7/26/03 – Milwaukee Peak – East Face

July 25 – backpack to Lower Sand Creek Lake & Tijeras Peak – 7.9 miles, 3720'
July 26 – Milwaukee Peak & backpack out – 10.1 miles, 3610'
TOTAL – 18.0 miles, 7330'


Erin and I woke at 4:00 a.m., affording an hour for our morning preparations and an hour for the hike to Upper Sand Creek Lake for a 6 o'clock meet time with Dave. Our timing was good, and we reached Dave's campsite at 5:45. The mosquitoes at the upper lake that Dave had reported the day before were out in full force and would be a nuisance for some time that morning. We left for Milwaukee Peak just after 6:00.

Now I take pride in being prepared for our mountain excursions, but somehow this time a fact clearly stated in both my resources for a climb of Milwaukee and Pico Asilado had completely eluded me. Equally amazing is that it had eluded Dave as well. Both of us knew that 13,300' Milwaukee Pass, the low point between the Sand Creek and Cottonwood Creek drainages, was our staging point for our climb. But neither of us had recognized that our books were telling us to use the Sand Creek valley and the low-point of the ridge between Milwaukee and Marble Mountain to access Milwaukee Pass. They also told us to ignore the Crestone Peak quad's indication of a trail leading directly from the upper lake to Milwaukee Pass via a small basin nestled between Milwaukee's two east ridges. The exact trail that Dave and I intended to use. This error was one that, in the end, we decided was for the better, but the same mistake could have meant a wasted trip some other time. We correctly identified the buttress separating the Sand Creek valley from our destination basin and began to make our way up. Firstly, there is no trail, but this is something we had heard of and were prepared for. We were quite happy to climb enjoyable Crestone conglomerate slabs to reach the basin. Tijeras is of a different kind of metamorphic rock, but Milwaukee is composed of the same knobby rock that the Crestones are known for.

As we neared the basin, we began to follow the small creek, which drains it. The creek was lined with brookcress, so we stopped for a picture of the creek and Milwaukee's steep east face. Any opportunity the mosquitoes had, they took advantage of, and this stop was no exception. They were ravenous.

In the basin, no logical route up Milwaukee's very technical looking east face presented itself, even after long inspection. We still had not reread our climbing guide descriptions, so we were sort of at a loss. After looking over the topo, we decided to have a peek at the ridge between Marble and Milwaukee, which seemed quite easy looking. A jaunt to the north revealed that we were correct. Equally heartening was the half-mile traverse separating us from the slopes below the Marble-Milwaukee saddle, which looked very gentle. During this traverse, we saw a group of four young bucks hopping gracefully through the uneven terrain.

We had been climbing almost non-stop since the lake to keep the mosquitoes at bay, so a break to eat and soak in the views at the ridge crest was well warranted. We pushed hard for this mini-goal, and once at the crest, our views north opened and our jaws dropped. Half the distance closer than from Tijeras, Crestone Needle was accordingly double in size, and the detail we could see was amazing. I love how the angle of the slabs and bands on the Needle matches almost perfectly with nearby Broken Hand Peak. We could also view the thumb on Broken Hand. South Colony Lakes were below us, and we saw a hiker walking along the road just beyond the 4WD TH for the lakes. Humboldt Peak dominates the length of the South Colony drainage. As we rested, even at 12,750' and in a gentle breeze, a few intrepid mosquitoes were still trying to get a piece of us.

The climb up the ridge to Milwaukee's North Ridge was steep but easy. We stayed near the ridge crest where the terrain was easy and solid (as opposed to some other parts of the slopes) and we could keep the views open to our right. Once on the North Ridge, Milwaukee and its challenges appeared, as did Pico Asilado at possibly its most dramatic angle. A ridge trends northwest from Asilado's summit before plummeting straight down into the drainage, forming an impossible buttress. From our new viewpoint we also saw the final portion of the Cottonwood Creek Trail switchbacking to Milwaukee Pass, and it was clear that it would be easiest to descend about 50' to join it.

At Milwaukee Pass, we took a moment to look around for a trail descending into the basin where we were an hour earlier. Maybe there is some way down, but I wouldn't want to take the time to find it. Many possible routes appeared to cliff out after promising starts. We also saw the crux ramp of Milwaukee Peak that I had been fearing, and it didn't look so bad. We strapped on our helmets and got prepared for final 222 feet to the summit. A notch separates the pass from the ramp, and the climb to the ramp features some of the most rotten rock I've seen in the Sangres. Testing every hold was imperative for this 10' climb. Once on the ramp, we could see a feature that had been obscured from our vantage on the pass: the ramp virtually disappears for a six-foot segment. Whereas otherwise the ramp is almost as wide as Kit Carson Avenue, it drops off for this one portion, and you're compelled to use uncomfortably narrow footholds for two or three steps depending on your stride. The exposure here is dramatic, and I don't recommend looking down. Fortunately, the Crestone conglomerate affords impeccable handholds, so it's mostly a matter of taking your time and carefully selecting your holds. We sucked up our courage, each one of us, and we were across! Once past the crux, the rest of the ramp feels like a sidewalk.

Beyond the ramp, still high above remarkable cliffs on Milwaukee's east face, we climbed up a small pitch to reach a grassy shelf. We explored a number of options for the remaining ascent. One of them I thought was the answer, to the point that I started the climb. But then I came upon a steep, vegetated step that I could see no alternative for. It felt moist and I thought it would slip the moment I set a foot on it. In collusion, handholds were impossible to find right here. Very frustrating, for the remainder of the climb looked very easy (indeed, I saw the top of this small gully later, and it would have been easy), but this wasn't it. We kept looking.

