Challenger Point

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 9/29/2011, By: mrschaible
Info: Trail is dry and no snow to the summit. Colors are almost at peak. Great climb. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 9/25/2011, By: I like it on top
Info: The route from Willow Lake is mostly clear. There are a few spots here and there with snow, the ridge is all clear, and the trail over to Kit Carson haas a few avoidable spots also. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 9/21/2011, By: jdorje
Info: Snow on Thursday-Saturday has mostly melted by now. There might be minimal snow at the top but it should be climbable without any snow gear. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 7/19/2011, By: iquack08
Info: This is not a peak condition report. I just wanted to report that I had an encounter with a black bear and her cub at the 4wd TH around 3:30am. Be on alert for the next couple of days. I decided to play it safe and head home, ending my trip early. 

Route: North Slope/Pencil Couloir
Posted On: 6/11/2011, By: Exiled Michigander
Info: Hopefully a trip report will follow if I find time tomorrow or Monday. For now, here‘s an update on conditions for Challenger Point from Willow Lake. Road to the trailhead is in quite good condition. I made it all the way to 1/10 of a mile from the main trailhead in my low-clearance Chevy Cobalt (note, however, that it is a UAW-made monster . . . basically a 4-cylinder John Wayne). Approach to Willow Lake is in great shape and very little snow in the entire Willow Lake Basin, so leave your snowshoes at home. I attempted the Pencil Couloir on Challenger (Images 1 and 2). Even with an early start from above Willow Lake, snow conditions deteriorated quickly. The snow was good at first, but by 7:45 a.m., when I was just more than halfway up the couloir, it turned into 4 inches of slush on top of a base layer of ice--couldn‘t get a grip with my crampons or ice axe. I instead climbed onto the rock just east (left) of the couloir (Image 3) and scrambled to the top of the notch (not bad, Class 3 or 3+ tops). The standard route along the west (right) side of the couloir still had a lot of snow; I think the east side might be better for the time being. From the notch to the summit (Image 4) is smooth sailing. Kit Carson is still not viable from Challenger. Will try to post a separate conditions report on Carson. 

Route: North Slopes/Pencil Couloir
Posted On: 6/11/2011, By: Exiled Michigander
Info: I‘m having computer issues and couldn‘t edit the conditions report I just posted to add photos. Hopefully this one will work. Road to the trailhead is in quite good condition. I made it all the way to 1/10 of a mile from the main trailhead in my low-clearance Chevy Cobalt (note, however, that it is a UAW-made monster . . . basically a 4-cylinder John Wayne). Approach to Willow Lake is in great shape and very little snow in the entire Willow Lake Basin, so leave your snowshoes at home. I attempted the Pencil Couloir on Challenger (Images 1 and 2). Even with an early start from above Willow Lake, snow conditions deteriorated quickly. The snow was good at first, but by 7:45 a.m., when I was just more than halfway up the couloir, it turned into 4 inches of slush on top of a base layer of ice--couldn‘t get a grip with my crampons or ice axe. I instead climbed onto the rock just east (left) of the couloir (Image 3) and scrambled to the top of the notch (not bad, Class 3 or 3+ tops). The standard route along the west (right) side of the couloir still had a lot of snow; I think the east side might be better for the time being. From the notch to the summit (Image 4) is smooth sailing. Kit Carson is still not viable from Challenger. Will try to post a separate conditions report on Carson. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 5/1/2012, By: QueerArmorGuy99
Info: Climbed the very easy Challenger Point North Slope, conditions were great! There was absolutly no snow and I wore a sweet Kansas Jayhawks T-shirt and cut off jeans. Also, I saw some bears.....we got drunk together. It was a great time 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 4/18/2011, By: scholbiwan
Info: Very little snow somewhat below Willow Lake. Snowshoes were handy at times. Above Willow Lake winter conditions still exist, with icy hard pack patches here and there complemented with loose rotten snow as well. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 4/18/2011, By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: No snow on the trail up to the headwall (10,800‘) where it becomes patch up to the top of the headwall and snow-covered to the lake. From the lake, the climb to the top of the water (ice) falls is mostly clear of snow and dry across the flats, above the lake. The north slope is partially snow-covered and crampons are recommended on the steeper terrain. 

Route: Willow Creek approach
Posted On: 4/11/2011, By: tmathews
Info: Traction is not needed before the crossing of Willow Creek. The creek is flowing at the crossing, so water can be obtained there. I did not put on snowshoes until I got to the upper part of the headwall past the creek. The snow is hard there and traction is highly recommended. I kept the snowshoes on up to the lake as floatation was handy. I‘m not sure how many people have been up there, but there were quite a few postholes. The trail to the top of the falls past Willow Lake was a mix of ice and bare rock. I did not use snowshoes or traction on this portion. I also didn‘t need to use traction of any sort until I got to the gully below Kirk Couloir. At this point, I had decided not to climb it and wanted to get some beta on Outward Bound, so I proceeded across the gully with crampons as the snow was hard. That‘s as far as I went due to the winds. Holy crap -- the winds! The ferocity was astounding. As I approached the top of the falls on my way down, I was physically not able to walk against it and laughed as I braced myself with my trekking poles. Had I been on hard snow or ice, I probably would have been blown backward on my feet! Walk across the lake at your peril. There was a single set of footprints (and dog pawprints) in the ice that were made when it was slushy. I walked across on my way in and out, but a hole had appeared at the end of the lake where the creek begins by the time I was heading down and water was flowing. 

Route: North Slope
Posted On: 1/9/2011, By: Kevin Baker
Info: Still not a lot of snow on west facing aspects in the Sangres, but that will probably change soon. We were able to get by without snowshoes all the way to the top of the headwall at about 11K‘. Trailbreaking beyond that wasn‘t bad, but deep enough to warrant rotating. Challenger is indeed a challenge in winter regardless of snow depth. It took us two tries! Summitted via a steep, snowy rib just east of the standard route. We protected about 80M of it.