Kit Carson / The Prow 

The Prow on Kit Carson is one of the best alpine rock climbs in Colorado- I think it is much better than the more famous Ellinwood Ledges on nearby Crestone Needle. The approach is actually up Spanish Creek, not Willow as stated in the route description. Check out the 7.5 minute Crestone Peak quad and the Prow is quite obvious coming due south from the summit. The route is a striking, plumb-line arete which can be followed directly to the summit. An alternative descent from the summit is to scramble a very short ways E-NE and descend the gully east of the Prow- some moderate downclimbing is involved, but with good routefinding you should be able to avoid anything too hard or exposed (I've taken Outward Bound patrols down this with full packs). In September the raspberries in Spanish creek drainage are outrageous. Be aware that several people have lost their lives trying to descend the snowfield which leads north into Willow from the notch between Kit Carson and Challenger Point. It is somewhat inviting yet deceptive as it steepens considerably half-way down and is usually icy mid- to late-season...and terminates in a boulder field at the bottom. If you are inclined to descend into Willow, it is probably best to do this from closer to Challenger Point. The large wall left of the Prow has been climbed by numerous routes in the 5.6 to 5.8 range. Routefinding is vague (pick a line), the rock is mostly good, and as is typical of Sangres conglomerate, the protection is sparse. Also, there are several really large (40') conglomerate erratics just above tree line in Upper Spanish that provide excellent climbing opportunities. Finally, it is possible to descend from the top of Spanish (nicknamed "The Golfcourse" by Outward Bounders) into the South Colony Lakes area (below the Ellinwood Ledges, etc.) via a moderate snow couloir that is obvious on the 7.5 quad- but an ice axe is required.

As if I haven't blabbed enough already...The Prow can be climbed car-to-car in a day without undue hardship; consider it about as much effort as your typical Spearhead day. It may be a bit of a bushwack, however, starting up Spanish in the dark if you are unfamiliar with the area. Also, the reference to "Ellingwood" in the descent description may be confusing: the "broad valley" mentioned is most likely what I referred to as the Golfcourse, and the peak you would climb up and over on the "one mile E from the summit" descent is not Ellingwood (Ellingwood Peak is actually far to the south in the Blanca Group) but rather a continuation of the ridge on Kit Carson. The descent which I described (immediately right or east of the Prow) is much shorter, however, and will take you back closer to near where you started the climb. Hardcore 14er-types have climbed the four 14ers in the Crestone Group (Kit Carson, Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, and Humboldt) in-a-day.

I made a mistake. I should have put in Spanish Creek, not Willow Creek (you drive over Willow creek about 2.5 miles from Crestone - it takes you up the other side of Kit Carson)

OK you read through the route description and the comments below and you get some good but vague information, particularly on the approach and summit descent. Confusing the Willow Creek drainage with Spanish Creek drainage is a BIG mistake (not to mention the reference to Ellingwood) and should be corrected in the route description. The hike in is not that bad. A simple thing to remember is to find the old road and stay on it. It does cross the creek (4-5 times) but there is always a bridge to help you across. Remember, once you find this trail stay on the road. The road ends just below the burn area and the trail is good (lots of cairns) all the way to treeline. Steve is correct about the easy descent from Kit Carson down the South Couloir (also known as Cole's Couloir). You don't want to go into the gully itself but stay on the right hand side (also look for cairns and a faint trail) and it is a cruse (at a leisurely pace it took me a little over a hour to go from the summit to my camp). The "broad valley" that Steve calls "the golfcourse" is usually referred as the Bears Playground (called this because of the long linear "scratch marks" that run down it). I think we need to maintain as much as possible the common accepted names for areas, Bears Playground is a good example. You will find this area referred as this in numerous guide books. Calling it something else only confuses people (as I saw this past weekend with a couple using a copy of this web site as their guide).

Sean, thanks for pointing out more details about this climb and area. I last climbed in the Crestones in the late 80s while a Course Director for Outward Bound, so my memory is a bit fuzzy for details (although I still recall vividly the many excellent unclimbed lines and virgin crags). Things have probably changed since then anyhow; I'm sure the trail up Spanish Creek has improved from the vague path I remember. The Golfcourse is an Outward Bound name, and thus its usefulness is limited. I agree that published (or popularized) names should be used on this site when possible. Regardless of nomenclature, the critical tool for exploring this area is the 7.5 minute USGS quad, which incidentally omits most climbing names altogether.

