Challenger Point

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 5/30/2017, By: t17anderson
Info: Got a late start the morning of 5/26/17 arriving to the trailhead at aprx 5:45 am. Had the goal of summiting both Challenger & Kit Carson, but with the late start knew one, if not both could be in jeopardy. However, we got lucky with some outstanding weather all the way until early afternoon. The Willow Creek Approach was pretty uneventful all the way up to the Lake, and our group of eight stopped a few times here and there for water/food/picture breaks. Started getting into snow just before crossing the waterfall around 11,500'. Snow was pretty firm still and in areas micro spikes came in very handy. As we got closer to the lake, the snow depth kept increasing and due to this area seeing more direct sunlight, postholing started to become a problem here and there, however snow shoes probably wouldn't have been worth the extra hassle. We ran into a hiker the day before who summited Kit Carson, and he recommended leaving the snow shoes at home. The weight and space saved was more beneficial for me, some others may have preferred to have them. We stopped for lunch and to rest our legs once reaching the lake around 10am, taking in its beautiful views. At this time there was still not a cloud to be seen in the sky, and very mild wind at around 5-15mph. From here, staying on the trail became a little more difficult at times. There's still plenty of snow around the lake covering the trail, and the trail was a lot less traveled, not leaving a whole lot of foot tracks to follow. However, we managed due to knowing the general direction we needed to go. Once getting around the lake to the base of the North Slope, we decided to ditch our bags. This turned out to come back to bite us! We looked at our trail notes/pictures to be sure we correctly followed the gully....and then accidentally left them behind in the bags. The North Slope was almost completely covered in snow, waist deep in areas, and route finding proved to be very difficult with absolutely no tracks to follow. We managed to correctly follow just to the right of the gully up to around 13,000', however made the mistake of veering to our right, instead of staying close to the gully from there. Had we remembered our notes, this would have been avoided! Not knowing at the time we had screwed up, we kept climbing, reaching what I'll guess was probably 13,800' until noticing our mistake. By this time it was around 12:30pm, and menacing clouds/wind rolled in very quickly, which kept us from attempting to correct our route to summit. Due to our late start, the sun had softened the snow on the North Slope pretty well, making crampons not a necessity, but I still found use of crampons very beneficial along with my trekking poles. Had we started earlier, crampons and potentially axes may have been a necessity. The group was pretty disappointed we weren't able to summit, especially because of how close we were! However, this being our first time ever attempting to summit in true mountaineering/snowy conditions, we were still proud of ourselves and how far we got. Hoping to come back this summer with more favorable conditions & take down both Kit & Challenger in one day like we had hoped to! Safe climbing everyone. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 4/15/2017, By: bmcqueen
Info: Willow Lake approach is mostly dry to 10,500, then a few spots of snow here and there until it goes all snow at 10,900'. Morning was firm - no snowshoes; afternoon was a bit of postholing where they could be handy. We stashed snowshoes above the lake and put on crampons about 12k. North Face is a steep snow climb, but pretty solid although gets sunhit early. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 10/25/2016, By: Rynoref73
Info: A couple of us decided to take Monday 10/24 and hit Challenger Point and Kit Carson. The route was great, and everything leading up to both summits was completely clear. There is some snow on the north face, but can be easily avoided by just staying on or near the trail. This included the gulley leading up to the ridge on Challeger. There was a small patch of solid snow on the avenue leading to Kit Carson, but easy to walk over within literally a few seconds. Route was clear, summits were beautiful. Felt very much like a late August day. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 10/17/2016, By: lfishsays
Info: Snow the last 500' or so to the ridge. Hardly any snow on the ridge. A little snow in the first part of the avenue to KC, but it's dry after that. Microspikes would probably be helpful for the descent down Challenger. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 10/9/2016, By: dogballs
Info: Summer conditions for the most part. Snow is starting to collect on the northern aspects. Original plan was to do Kit Carson as well, but thick cloud cover made me turn around after summiting Challenger Point. Route up is easy to identify and follow. Bring traction if you are not comfortable walking on snow that is packed. It took 2hr02min to reach Willow Lake, summited Challenger at 4hr05min and round trip took 6hr35min. Sorry no pictures of the traverse over to Kit Carson as it was obscured by the clouds. Only northern slopes seem to be holding snow right now. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 10/3/2016, By: kayleenann8
Info: quick update: the route is still almost entirely snow free. There is one section of the steep loose scree that has a snow patch on it, but you can either pick your way carefully around it or hike up it (there is a nice boot pack). I did not use any traction and it was safe. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 9/17/2016, By: Roald
Info: The North Slope route is steep and loose, and not much fun as stated in previous reports. Honestly though, I don't think it is any worse than any other steep/loose route you'll find on many of the 14ers. This route is very doable if you just take your time and follow the cairns. FYI - A small amount of snow is starting to collect on parts of the trail. Not a problem yet, but will be once it dusts a few more times. Get it while you can. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 9/12/2016, By: JQDivide
