Return to Kelso Ridge

Torreys Peak reflected in the an alpine stream at 12,000'. Dead Dog is the prominent couloir running up to the summit. Kelso Ridge is the right side of the photo.

Grays Peak and neighboring Torreys Peak are uber-popular high mountains near Denver and see a lot of traffic in the summer months from people who want to bag one of Colorado's famous 14ers. Nearly everyone climbs the standard Grays Peak Trail to the 14,270' summit. It's nicely graded, well marked, and fairly boring. A smaller fraction of these people wander over the mile of trail across a broad saddle and up the south face of Torreys which is only marginally shorter (14,267'). However there are more interesting, challenging routes to be had. Torreys in particular has a number of interesting mountaineering routes and I climbed it in May with Andy and Fabio via the fabulous Dead Dog Couloir. Gluttons for punishment, we choose to descend via the Kelso Ridge, a famous 3rd-class route usually taken on the ascent. This was a long, arduous descent on rotten snow and loose rock, never technically difficult, but tedious and slow.

Despite my descriptions of the harrowing descent, Kelso Ridge has been on Amy's list for at least a year now. I thought that my previous impressions of the ridge were somewhat unfair and was willing to give it another shot. We drove up Friday night hoping to get a jump on the crowds and get an early start on Saturday morning. I was feeling very smug and clever as we pulled into the Stevens Gulch trailhead at 8pm only to discover at least 8 other cars already there. Nevertheless, there was plenty of camping room and we pitched the tent in the glow of a spectacular alpine sunset.

At 5am we rolled out of bed ready for a semi-alpine start. To my horror, I saw that the parking lot was now full and the auxilliary lot was filling up fast. There were dozens of hikers milling around. Solitude wasn't going to be the order of the day. We left the car at 6:15 and warmed quickly as we climbed steadily to around 12,000'.

One advantage of summer hiking is that the wildflowers are out. Columbines, chiming bells, and penstemons were everywhere, and those are just the blue flowers! There were red, yellow, and white as well too numerous to mention here. By 7:45 we'd reached the junction of the Kelso Ridge with the main trail and gratefully left the crowds behind. A smaller trail lead through meadows and climbed loose scree up to the ridge past an old mine. The ridge starts gently with a level bit of trail before starting the scrambling.

Typical scrambling on Kelso Ridge. I'm not great at wildflowers, but I believe these are Bellflowers (purple) and Wallflowers (yellow). But I could be wrong. All you flower experts out there, please let me know!

Toward the top of the ridge we came to the real crux of the route. After a bit of 4th-class climbing up some narrow ledges we came to a large white block. This is the same white block that marks the top of Dead Dog and is only about 100' below the summit. Last time there was loads of snow and it didn't present any problem to get around. With the snow gone, the famous Kelso Knife-edge was exposed; a sharp ridge of smooth grey rock with fantastic exposure on both sides. To the left was a 20' slope down to steep talus, on the right was a 1600' drop down the remains of the snow in Dead Dog. I grabbed the ridge and laybacked my way on the right side over to the white block. Amy, who normally has less problem with exposure than I do, was acutely unhappy with the situation. I scrambled back across and took her pack and she uneasily scooted across straddling the knife edge. We then retreated to the north side of the white block, made a few 3rd-class moves, and arrived safely at the other side. Whew! That was certainly harder than it was in May!

Looking down Kelso Ridge from near the summit in May (left) and July (right). The Knife Edge which was the crux of the climb in the summer was not even noticable in the winter!

Amy negotiates the Knife Edge trying to ignore the 1600' couloir to her left.	The obligatory summit shot.

Looking back at Torreys from the saddle.	Penstemon

Stevens Gulch from Grays Peak. Torreys on the left with the Kelso Ridge winding down into the valley and connecting to Kelso Mountain on the right.

Goats!

Despite the foot pain and the slow pace, it was a great expedition. We bagged two 14ers and not by the easy route either! Kelso Ridge is much more interesting with fresh legs and no snow. It's reputation as a classic climb is certainly deserved as far as I'm concerned.

The Wilderness Journal

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