Sierra Balanca Group
Little Bear Peak (14,037),
Ellingwood Peak (14,042),
Balanca Peak (14,345)
Sierra Blanca, Crestone Range
Route: Como Lake road to a high camp at Como Lake and then
West Ridge/SouthWest Face of Little Bear,
South Face of Ellingwood,
NorthWest Face of Balanca
Distance: 17 miles total
Vertical: 8,300 feet total
Date: May 5-6, 2019
Little Bear Peak
West Ridge/SouthWest Face route on Little Bear. Descent track is in red,
ascent is in blue where different from ascent. The second image is
from the summit where the boot pack marks the ascent route.
![balanca 9](LB_map.jpg)
I arrived at the lower Como Lake Trailhead late in the evening on May
4 and proceeded to crawl up the 4WD road in the darkness. I had read
that the road is extremely rough and that there are limited pull-outs
above about 9,000 ft. I drove to about 9,200 where I found a wide
spot to park and turn around. I had not yet encountered any snow and
the road was actually smoother at this point than the lower sections.
Although I felt pressure to push higher I really did not want to back
down the road in the darkness if there were no spots to park up higher.
Thus I set out on foot to explore what lie ahead and discovered an
equally-suitable spot to park at about 9,700 ft. I ran back down the
road, drove back up, parked, and threw down my pad and sleeping bag
in hopes of getting a few hours sleep. I woke up at 4:00 and was
started walking up the road around 5:00. The weather forecast was
calling for afternoon show showers and overnight lows in the 20's, so
I brought heavy stuff like a tent, tarp, liquid gas stove, extra food
and clothing. Combined with my skis and boots all of this gear made
for a heavy pack and progress was slow. I was able to transition to
skis after about a mile of walking, but the snow was patchy and I
alternated between walking and skinning. The road crossed Holbrook
creek about half way up and then takes on a southerly aspect. This
section was dry and I think I ended up hand-carrying the skis and walking
in ski boots for about a mile. When I encountered snow again at
about 11,000 I was able to skin the rest of the way to Como Lake
at 11,700. I quickly set up camp, ate some food, reconfigured
my pack and then set off for Little Bear around 8:30. Although it
was clear, temperatures were still well below freezing and there
was a definite cool breeze. I quickly discovered that a party of
three had attempted the route the day prior and I was able
to follow their skin and boot tracks through the forest and on to
the North Couloir.
![balanca 1](IMG_2506.jpg)
IMG_2508.jpg
![balanca 2](IMG_2508.jpg)
IMG_2509.jpg
![balanca 3](IMG_2509.jpg)
IMG_2510.jpg
![balanca 4](IMG_2510.jpg)
IMG_2513.jpg
![balanca 5](IMG_2513.jpg)
IMG_2514.jpg
![balanca 6](IMG_2514.jpg)
IMG_2516.jpg
![balanca 7](IMG_2516.jpg)
IMG_2517.jpg
![balanca 8](IMG_2517.jpg)
IMG_2521.jpg
![balanca 12](IMG_2521.jpg)
IMG_2520.jpg
![balanca 11](IMG_2520.jpg)
IMG_2518.jpg
![balanca 9](IMG_2518.jpg)
IMG_2519.jpg
![balanca 10](IMG_2519.jpg)
IMG_2523.jpg
![balanca 13](IMG_2523.jpg)
IMG_2525.jpg
![balanca 14](IMG_2525.jpg)
IMG_2526.jpg
![balanca 15](IMG_2526.jpg)
IMG_2529.jpg
![balanca 16](IMG_2529.jpg)
IMG_2550.jpg
![balanca 36](IMG_2550.jpg)
Ellingwood Point
![balanca 9](ellingwood.jpg)
IMG_2532.jpg
![balanca 18](IMG_2532.jpg)
IMG_2533.jpg
![balanca 19](IMG_2533.jpg)
IMG_2534.jpg
![balanca 20](IMG_2534.jpg)
IMG_2535.jpg
![balanca 21](IMG_2535.jpg)
IMG_2536.jpg
![balanca 22](IMG_2536.jpg)
IMG_2537.jpg
Balanca Peak
![balanca 19](balanca.jpg)
![balanca 23](IMG_2537.jpg)
IMG_2538.jpg
![balanca 24](IMG_2538.jpg)
IMG_2539.jpg
![balanca 25](IMG_2539.jpg)
IMG_2540.jpg
![balanca 26](IMG_2540.jpg)
IMG_2541.jpg
![balanca 27](IMG_2541.jpg)
IMG_2544.jpg
![balanca 30](IMG_2544.jpg)
IMG_2545.jpg
![balanca 31](IMG_2545.jpg)
IMG_2546.jpg
![balanca 32](IMG_2546.jpg)
IMG_2547.jpg
![balanca 33](IMG_2547.jpg)
IMG_2551.jpg
![balanca 37](IMG_2551.jpg)
IMG_2552.jpg
![balanca 38](IMG_2552.jpg)
IMG_2553.jpg
![balanca 39](IMG_2553.jpg)
IMG_2554.jpg
![balanca 40](IMG_2554.jpg)
IMG_2555.jpg
![balanca 41](IMG_2555.jpg)