In the interest of leaving the challenge to the climber, I'm not going to detail the weakness we found or where we found it. It suffices to say the route led us higher on Milwaukee and onto another shelf. Another brief climb and we were atop the ridge crest to stay. At 9:30, we summitted. This was a highly satisfying summit, and we all congratulated each other. Someone had placed a glass jar as a summit register in mid-July. Three people were on the register, and no one had climbed Milwaukee in two weeks. Meanwhile, Pico Asilado remained very imposing, especially its east face. We read the G&M description of the Asilado route, and that book was again very vague. Binoculars revealed no route that I would term obvious, and much of the upper face appeared as cliffs to the aided eye. Erin and I were satisfied to have summitted a peak we weren't sure we'd have the gumption for, so we decided to forego Pico Asilado. Besides, next time we try for Asilado, we can revisit Cottonwood Creek and summit UN 13,020, as well. Dave, however, felt the peak's pull far more and wanted to have a go at it. We told him that we'd try to wait for him while he did.

While Dave took off quickly down the connecting ridge, Erin and I walked down Milwaukee's south ridge for the view of Upper Sand Creek Lake. Music Mountain's north ridge looks easier than its south but still too difficult for us. I suppose that leaves only the east ridge, which is the CMC book's suggestion. One day, we'll be back for a day-trip to bag that fine looking peak. We enjoyed the nice view of yesterday's peak, Tijeras, as well. Erin has a habit of picking out some obscure surrounding peak that attracts her eye, which of course gets me wanting to determine just what peak she's looking at. This time, she had picked a tough one, but I ended up determining that it was UN 13,384, the more striking but unnamed companion to Cleveland Peak. The Crestones, meanwhile, were continually an attraction with clouds frequently changing the lighting.

Every now and then, we'd inspect Dave's progress. After quickly reaching the low point, Dave seemed to be making slow work of things. I thought this was a combination of the distance now between us and the fact that he was now gaining elevation. As I would find out later, it was more because the ridge and face were already requiring him to rock scramble, and this on a part of the mountain that appeared easy from Milwaukee! We watched as Dave got higher on Pico, scrambling through a nasty looking intervening gash. He was through, though, and still making progress.

Erin and I kept on talking and studying our surroundings. Clouds, we noticed, were forming over the La Garitas and the Wet Mountains, and they continued to grow as we waited. We lost Dave on the face of Pico for a while, but soon we found him struggling on a section of 200' below the summit and still below the section that had had me thinking, "Now what the hell would you do here?" Dave tried a few different lines, including one that made Erin and I wish we could call out and say, "No, not that way!" Fortunately, he abandoned that attempt, too, and turned around. The clouds were beginning to get more threatening, as it appeared the weather from the Wet Mountains was crossing the Wet Mountain Valley and heading our way. We still wanted to give Dave time since we hadn't heard any thunder all day, but we decided that the weather was moving too quickly and that we should descend the crux to Milwaukee Pass and wait for Dave there.

It was the opinion of all three of us that returning over the crux ramp was far easier than on the way up. Erin and I were down to the pass quickly, and we waited for Dave for another thirty minutes when he suddenly appeared on the upper shelf. A couple minutes later and he was right above us. Not long after, and he was crossing the ramp. Then we three left the pass in a hurry. The weather hadn't come as soon as we had feared, but it seemed to be coming nonetheless. Once we reached the Marble-Milwaukee saddle, we had to decide whether to go back the way the books suggest, using the Sand Creek drainage, or to return via our ascent route. The prospect of mindless hordes of mosquitoes, which most likely infested the marshy, willowy Sand Creek, led us all to agree to return the way we had come.

As we traversed back to the basin under Milwaukee's east face, we passed through what must have been nesting grounds for a group of slender birds with a yellow tinge to their breasts. In sequence, one after another would fly by our heads in an attempt to distract us from their nests, which were under the talus spread amidst the grass. Once we left one's area, another would arrive to defend its newly invaded territory. Using the wind, one held position just five feet from my head for a few seconds. Later we arrived at some gargantuan chunky boulders of conglomerate that stood watch over smaller rocks. Erin and I took a moment to climb a different boulder each (my boulder was around 15 feet tall), which was great fun. We started up again, and Erin led the traverse, picking great lines through cliff bands, through willows, and back to our basin. From there we downclimbed the same slabs that we had ascended, but then chose a quicker and far superior way back to the lake.

At Dave's camp, he ducked into his tent and produced... Beer! We sat on logs and chattered for a good while, but Erin and I eventually had to take our leave. At our site, we cooked and ate a freeze-dried meal as we took down our camp and stuffed our packs. Then it was time for the grunt back to the car, which still hurt even though it was a short one. The views from Music Pass were great. We were able to say goodbye to all the key peaks in the area: Tijeras, Music, Milwaukee, and Asilado. The Needle was even making a brief show, peaking up from behind Milwaukee.

On the drive out, we got our first chance to view the Sangres from Colfax Road by day (honestly, the other two times we had driven to South Colony, it had been night for both the drives in and out) and were happy to catch views of Tijeras, Broken Hand, the Crestones, and Kit Carson in between the long valleys separated by Marble, Humboldt, and Colony Baldy. What that must look like in the morning!

We were glad to be showered and in a bed that night, but it was great to join Dave for this trip to Sand Creek. Thanks for having us and for the company, Dave!