Ellingwood Point Trip Report 08/13/2023

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Ellingwood Point - 14,057 feet
Date Posted	08/13/2023
Modified	08/14/2023
Date Climbed	08/13/2023
Author	JBK14er

North Ridge via Zapata Falls is very TOUGH
My buddy and I climbed Ellingwood Point via the North Ridge/ Zapata Falls trail on Sunday, 8/13/2023. I wanted to make this post to add to/ supplement the wonderful information that's available on this site. First off, thank you to everyone who contributed maps/ route finding tips on this hike. The C2 Couloir is definitely the best way to tackle this ascent/ descent. The Crossfire is to be avoided at all costs, and the pictures on this site are accurate and do a great job of describing where to go. I recommend printing the maps and bringing them with you. It is very important to hit the C2 couloir. I cannot overstate that. That said, this is NOT an "easy class 3" hike, as this site calls it. I have a book on 14ers that classifies sections of the hike (namely the couloir and the home stretch) as class 5.0-5.2 hikes. I think this is a more accurate description/ classification. This was my 45th summit, and this hike is much harder than an easy class 3. The majority of the hike (about 10 miles of it) is fantastic, winding through a beautiful forest and the South Zapata Basin. However, from the base of the C2 couloir all the way up to the summit, and back down, this is a gnarly hike on loose scree, wobbly boulders, and very steep pitches. The book that I read notes that this route has proven fatal in the past, and that it should only be attempted by people who are used to a lot of exposure and hard scrambling. Much of the route after the Basin, including the home stretch, requires climbing on all fours. It is very sketchy, and the precipice to the left of the spine leading up to the summit is quite scary. It can be avoided by staying to the right (as noted on this site), but you do come within 5 feet of the edge at several moments, and it is scary. Additionally, it is difficult to know exactly where to go on the home stretch. Near the top, you actually have to go left, close to the precipice, and go up/over the spine, and then come back to the right for the final push up through a little notch. If you stay right before that, you will end up very exposed. We had to stop, turn around, and find our way left so that we did not fall. The last thing I'll add is that this site calls this hike a 14 mile round trip when including the Blanca traverse. By our measurement, it was almost 16 miles to just do Ellingwood. Please plan accordingly. This round trip hike took us 12 hours, and my buddy and I have over 70 summits between us. It is probably recommended to take the Lake Como route instead. This hike is beastly. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

North Ridge via Zapata Falls is very TOUGH

My buddy and I climbed Ellingwood Point via the North Ridge/ Zapata Falls trail on Sunday, 8/13/2023. I wanted to make this post to add to/ supplement the wonderful information that's available on this site.

First off, thank you to everyone who contributed maps/ route finding tips on this hike. The C2 Couloir is definitely the best way to tackle this ascent/ descent. The Crossfire is to be avoided at all costs, and the pictures on this site are accurate and do a great job of describing where to go. I recommend printing the maps and bringing them with you. It is very important to hit the C2 couloir. I cannot overstate that.

That said, this is NOT an "easy class 3" hike, as this site calls it. I have a book on 14ers that classifies sections of the hike (namely the couloir and the home stretch) as class 5.0-5.2 hikes. I think this is a more accurate description/ classification. This was my 45th summit, and this hike is much harder than an easy class 3. The majority of the hike (about 10 miles of it) is fantastic, winding through a beautiful forest and the South Zapata Basin.

However, from the base of the C2 couloir all the way up to the summit, and back down, this is a gnarly hike on loose scree, wobbly boulders, and very steep pitches. The book that I read notes that this route has proven fatal in the past, and that it should only be attempted by people who are used to a lot of exposure and hard scrambling. Much of the route after the Basin, including the home stretch, requires climbing on all fours. It is very sketchy, and the precipice to the left of the spine leading up to the summit is quite scary. It can be avoided by staying to the right (as noted on this site), but you do come within 5 feet of the edge at several moments, and it is scary.

Additionally, it is difficult to know exactly where to go on the home stretch. Near the top, you actually have to go left, close to the precipice, and go up/over the spine, and then come back to the right for the final push up through a little notch. If you stay right before that, you will end up very exposed. We had to stop, turn around, and find our way left so that we did not fall.

The last thing I'll add is that this site calls this hike a 14 mile round trip when including the Blanca traverse. By our measurement, it was almost 16 miles to just do Ellingwood. Please plan accordingly. This round trip hike took us 12 hours, and my buddy and I have over 70 summits between us. It is probably recommended to take the Lake Como route instead. This hike is beastly.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

desertdog	Snow 8/14/2023 3:41pm I've climbed this route several times with snow and its great. One as my favorites in the Sangres. Love the ridge to the summit as well. That said I bet the C2 without snow isn't much fun.
hellmanm	Ratings and descriptions 8/15/2023 9:24am I think the class 3 designation is more than fair. It's true that the upper portion is exposed, but the moves themselves aren't overly hard (and the rock is good once the exposure develops). Class rating is based off of the hardest move, after all, not the exposure or routefinding difficulty. Plus, as you mentioned, you don't have to stay ridge proper the whole time. The options to the right are what keep it at class 3 in some spots. Side note: many books that have the N ridge as class 5 are describing a portion of the ridge that doesn't intersect with the one from Zapata Lake. If you took that ridge down towards UN 13,660, you'd get into class 5 terrain. I do agree on the mileage, though. 16 to EP seems about right, since it's 6 miles just to reach the lake. I was surprised at how grueling it was when I did it a few years ago.
CaptainSuburbia	Mileage 8/15/2023 11:50am My tracker had 13.3 miles from Zapata to Blanca and back which seemed about right. I ascended C2 couloir with snow so can't speak to that but the ridge to Ellingwood was mostly class 2 with a short easy class 3 section near top. I descended crossfire by accident but it went well with snow
Jay521	C2... 8/15/2023 2:58pm I've done Ellingwood a couple times via C2 in summer conditions. Yeah, it's a pain. A royal pain. But I honestly didn't think it was as bad as some have said. And I'm no uber climber. Not at all. The one part of that climb I didn't like all that much was the traverse over to Blanca and back. Probably because I had to hunker down because of a storm going over. I never really felt like the exposure or the climbing anywhere on the route felt like 5.0 - especially cuz there was no way I could do that -- That said, I guess it is all subjective All that said, you are spot on with you assessment that the trail to the base of C2 has some of the most beautiful scenery around. Nice report - and I hope we get to see more from you!

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