Winter summit of Pine Ridge 12/29
Pine Ridge has two easy routes for summer climbs, from the North Longs Peak trail where the trail takes you just below the west slope of the ridge highpoint at 11909' and from the East Longs Peak trail where approximately one mile of off trail and 900' feet of elevation gain will separate you from the summit. In the winter however; the East Longs Peak route is by far the best bet, as the trail is almost always packed to treeline or even suitable to boots. The northern route is seldom traveled in the winter and offers no guarantee.
After meeting up with my partner Chris W, we parked at the E Longs Peak trailhead at 6:45 where only one other car was parked(winter climbing has its benefits, even on popular peaks on a saturday). Heading up, we were glad to see the trail was packed enough to simply walk over. At the Eugena Mine intersection one climber passed us, and at the Larkspur Creek bridge we had some breakfast. Heading up the switchbacks we noted what appeared to be well worn search and rescue trails, if not just a strenuous winter trails that shortcutted directly up the slope.
At Alpine Brook we noticed the trail heading up the drainage(I had previously determined this route was a popular shortcut in all seasons) and the summer trail crossing the bridges. We decided to take the summer trail, which was intermittent until the Battle Mountain backcountry campsite. At the campsite we had a little break while I scoped out the immediate route. Our plan was to gain the side ridge for a direct summit line rather than search out the Jims Grove trail and skirt the stunted trees. Heading through the krummholz was incredibly strenuous as the snow density kept changing due to drifting behind trees. Eventually we hit tundra and surveyed the gradual slope in the direction of the top, two false summits later we stood upon the tallest point. A small, weathered branch placed in a crack confirmed this, though there wasn't a register.
For the first time in our sub-freezing day, the wind really picked up. We had estimated the temperature was a sweltering zero degrees to begin with, and with 15 mph gusts from the southwest we hit an estimated -20 degrees to hasten our descent. We decided to avoid the mess we'd ascended by and hit the old Jims Grove trail below the three prominent spires on the southern arm of the ridge. Taking this back proved easy with snowshoes and suitable for boots after coming out to the Battle Mountain site. Heading down we picked up the obvious trail heading down the Alpine Brook drainage we'd seen coming up, which saved about a quarter mile of exposed trail.
Back in the trees we made good time back to the trailhead after passing several groups of people, the first we'd met in nearly 8 hours. Back in Estes we hit Bob and Tony's pizza and Mountain Cookies before driving down the canyon.
After meeting up with my partner Chris W, we parked at the E Longs Peak trailhead at 6:45 where only one other car was parked(winter climbing has its benefits, even on popular peaks on a saturday). Heading up, we were glad to see the trail was packed enough to simply walk over. At the Eugena Mine intersection one climber passed us, and at the Larkspur Creek bridge we had some breakfast. Heading up the switchbacks we noted what appeared to be well worn search and rescue trails, if not just a strenuous winter trails that shortcutted directly up the slope.
At Alpine Brook we noticed the trail heading up the drainage(I had previously determined this route was a popular shortcut in all seasons) and the summer trail crossing the bridges. We decided to take the summer trail, which was intermittent until the Battle Mountain backcountry campsite. At the campsite we had a little break while I scoped out the immediate route. Our plan was to gain the side ridge for a direct summit line rather than search out the Jims Grove trail and skirt the stunted trees. Heading through the krummholz was incredibly strenuous as the snow density kept changing due to drifting behind trees. Eventually we hit tundra and surveyed the gradual slope in the direction of the top, two false summits later we stood upon the tallest point. A small, weathered branch placed in a crack confirmed this, though there wasn't a register.
For the first time in our sub-freezing day, the wind really picked up. We had estimated the temperature was a sweltering zero degrees to begin with, and with 15 mph gusts from the southwest we hit an estimated -20 degrees to hasten our descent. We decided to avoid the mess we'd ascended by and hit the old Jims Grove trail below the three prominent spires on the southern arm of the ridge. Taking this back proved easy with snowshoes and suitable for boots after coming out to the Battle Mountain site. Heading down we picked up the obvious trail heading down the Alpine Brook drainage we'd seen coming up, which saved about a quarter mile of exposed trail.
Back in the trees we made good time back to the trailhead after passing several groups of people, the first we'd met in nearly 8 hours. Back in Estes we hit Bob and Tony's pizza and Mountain Cookies before driving down the canyon.
Note: After finding out early that my camera didn't charge properly, my only option was my cell phone camera. Adding to the inconvenience was that my phone was buried deep in my pack to keep in warm. Therefore, the following pictures were only taken from two places, our stop at the Battle Mountain intersection and from the summit. Sorry.
