Crestone Peak

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/21/2025, By: Ariella6
Info: Road from 4wd lot up to trail had muddy/wet spots. Rest of trail is dry and in summer conditions. 

Route: North Buttress
Posted On: 7/22/2025, By: evanm137
Info: This route is AWESOME! Just make sure you research the crux beforehand, since that's the gnarliest part. If you have climbing experience, are comfortable with exposure, and love a challenge, then this route is an absolute pleasure. Summer conditions absolutely everywhere on this mountain. Did the traverse as well. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/21/2025, By: madmattd
Info: Came up Cottonwood side, camped near the waterfall at 11.4k. Mosquitos around but not a big issue, only a couple bites over 2 days without spray/headnet use. I found the navigation fine for the 4 miles to where I camped. The tricky parts generally written about are in the ~3/4mi from where I camped to the junction with the route to Crestone Peak/Cottonwood Lake - it's easy to miss a turn in the faint footbed and get off route, especially in the willows. I added a small cairn or two at faint unmarked turns, in general it is decently cairned, but in the dark if you've never been on it before it could be challenging to follow (not terrible in the day time). There's also a couple class 3 pitches (one by the base of the upper waterfall near 11.7k' verges on class 4 in my opinion) to spice things up if you're trying to camp higher than I did. I had the "benefit" of going up and down this section on consecutive days so I now feel pretty good about where the route goes. There is also a lightly-cairned route that prompts you to cross the stream just above the 11.4k' waterfall, and recross around 11.8k' - this goes but I think the proper trail (which does NOT cross the main stream) is the better way to go overall. No snow on the entire route. Tons of water especially low in the red gully but easy to swing back and forth to keep dry soles. Very straight forward class 3 with minimal route-finding - just go up! Take and use a helmet!!! Rock fall can happen and it was staggering how many people were climbing the red gully without one (or left it on their packs). 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/2/2025, By: OntheRocks78
Info: There are some no overnight parking signs posted at the 2WD TH that other hikers told me are new. Plenty of people still parking overnight however. The road to upper TH is rough but I made it in a VW Altas 2WD, which has good clearance. Probably would not attempt to again. Mosquitos present at S Colony lakes campsites but tolerable. Route is essentially snow free. Did not do the Needle but looks to be summer conditions as well. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/28/2025, By: jmfb3
Info: Such a great climb! Summer conditions with ~2-3 small snowfield crossings. Traction could be helpful if you're nervous / cautious, but my group did not use traction and had no issues. Be warned - THE MOSQUITOS. They're horrendous. My legs look like I have a horrible case of poison ivy. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/22/2025, By: ericolson
Info: Great day camped down at colony lakes but the wind was horrendous, started Bout 430 up broken hand pass , still some patches of snow fun for sliding down on the way back but easily avoidable, still a little snow in the gulley but easily avoidable if you veer left, little more class 4 moved but not to shabby you end up a little above the notch and makes you closer to the summit, no need for spikes or axe almost summer conditions it’s melting fast! So go for it 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/16/2025, By: HokieTom
Info: I will post some photos shortly. The red gully, or more correctly named now, the white gully, is loaded. However, a lot of melting later on the 2nd photo. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/12/2025, By: tjf242424
Info: I didn’t do the Peak or the Needle, but I took the attached photo from Crestolita, which may be of interest to some. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/23/2025, By: Stormline24
Info: I hiked to Crestone Peak and Needle on Thursday, 5/22/2025 via Cottonwood Creek TH, with a plan to do the traverse, conditions permitting. The Red Gulley is full of snow and has had a recent very large avalanche with debris from about 500 feet from the top all the way to the bottom. I climbed up to about 500-600’ from the ridge of the peak and was stopped by an area of solid ice about 35 feet long and the width of the section I was in. I didn’t have climbing crampons or protection, so bailed on it. Crestone needle has had two smaller avalanches as well, running down the south facing aspect. I experienced partial snowfield collapses on 4 occasions here ( 1 going up and 3 coming down) where at least 100’x100’ area would just collapse and sink 2-3” when I stepped onto a snowfield( similar to an avalanche start). This area is quite unstable right now. It looks too thin to ski and too wet and heavy and prone to slide, to climb right now, due to recent snow. I don’t think the Red Gulley will be ready, possibly until July, for summer conditions- the avy debris is very thick and right now spans the full width of the gulley. Crestone Needle southern aspects including the full traverse was covered in snow as well (see pics). 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 12/27/2024, By: daway8