Shouldn't we create a new area & rock for this route and others in its area? e.g. Sangre de Cristos, Spanish creek area?

Has anybody climbed the Ellingwood Arete yet this spring? If anybody has been there recently I would appreciate some info on how much, if any, snow is up there and if it would be doable this weekend.

What up ac? I just did the arete last weekend, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The road that leads to the trailhead is in good, Read: Dry condition, and I drove it all the way in my stock Toyota pickup. It was pretty exciting!!!! I encountered very little ice or snow on the route EXCEPT at the crux!!! Not to worry though, It didn't make it too much harder, and I bet by now it is all gone. Enjoyed the hell out of this route, it don't get much better.

George Bell and I just got rained out from our attempt to climb the Prow yesterday. Some more beta on the approach:

Spanish Creek Trail is more like 3.5 miles rather than the 5 stated above. After reading all kinds of bad stuff about the approach we were bracing for the worst time of our lives. It is true that it is a rough hike from an aerobic standpoint gaining over 3,000 vert in about three miles (from 8.5 K to 11.5 K ft).

The trail however is not a bushwack at all. We started up the HUA temple footpath sign passing some shrines to our left and following this old road. After a while it narrows but it is cairned ALL the way to Kit Carson. The stream is crossed a few times as stated above and the trail does thin out a few time. Use this simle rule which worked for us: if you lose the trail or your are bushwhacking. STOP, Retrace and you will soon enough find cairns.

The single most excrutiating part besides the butt kicking elevation gain with full packs was the "Old Burn" area starting at 9,500FT and lasting till 10,500. This is an old forest fire section that left large dead trees scattered like match sticks. Here you will have to skip, strattle and go under 316 tree trunks. Yes I counted them on the way back. Obviously this makes for slow going but cairns sit atop tree trunks to guide you through the maze.

There are great camping spots just below tree line and North of the creek. Above tree line boulders abound and marmots await your pack and tent...

WE climbed this route on 4th of July weekend. We had the entire Spanish Creek Valley to ourselves and beutiful weather. I would highly recommend bringing mosquito repellent, long sleeves, and pants for the approach. The mosquitos were absolutely brutal for aprox. the first two miles of the approach. If you cache gear at the base of the climb, be sure to put your gear in stuff sacks (doubled). Marmots tore up our climbing shoes!!! Enjoy.

We climbed this route the weekend of 6/11/04. I agree with M.S. One of the very best routes I have ever done. Here is some more beta that may help.

Approach: Follow the Hua Footpath, past the Hua Temple onto a faint road heading up the drainage just on the N. side of Spanish Creek. The "road" peters out at a narrow footbridge. Cross the bridge, and follow the faint trail up and a bit left through the rose bushes to another "road". Exit onto the road and look left, you should see the creek. Cross the creek to its S. side and continue up the trail, crossing the creek several times. After 6 or so crossings (and when you are one the N. side of the creek), look for the trail to take a hard left away from the creek. After this the trail is easy to follow.. Do not bushwack. If you do, back up, and look to the left or right for the trail. I have done this 3 times and finally have it dialed, but it is a bit tricky. Crossing the old burn is not that bad, and judicious cairn-following from this point on will be to your advantage.

The Climb: We started at the point on the ridge (looking from the east) where the talus is interrupted by steeper, more solid rock right on the skyline. Two pitches of easy climbing will also bring you to the "official" 5.8 start.

We did the climb to Kit Carson Ave. in 9 pitches (200 m rope), with some simulclimbing on easier upper pitches. Lots of solid but spooky climbing on this route.

Finish: Guidebooks suggest a number of possible finishes, but I HIGHLY recommend just continuing straight up the distinct, S. facing buttress/fin that is right in your face as you exit the Prow on KCA. Do not miss this pitch! It provides 200 more feet of excellent climbing and offers more pro than the lower pitches...a welcomed change! After this pitch (5.5ish), 200 feet of 4th class brings you to a 20' knife edge traverse to the small, spectacular summit.

Descent: We downclimbed the E. gully and S. couloir (mid June). Very straightforward descent. This couloir never exceeds 30 degrees or so.

Random notes: Some of the published descriptions of this route may be misleading. For example, Roach describes a "bulge dodge" that one must avoid to the right. Careful, I never found this, and an attempt to move right down low may get you off route, or worse (see comments of M. S. above). The best advice I can give is to bust the 5.8 move, and follow your nose right up the face of the Prow to the top.

