KAT CARSON PEAK
(13,980 ft.) (Now renamed as Columbia Point)OBSTRUCTION PEAK
(13,799 ft.)August 16, 2002
By Tim Briese
Many people go to South Colony Basin to climb the majestic 14ers that surround it, or merely to see the special beauty of this place, in spite of the rough four wheel drive road that must be driven or hiked to get there. I don’t suppose that many go there to climb the 13er Kat Carson, but that was my objective on this day in mid August. I had other goals in mind, too, like exploring the route to Kit Carson via the Bear’s Playground that I had never been on before, climbing the high 13er “Obstruction Peak”, and getting some photographs of the dramatic Crestones from the north side.
Many climbers are probably unaware or only faintly aware that Kat Carson even exists. When I stopped to chat with an older couple that day I told them I was climbing Kat Carson, and the lady tried to correct me, saying, “I think it’s Kit Carson.” I replied in explanation that Kat is a 13er subpeak of the 14er Kit Carson, and she remarked that she had never heard of it before. This is unfortunate, for Kat Carson is a fine peak in its own right.
I left home at 4:20 a.m. and drove to Westcliffe, and was treated to a nice sunrise view of the Crestones as I descended into the Wet Mountain Valley. I proceeded to bounce up the rough four wheel drive road toward South Colony Basin, intending to drive only about halfway up on the easier part of the road and then walking the rest of the way. The road didn’t seem quite as rough as my nightmarish memories of it, so I drove a mile further than I planned and parked after driving 3.7 miles beyond the two wheel drive trailhead.
At 7:40 I left my truck with my enthusiastic lab Jorie and began walking briskly up the road. There were two four wheel drive vehicles within sight a short distance behind me driving at about the same speed I was walking, and it took them nearly a half mile to overtake me. It took me about half an hour to hike the mile and a half up to the four wheel drive parking area, where I counted over a dozen vehicles and several campsites scattered about in the woods as I walked by.
It was a beautiful morning with a clear, deep blue sky. I admired the golden morning sunlight shining into the valley and on the high slopes of Humboldt Peak to the north as I circled up around the lower basin on the trail. I felt enthusiastic and full of energy this morning, which was good because I had a long hike ahead of me. I soon reached Lower South Colony Lake, which lies right at timberline, and gazed at the grandeur of the Crestone Needle towering above it. I glanced up at the route to Broken Hand Pass I had taken when I climbed the Needle. I continued on the good trail to the upper lake where I paused for a short break about 9:30. The shrill warning cries of marmots frequently pierced the air, and Jorie delighted in running toward them, only to have them duck into the rocks when she approached.
I headed up the fine trail built by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative that switchbacks up Humboldt’s western slope from the upper lake at 12,000 feet to the saddle above at 12,800 feet. Along the way I passed two young hikers from Texas who were gasping for air as they took a break. It was hard to take my eyes off the incredible view of the Crestones right across the valley to the west. At the saddle I paused to look down into North Colony Basin on the other side far below and then left the Humboldt trail and headed northwest along the ridge, per Roach’s instructions. A faint trail took me along the right side of the ridge, a hundred feet or so below its crest, and presently into very rugged terrain, so I backtracked a bit and climbed up onto the crest. The traverse along this ridge was considerably more painstaking and time-consuming than I anticipated, as I went back and forth from one side of the crest to the other, and occasionally right along the top, with numerous rugged steps and dropoffs hindering my progress. There were a few cairns and a faint trail in some places, but the route was generally not well defined. In spite of the ridge's difficulties, I was rewarded with fine views of Humboldt Peak and the Crestones from this spectacular position.
With considerable relief I eventually reached the end of the rough ridge and descended slightly to the easy comfort of the Bear’s Playground, a broad grassy area at about 13,100 feet. This gentle area presented quite a contrast to the ruggedness of the Crestones that lay just to the southwest. I hiked rapidly across the grass and began an ascending traverse directly toward the summit of Obstruction Peak, choosing not to contour around it as most do when they pass by on their way to Kit Carson. I wanted to use its commanding vantage point for photos of the Crestones. I rapidly climbed 700 feet of elevation gain from the Bear’s Playground and soon found myself standing on the summit. It was indeed a remarkable vantage point, with unsurpassed views of the Crestones and other surrounding summits. The sheer dropoff into the Willow Creek Valley below to the north was quite impressive, too.
It was an easy descent from Obstruction Peak to the 13,460 foot saddle below to the west, and then a fun scramble up a steep slabby face to Kat Carson above. Once atop this slope I was on Kat Carson’s lower eastern summit, nicknamed “Kitty Kat Carson”. I dropped down to a notch to the west and scrambled to the higher point on the summit, where I arrived at 12:30 p.m.
