yes, it is possible ... ).

One of the interesting inhabitants of Ellingwood Ledges, taken on a pre-climb day exploring the "Full-Ledges" start (native? invasive?).

On the final 3rd class pitch, only 100 feet below the summit. This is a very exposed pitch, but the rock is excellent.

SUMMIT!

The direct start up a 5.6 dihedral.

Charlotte following me up the left exit, which is way harder than the topo's 5.7 claim. This section is overhanging about 5-10 degrees, protected by a single piton after the traverse (a draw is on it in the photo). The wide crack did not take pro - only a chickenwing for rest.

Pulling tough moves halfway up instead of walking around the mini-headwall.

In This Photo

JP Griffith

Denver, CO

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