Noah and I decided it was time for a fall hike on a peak he'd been looking at for 3 months above where he was living in the San Luis Valley. We met to camp on Lake Como Road Friday night before. With his camry, we stopped about 1.5 miles up the road to camp. We got to bed early for a pre-dawn start.

We got up around 5am, grabbed our bags and gear and jumped in my jeep to drive another 2 miles up the road. Given the dark, and my uncertainty, we stopped a bit short of where we probably could have gotten, around 8,500'. If you have 4WD and high clearance you can probably get to 8800'. From there we started the hike up the Lake Como switchbacks. There are quite a few log cabins remains 2-3 miles in that some people were tenting in, seems like a pretty cool place to backpack into. On our way to Lake Como we ran into a gorgeous pair of bighorns on the trail, the wildlife was fantastic this time of year despite the cold.

We got to Lake Como around 9am and sat down for some food. The lake was frozen over already but gorgeous as ever. Not a cloud in the sky and winds less than 5mp. Looking ahead we knew snow was in store. Up to Lake Como we passed a few small patches but for the most part there wasn't much to that point. The view of Little Bear Peak from the lake is fantastic. The trail then continues to the left of the lake before heading into a grove of trees.

Once we got around the lake to the backside, things changed fast. After crossing the creek the snow picks up considerably and consistently covered the path. There were also sections where we needed to cross some sheer ice due to creeks running along the trail, so we stopped to put on microspikes a good miles before we had expected. It was also extremely helpful having trek poles to keep balanced or I would've slipped far more often.

Things got more interesting once you reach the ledges along the northface. With the snow, it was difficult to route find among the rocks, as most cairns were relatively small. The footprints left from other hikers converged in some areas but took pretty different routes in other spots. Once you pass 13'000 or so things get steeper and the snow in some places deeper, so I got out my ice axe to help a bit. I was happy to have it along some of the more exposed areas. The melting snow from the sun overhead really made things slippery as the snow slushed around quite a bit. Glad I had the axe and spikes.

The final pitch along the ridge, around 14,000' was challenging. Things get harder that high up, and the already Class 2+ scrambling got more difficult with snow. Thankfully we had a near wind-free day, so we could take our time without getting too cold and without getting knocked around. The final section of the climb was a bit sketchy, involving a climb directly on the ridge exposed with snow, or along a ledge to the right, also exposed, with snow. the climber in front of us bowed out about 100 feet below the summit, but we were a bit more equipped and decided to continue. We moved slowly, used our gear, and got to the summit a few minutes later, around 2pm. The views were incredible, and we spent a good bit of time relaxing with EagleEye.

The climb down took time, the snow was melting in the sun making things slushy and slippery. It took nearly as long to get off the northwest face as it did to get up it, but we picked up time passing by the lakes, when I put away my axe and went back to trek poles. Thanks to snowmelt during the day, we were able to take off our microspikes too much sooner than we had put them on for a nice finish in our boots and less layers. We finished the hike on the Lake Como switchbacks watching the sunset over the valley, after we had started during sunrise. Winter is about here when it comes to Blanca Peak. Glad to have a safe, great first fall summit with good company!