This was quite a wild and rugged place, I thought as I gazed about. To the southeast lay the rugged Crestones, with Humboldt and Obstruction Peak nearby to the left, and the Blanca Group in the distance beyond to the right. A quarter mile away to the west stood the towering summit of Kit Carson. Kit Carson is a complex and rugged mountain, consisting of a large massif harboring the namesake 14er and Challenger Point, and the 13er points Kat Carson, Kitty Kat Carson, and the Prow, each separated by rough ridges and saddles. I could see Kit Carson Avenue and part of the route I had taken when I climbed Kit in 1999 from the Willow Lake approach. I would have liked to continue on and climb it again today, but that was not my main objective, and time did not allow for it. Instead I simply studied the steep route down off of Kat Carson that continued across and up to Kit, while watching other climbers on this route below. This was a great vantage point to study the complex terrain of Kit Carson Mountain and to become more familiar with it. I gained a new appreciation of the difficulty of climbing Kit Carson from South Colony Basin, for it involves a lot of up and down climbing over rugged terrain, and is probably one of the more physically demanding of all the standard 14er routes. This was quite an incredible place, in fact, from which to observe the terrain of all the surrounding area, from South Colony Basin to Kit Carson, Mt. Adams, and beyond.
I studied the steep and dangerous north couloir on Crestone Peak, and shuddered at the prospect of climbing the mountain by going up that way, even though it is one of the peak’s standard routes. I was glad I had gone up the Red Couloir on the south face when I climbed Crestone four years before. I noticed that the north couloir was red in color, too, and realized that this reddish vein of rock dissects the entire mountain, appearing as a couloir on both the north and south faces. With my binoculars I could see climbers standing atop Crestone’s eastern summit, which looked like an even more exposed and exciting place to be than the slightly higher western summit that I had been on.
It was pleasant and sunny as I sat on Kat Carson, with a gusty breeze blowing at times. I didn’t even need to wear a coat all day. About 1 p.m. I reluctantly decided to leave the summit and head back, for I had a commitment that I needed to get home for that evening. My GPS showed that I had already covered some six and a half miles. I knew that my tired legs would appreciate the generally downward grades that lay ahead, in spite of some rough and rocky stretches. I rapidly descended to the Kat Carson/Obstruction Peak saddle and proceeded to contour around the western side of Obstruction Peak toward the Bear’s Playground. I expected this contouring route to be easier than my climb over the summit had been, but found the terrain to be rougher than I anticipated. I wondered if it really is easier to contour around Obstruction Peak than to climb over it.
The Bear’s Playground was once again a welcome respite with its good footing and gentle grades. I did not want to expend the time or energy going back across the ridge toward Humboldt that I had traversed in the morning, so I looked for a route directly down through the cliffs back into South Colony Basin. I knew there was a route here somewhere, for this was once the traditional route up from the basin for climbers on their way to Crestone or Kit Carson. I had never been on it before, though, and had difficulty locating it from above. I was hoping for a fast and easy slide down on scree, but like many other things I encountered today, this turned out to be more complicated and rugged than I expected. I finally found a cairn toward the southwest edge of the Bear‘s Playground, just below Crestone Peak’s north buttress, and proceeded carefully down a precariously steep slope around cliffs on loose footing. Jorie was quite uncomfortable with this portion of the descent but gamely followed me down. This route was certainly faster to descend than the ridge route would have been, but it was probably no easier, and I was glad I had not tried to come up this way. With occasional cairns to guide me I gradually descended to easier terrain and picked my way around huge boulders and across grassy slopes down to Upper South Colony Lake. Jorie immediately waded into the water and drank for a long time while I sat on the grassy shore and rested.
I began to hike around the east side of the lake but found my progress barred by a cliff, and found it necessary to retrace my steps and hike back around the west side. The golden afternoon light cast a beautiful glow on the water and surrounding terrain. I had been to South Colony Basin on several splendid outings before, but these were the best weather and lighting conditions I could remember. The grandeur of the valley shone forth at its finest today. I found a nice grassy spot near the south end of the lake and sat down to enjoy the magnificent surroundings for a while. This incredible place is certainly one of Colorado’s spectacular places!
I found my way back to the main trail southeast of the lake and headed down the valley in the pleasant sunshine, pausing often to gaze at the beauty around me. There were several campers and fishermen enjoying themselves around the lower lake as I hiked past. I soon entered the woods below the lake and hiked briskly down the trail, turning back to take one last look at the magnificent Crestone Needle. There were several more vehicles at the four wheel drive parking area now, and some backpackers were preparing to hike up into the valley. I was getting very tired as I hiked back down the old road in the heat of the afternoon. My worn out dog was now following several paces behind me. It was quite a relief to finally round the last bend in the road and walk up to my truck at 4:45. The thirteen mile hike took me about nine hours to complete.
I began bouncing back down the old road and soon stopped and picked up two tired backpackers who were hiking down and gave them a ride to the two wheel drive trailhead at the bottom. The sky was still cloudless and the air crystal clear. I could not have asked for a finer day for this magnificent hike to a spectacular place.
