I attempted a casual effort on this route weeks earlier but got spooked by electrically active thunderheads and turned back just above treeline. This effort was more impulsive. I’d been tied up in Farmington all morning and on the drive back to Durango the LPs just had perfect sun framing them. So I hustled over and went for it.
Started from Boren Ck at 3:39p. The lower end of the route is less trail and more interpretive bushwhacking. Ascending, the ridge becomes more pronounced and a trail begins to develop. As I popped out of the trees I saw East Babcock’s summit cloaked by dark clouds. But no electrical activity. Onward. I proceeded past my previous turnaround point onto a catwalk that had a sneaky bit of exposure in places. This led to EB’s summit block. The climb was loose but not bad by La Plata standards. I summited East Babcock right at 4:59. Besides some light graupel along the ridge, the weather held.This is the logical high point for this route. Beyond this, it becomes a less traveled, more technical objective. The standard route up the high point to Middle Babcock goes along Boren Creek and up a couloir rather than along this ridge. I spent little time on the summit, uneventfully doubling back and arriving back at my car at 5:49.