It was about four miles to the campsite and there are lots of streams here where you can grab some fresh water to filter. 
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Lindsay, Rachel, Elisabeth, and myself started the next morning around 4am towards Broken Hand Pass. It ascends pretty quickly out of the gate up some loose, steep terrain. You then descend down the other side towards Cottonwood Lake. From here the bigger climb up the Red Gully to Crestone Peak begins. 

The Red Gully is a steep, class three, gully with some smaller loose rock you need to watch out for. It looks like a strip of bacon. The holds are pretty good and it takes you all the way up to Crestone Peak and East Crestone. At the top of the gully we made a left and navigated a couple ledges to reach the top of Crestone Peak at 7:50am. It took us about 20 minutes to traverse over to East Crestone. This summit is a bit steeper but doesn’t exceed class three. 

To be honest I had been nervous about the traverse for a few days leading up. It was a gametime decision but with the exception of some moderate gusts the weather looked good and the group was going for it. After descending from Crestone Peak via the Red Gully I committed and took a left onto the traverse. There are a few cairns on the ledges about half way down the Red Gully to mark the entrance, but it is easy to miss this exit. 

The beginning of the traverse is pretty chill. You make your way along some ledges and it doesn’t get too serious until you approach “the bulge” just below the Black Gendarme, a gorgeous 200 foot spire below Crestone Needle. You can’t possibly miss it. The photos from 14ers.com are always really helpful to have saved.

I had heard it was easy but awkward from my friend Stephen and this is spot on. There is an option to climb around it to the left with better hand holds but it is more exposed. The bulge is probably 10 feet tall and after pulling yourself up onto the large boulder you really need to get some feet to mantle yourself over the top. There aren’t that great of hand holds above it. 

After this is the “knife edge” which is pretty short, pretty exposed, and very fun. This leads you right up to the last couple ledges before the headwall. 

The first 100 feet or so of the headwall are not so bad, it’s steep but manageable. The last 20-50 feet of the headwall is shit your pants hold on for your life steep. