Lone Eagle Peak (11,946') - North Face (5.7)

Climbed: August 1, 2018
Climbing Partner:  Martin Barnett
Route: North Face

This is certainly after the fact, but such a great few days that needed to be memorialized.  This one has been on my bucket list ever since I laid eyes on it for the first time in 2007.

The iconic Lone Eagle Peak, named for Charles Lindbergh (the Lone Eagle), sits tucked away deep in the Indian Peaks wilderness just outside of Grand Lake on the west side of the divide. 

Lone Eagle Peak

For whatever reason this one has been a tough one to nail down.  Weather, family and various obligations seemed to always say...No Soup for You!

There was finally a weekend that looked like it could possibly work.  I quickly blocked it off and so did my friend, Martin.  The date was set.

I won't draw this post out, but all in all it was 32 hour adventure.  We stopped for our permit in Granby and quickly made our way to the farthest point along the trail which allowed us to camp overnight.  It was the junction of the Crater Lake/Pawnee Pass.  When I say junction, I mean it.  The trail sign is pretty much the only cover we had from anyone making coming up the trail for some late night goods! 

Our initial plan was to get up to Mirror Lake that afternoon and locate our direction for the following day so we wouldn't spend an hour trying to do it in the morning.  This plan did not work out, so we spent the first daylight hour looking for our route and ended up going around the lake in the wrong direction.  It was good bushwhacking and mild rock hopping, and if you're into that, I won't discourage you.  A lot of time and effort could've been saved if we had stayed to the east of the lake.

Our route

The first few pitches were a loose scramble.  We simulclimbed them.  After a while of going up the ramp a ways there is a bail option.  It's at the end of the ramp or shortly thereafter, you are only about 30-40 feet above the base of the climb as it begins to wind around the mountain.  It looked like it would be a pretty easy rap.  Most of the pitches were simulclimbed from here on out.  The last two pitches of 5.7 were beautiful.  We were in the sun, the rock was great and the summit was in sight!

The summit of this peak is what it looks like from Crater Lake (tiny).  It has room for maybe one or two.  Pretty small and pretty exposed!  At turnaround time, we were snapped out of our summit stupor and realized there was going to be a little more to our day.  The descent is notable because it actually involves more ascending. 

Topping out

The first thing we had to do was down climb off of the Lone Eagle along its southern ridge and down a bit onto the east side of the ridge.  From there, we made our way down and traversed just below the ridge to its southern terminus, to the first obvious gully.  There are some steep down climb sections along this traverse, but for the most part the catwalk is very mellow and moves quickly.  From here, we climbed an extremely loose gully back up onto the ridge.  Expect to dislodge a lot of rock here and keep those helmets on.  On top of the gully and back on the ridge, the views here are spectacular - a great place for snacks.  The trail for Solo Flight came into view as well.  It's all class 2 from here on out.  Expect some thick scrub along the valley floor and bushwhacking until you regain the Crater Lake Trail.

Martin on the ridge after climbing out of the loose gully

Once back on the valley floor, the 8ish miles back to the car still lie ahead.  We got back to the car at about 12:30 Sunday morning and made our way back to Lakewood.  I wish I had more photos of this day, but life happened.  I got a new job and had to give my phone back to the company and in it were most of my pictures.  Ah well, I always have the memories!

Summit Selfer.  Definitely not as fresh as my partner!