Epic Adventure 2018 - Part 2

Pettingell Peak  13,553'

Grand County Highpoint, Colorado Rank 217
East Ridge loop to south slopes descent

Part 2 of Epic Adventure 2018 is another county highpoint. A dayhike! The route looked interesting and it was also quite accessible. So off we go!

This hike starts at the Herman Gulch trail, apparently one of the most popular trails in Colorado. On the way up we only saw about a dozen people. On the way down, 167 people and about 15 dogs.

Hit the trail at 0715. I wouldn't have minded a little earlier start but there were delays.

The trail is very wide. Moderately steep near the beginning.

It soon opens up to a wonderful valley view. That is Pettingell in the distance.

Finally in the sun

Now much closer

After climbing up a couple hundred feet, we looked down on the lake

Previewing the route ahead

A look at the route ahead. There is no trail

Red is the route that I took; it ended up going class 3+. The yellow route should be class 2 if you tried that.

Almost to the ridge. Mostly class 2 with routefinding, class 3 was there if you wanted it.

At the ridge, peering down the other side into that drainage

Looking east from where we started on the ridge

You can scramble up and over the class 3 here, or circle around to the left.

A look back at the bypass that we took. Mostly class 2.

Some scrambling, depending on when you regain the ridge

A look at the ridge to come. Sticking to the ridge proper requires some ups and downs.

I went up just to the right of center. The left routes look good but there was some exposure on that side.

Around to the left

Some steep rock towers near the crux of the ridge. We again circled to the left.

A look back down the ridge

A little bit of class 3 climbing coming around the crux

After bypassing the crux- it's just an easy stroll to the summit- it's not even very steep. 

So you may be wondering- how did we like the East Ridge? It was nice. You can choose your own difficulty. You can get class 3 or even some class 4 climbing here if you want. The exposure is around, but not terrible. It gives you a chance to work on your route finding. It feels like a little adventure. So overall, we were pleased with it.

Looking W toward the Gore Range

Summit Selfie!

Looking SW toward Frisco

Panorama looking North

We came down on the west side of the summit, but quickly turned left and just started heading down the slope. It really wasn't too steep or loose.

Starting down the slope

The lake as viewed from above 

Coming down the gully back to the lake

The gully past the observation point was a little rocky, sometimes a little slippery, but nothing terrible.

Relaxing, Colorado-style 

Hermann Lake, I think? You can see the hordes of people.

On the way down I put away the camera and focused on cruising at high speed. We had some liquid business to attend to!

Stopped for some Hazy IPA goodness at Outer Range. It was almost on the way back...

Google Earth Representation of route