Crestone Needle

An amazing trip to an amazing area of Colorado. Seven us traveled there in basically 3 waves. Amy, Ben, and Vijay arrived (at the 4WD Trail Head) mid-afternoon, Thursday, July 25, 2013. Darek and his wife Anita met Andy and me at the 2WD Trail Head at around 6:00 p.m. and from there the 4 of us drove up to the 4WD TH and hiked up to South Colony Lake where Amy, Ben and Vijay awaited. We got there around 9:30 p.m. Rise and shine at 4:00 a.m. Friday, July 26 for separate peak climbing. Darek claimed Crestone Needle even before 7:00. From there he descended and then ran up Humboldt to join Anita and Vijay. Ben summitted The Needle shortly after Darek. Andy and Amy accompanied me to the top of the east gully on the way to The Needle. There I happened to meet a young man named Austin and the two of us reached the top at 8:05. Amy and Ben stayed an extra day to climb Humboldt on Saturday, July 27. This collection includes a number of Amy's pictures, several taken during her ascent of Humboldt. The Sangre de Cristo mountain range is breathtaking, and the Crestones (with Humboldt their next door neighbor) are inspiring and intimidating. A memorable, fun-filled trip with old and new friends!

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From the traverse between BHP and the east gully to Crestone Needle, this is a view down to Cottonwood Lake. The trail to Crestone Peak is on the near side of the lake.