Wow! Finally after 4 years got it done in one go.
Started off on Ty Smith’s FKT pace camping just above Mosca on the first night but then the weather changed as I was heading up Marble Mountain the second evening. I survived Broken Hand and the Crestones despite some epic fog and wet rock. Got pretty disoriented in the exit gulley from the Crestones and tried to get on more solid rock but got myself in a pretty scary position. Found a little chute to mantle down to the correct little route/trail. After that I was worked mentally and decided to head down to the lake below Obstruction Peak to camp, I didn’t have the energy to tackle the next technical part to Adam’s in the dark.
The next morning I gained the ridge in the sun for a moment but then more fog and wind blew in and covered all the rocks with rime ice. Made for some tedious scrambling. Finally on Adam’s the sun came out. Bailed to treeline another time that day just after Comanche Peak when a thunder/snowstorm blew in…only to have it clear up once I reached the trees, ugh! Made it to Hermit Pass and got some water just below the top then hiked into the night for a couple hours to somewhere near Mount Marcy.
The next day I traded all the clouds for some epic wind! Got knocked over a couple times and literally had to crawl my way up Nipple Mountain and sit down when I got there so I wouldn’t get blown over! Made it to Hayden Pass that evening, dropped down to get some water and then decided to camp in the protection of the trees at the pass rather than hike up to the ridgeline and get battered all night. Slept so well there because it was warm!
Started hiking at 4:30am on Saturday and fortunately the wind was a little better that day. I hit Methodist Mountain around 4pm then after the long road walk down, hit the Hwy in Salida at 6:58pm.
I followed Justin Simoni’s route, starting at the intersection of the Hwy and Lake Como Road and taking the southwest ridge to gain Little Bear. I summitted all the peaks along the way like he did except Milwaukee. Decided after having done it a few times that it’s a bit of an outlier and the weather made me anxious to get through the Crestones.
What a trip it was. Not easy!!