Info: Incremental update: a lot more of the approach trail has melted out since Saturday although higher up there was just enough fresh snow to cover some of the ice on the trail, though not enough to lose the trench that I and several others helped put in - trench is solid enough that I managed without snowshoes but I was already at the base of the Red Gully before being in direct sun, otherwise snowshoes might have been needed. Red Gully still has a few short but sketchy sections of ice where crampons and ice axe are pretty much essential. From saddle to summit there was only moderate snow. Nearby NE Crestone was almost totally bare but the wind at the saddle sounded like a jet engine so didn't climb. Going down the Red Gully, snow conditions extremely variable, sometimes perfect for glissading with great bite from the ice axe, other times it was soft enough that I struggled to stop and a couple times found a spot where I sank to my waist, which was alarming but thankfully everything remained stable. Down lower there was some barely covered ice and then completely bare ice. So overall the descent took much longer than hoped for. Will add photos shortly. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 12/23/2024, By: Skimo95
Info: Thanks to Bigfoot & co for the cottonwood trench. My partner didnt use snowshoes but I found them somewhat helpful the last mile or so to gully turnoff. There are a couple few ice steps in the red gully that will need to be navigated carefully using sharp crampons and one axe minimum. Great day out overall 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 12/21/2024, By: daway8
Info: Adding my two cents on this non-summit day, in part to share some photos. Started solo from Cottonwood Creek. First 2-3mi is a breeze, easy to follow in the dark, though that valley seems to get bitter cold in the night. But then quickly lost the trail in a maze of ice floes, partly frozen waterfalls, steep snowy scrambles, etc. Was not prepared for how aggressively variable the second half of this approach is. Eventually bigfoot1 overtook me and we both went up to the base of the Red Gully which is pretty much fully loaded top to bottom. We could see tracks running up the gully, so presumably others made it up earlier but we both wasted a ton of time and energy bushwhacking up that far and decided not to continue. Looks like the previous group probably used a steeper, more direct approach from Cottonwood vs the standard summer version of the trail we attempted to follow. In retrospect, that may have been the better option. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 12/21/2024, By: bigfoot1
Info: So I made a mistake on my last Crestones trip report when I assumed that the snow went away. The snow did not go away, snowshoes are a must past like 11.5k ft. There are 2 snowshoe trenches now leading from 11.5k where all the rocks are, mine goes down to the right a bit and a left one (broken out by David, nice to meet you! Thanks for helping break out the trail!) that goes over a little hump but they both meet back up by the flat, wide open bit. We made it up to the end of the normal trail right at the bottom of red gully(?) and there are snowshoe prints going all the way up the gully and to the peak. The snow seemed suspicious to me, and I really should have brought my ice axe (i didn't think there would be a lot of snow), so I did not summit, once again, and definitely did not do the traverse. It looks like you could drop your snowshoes off by the lake and take the bare rock up to the right of the gully, but I wasn't sure how much ice was on the rocks from all the melting. It is definitely summitable if you are super careful (and more confident in your avalanche/snow reading abilities than I am), and the ridge traverse did appear dry from below. I would recommend crampons instead of snowshoes for the gully though just to have more dexterity. Snowshoes are so clunky. There are lots of remnants of loose dry mini avalanches and some cracks in the wind slabs. The snow is all faceted and acts like a bunch of small marbles. 

Route: Cottonwood Creek/South Face
Posted On: 12/12/2024, By: bigfoot1
Info: Attempt. I started from the west side from cottonwood creek. Only about an inch of snow at the bedding of the trail, and grows to about 6 inches by 10k ft. I broke out a rough snowshoe trench starting about 1.5 miles in to about 12k ft when the snow goes away. There are some icy waterfalls around 37.94896, -105.58964 and that is the only place I felt like I could have used an ice axe, but it isn't a no fall zone. Trail started getting hard to follow at about 11.1k ft. At 11.5k ft, there are tons of cairns leading up to the left which I accidentally (not enough snow to be worried about avalanches) followed which is way off the normal trail. I didn't want to be led to the start of some trad climbing route/dead end so I descended back down to where the trail should supposedly be, and decided to try the crestone traverse another day. 

Route: South Face via Cottonwood Creek Trail
Posted On: 10/9/2024, By: CraigE
Info: Great conditions. Trail was dry from Cottonwood Creek Trailhead all the way to the red gully, and the gully had just a little water running down the middle. No snow or ice to deal with anywhere.