We finally did this climb on Sunday 8/8/04.

Very cool route. The descriptions above were pretty much on target. A couple of comments:

- The 5.8 start is at 13,000 ft. For some reason even though I knew the Prow came close to the summit I never did the math to the start... So as you ponder your capabilities to do this route remember that the whole affair will take place between 13K-14K ft.

- It is mentioned in the above comments that the route is run out. Now, I am used to Flatiron run outs and I have to say that the Prow run outs, particularly the first two 60m pitches, make climbing in the Flatirons feel over protected. We experienced 40-50 foot run outs sometimes on questionable gear (#2 RP). After the crux of pitch two there is a fixed cam on the left side of the arete under a flake. I was very thankful for this. As mentioned, the rock is good and the climbing reasonable (5.6-5.7) but it also assumes that you find the correct line which is not obvious.

- This is one of those climbs where it is terrifying as you're in it and exhilirating when you are done. Great alpine adventure on an awesome looking remote rock.

WT

This route was a blast! More important than being able to lead 5.8+ on this route is being able to run it out on 5.6-5.7, and route finding ability. On the crux pitch, it is possible to take a nasty fall, over 50 feet I would estimate. If the rock were at all suspect, this pitch would be way scary. Fortunately the rock seemed excellent and it's just a matter of keeping your head together and not climbing into a holdless area. Still, these runouts were the hardest section of the climb for me. Beyond the second pitch, things get a lot easier. Long runouts but great holds all over the place.

Climbed the Prow 16 July 05 with Mark Sokol. Great rock. The runout and exposure kept the ower fifth class interesteing.

Advice #1: the steepness of the first pitch may push you to the far right. Do not do this. Maintain the Prow proper. My partner was led astray and turned the first pitch into an airy and runout 5.11 on moss.

Advice #2: worst mosquitos I've ever seen. Bring bugspray (DEET). I dismissed the warnings above as coming from [Front r\Range] pansies, only to have to wear my raingear down the lower 3/4s of the drainage.

Advice #3: go light. It will help when pulling the initial crux move. You know the saying, "a rope, a rack, and the shirt on your back." Or, bring some huge biceps.

Has this been climbed in the winter? The route is free and clear of snow and/or ice as of the 1st week of January.What direction does the Prow face? Might be nice to be able to climb it without the threat of the summer thunder storms.

I don't know if the Prow has been climbed in winter. It faces south so on the right day might be almost bearable. The technical climbing is all above 13K however, so it is unlikely to be above freezing in the winter. If windy it could turn nasty real fast.

Normally there would be a lot of snow on the approach but I guess not this year so far. If you just want to avoid thunderstorms, I'd choose September or October, maybe even May after a dry winter.

Alan Haverfeld and Dave Mazel, both of the SLV, had the FA on The Prow in the early 1980s.

Don't know if it has been before, but The Prow was climbed this calendar winter (3/11/07) by guide Marc Beverly and Cynthia Adams from New Mexico.

FYI Jody Schoberlein (sp?) and I climbed this route in July 1980.

Did this in early July and one key thing has changed since I was up there two years ago. There is now a Private Property "No Access", "No Camping" sign at the creek right after you hit the "Old Road" maybe 1/3 of a mile in.
Note that this is well past the temple foot path which is private but has never been posted as no access. The sign is large but kind of eco-colored so it is not totally obvious. The name of the owner (another temple) was on the sign but I can't remember it.

If this access stays closed my thought is that South Colony is probably the next best bet short of climbing in from Willow lake.

Hunter

Trip report of our climb of the Prow on Aug. 18, 2007. We tagged Challenger Point, Kit Carson Peak, Columbia Point, and Obstruction Peak while we were up there.

Anyone out there have any comments on the recent (or not so recent, it has been about two years now) developments with the private land issue in the mouth of Spanish Creek Canyon?
I am wondering if this is an issue the Access Fund is aware of, or if it is of little importance to most people who frequent this drainage, in other words, if it is just a question of being stealth and ignoring these obnoxious signs? I am putting this out there to maybe start a dialogue with like minded folks who have always gone in from the Crestone side. I find it insulting that someone could get away with blocking access to one of my favorite trails in Colorado.
Any responses would be appreciated.
vampyreworks@gmail.com

A good friend of mine did The Prow about a month ago, and he didn't mention any problems, other than the tedious deadfall hurdling.