Crestones Alpine Climbs 2 or 3 Day Trips

The Sangre de Cristo range of southern Colorado is home to some of the most awe inspiring terrain in the entire state. The Crestones are the crown jewel of that area. With high quality conglomerate rock it is comparable to Rocky Mountain National Park before everyone else found out about it.

Home to numerous classic routes, abundant wildlife, and rugged alpine terrain it is the prime place for mountain adventures.

Crestone Needle and Crestone Peak are the most common goals for people in the South Colony Basin and we're happy to offer numerous options. Below are our most common options. As experts on the area we're happy to explore alternatives if you don't see something here.

Choose from one of these amazing routes:
- Ellingwood Arete 5.7 (2 or 3 day itinerary): as one of the 50 classic climbs in North America this is one of our favorite routes. We often opt for the direct start to get a little more technical climbing instead of scrambling. With this you get a few pitches of 5.7 climbing to warm up before a bit of scrambling that deposits you at the base of the last few pitches of climbing. The most enjoyable being the crux 5.7 dihedral. An absolutely stellar pitch right around 14,000'.
- Crestone Traverse 5.0 (2 or 3 day itinerary): the most common way to get both peaks. This generally involves going through Broken Hand pass in order to get to Crestone Peak. After ascending this climbers head across to the crux just below the Black Tower. A short but challenging climb over a boulder eventually leads around to the headwall, the most intimidating part of the ascent. After that it's just a short walk to the summit before heading down.
- Crestone Peak or Needle S. Face 3rd/4th class (2, or 3 day itinerary): For those not interested in more technical climbing the standard routes on these peaks are still comprised of high quality rock but a bit less difficulty and exposure.