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.
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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