Info: No snow. But that standard route gully is crappy loose dirt and rock... one of worst descents. Numerous trails cut through back and forth as people tried to find the best way down. (No one has.) 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 9/11/2016, By: ThrasherMerrill
Info: Challenger and Kit in ideal condition right now; no snow on the route and avenue is clear enough. Get it while it's hot. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 8/30/2016, By: mcklarry
Info: There was rain Sunday night into Monday morning. When we got the lake, you could see fair amount of snow on the rocks. We had hoped to do Kit Carson North Ridge, but not with snow. Expected rain late morning and afternoon. Turned around at 12100 as clouds came in. Some snow in the gullery 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 8/28/2016, By: mikemalick
Info: Rained last night. Trail was pretty muddy from about 1/2 mile before lake off and on past the lake. There was some minor snow higher up the slope and at the notch/saddle. Not all could be avoided. Lower down the slope many of the slabs were wet. Ridge to summit was dry and no problem at all. While the north slope was a little messy in spots, it turned out to not be too bad. I didn't use spikes anywhere along the Challenger route nor did I see anyone else using them. It was warm and sunny most of the day and when I left so perhaps that north slope snow will melt out/dry up soon. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 8/23/2016, By: SnowAlien
Info: Sangres got snow on Monday evening. Actually it's several inches or more (depending on aspect) of low grade hail. Trails got icy. More importantly, winds above 11.5k (our high point) appeared to be in 40-50 mph range. Overall conditions were more reminiscent of October rather than August. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 7/18/2016, By: Unknown
Info: No need for any snow gear, but there is plenty of snow in the rib to help guide your route up challenger slopes (see route info). The slope is extremely loose. I was glad I had hiking boots w/ ankle cover (as opposed to trail runners, low cut). The avenue to KC and remainder of route also no need for any snow gear. Warning: There are "TONS" of mosquitoes at the lake and campsites. The trail from the parking lot up also has its fair share. Take plenty of bug spray (BE CAREFUL: DEET CAN HARM SYNTHETIC FABRICS AND DAMAGE PLASTICS). This does not mean to avoid deet products, just use wisely. I took 3 different kinds of sprays (DEET, picardin, and one other odorless kind). They were all mild to moderately effective and worth carrying. RECOMMENDATION: Bring an appropriate mosquito net for designed for head/face. I saw a few intelligent people using them.......I was not one of those people. We had no problems with bears but there are bighorn and other smaller creatures wandering camp so protect your food/gear. The smoke from the Hayden fire is evident looking back into the SLV, but you dont really notice the smell until you hit the Challenger Ridge (note the fire is north and on the opposite side of the Sangres as this climb, so this route is open and at this time I do not foresee a closure due to the current wildfire. There are plenty of places to filter water near the lake. There is a stream not far from most of the campsites (slightly further down the main trail. Above the lake however there is only one good spot which is essentially the flowing stream you must cross which is about to become the waterfall at the far end of the lake. After that there is really nothing else. So this is your last chance to filter during your climb. DO NOT RECOMMEND Mapquest to get to Crestone. My directions were missing 20 miles. Use another source. Iknow some of you like to see times so here is mine from campsite. Leave camp 505am>summit challenger 745am>leave challenger 800am>summit KC 900am> leave KC 915am>re-summit challenger 1015am> leave challenger 1040am> back to camp 120pm. Yes it took just as long to descend the challenger slopes as it did to climb it. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 7/17/2016, By: trinkner
Info: Mosquitoes from the TH to above the lake remain mortally epic. I only got a few bites by first covering the skin of my arms, legs, chest, and face with repellent, and then spraying my clothes. I wore a long-sleeved shirt over my t-shirt, long climbing pants, a hat with a "Sahara" neck flap, and mountain-biking gloves. For the pre-dawn hike in, I'd recommend a thin rain shell, too, as I got some bites on my shoulders, despitef the clothing and repellent. On the descent, I forgot to put on the gloves and got several bites on my hands. These bugs are merciless. As for the trail, the descent from Challenger was one of the least enjoyable of my career. The gully is steep, filled with loose scree and unstable rocks. There are almost no switchbacks. A few hours before my descent, I climber told me of a rock slide in the gully earlier in the day that narrowly missed other climbers. There were lots fresh white "chalk" marks all along the gully that I image were created by the falling rocks. The descent seemed far less stable than the ascent, with many large rocks highly unstable and football-sized rocks highly unstable. I talked with a trail worker for a group affiliated with the 14ers Initiative. They're currently building an alternative trail up Challenger that will feature lots of switchbacks. If you're selecting peaks for your season, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND WAITING A FEW YEARS FOR THEM TO COMPLETE THIS NEW TRAIL. She said they would likely finish in two years or so. Of course, if you're trying to finish the list soon, just be prepared for a time-consuming and dispiriting descent. But some good news! In tiny Crestone, the Crestone Brewing Company has opened. Great burgers and beer for the evening before your climb. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 7/13/2016, By: CraigB2013
Info: DANGER DANGER DANGER! Mosquitos are really bad, unless the wind blows, on the Willow Lake approach and at the lake. It really ruins what is a great trail and beautiful place. Challenger's route conditions are getting bad. Lose gravel on hard pan with some small rocks. It reminded me of the Columbia route. Needless to say, it took more time than expected to climb. Great conditions to mess up a knee or ankle with the unstable surfaces.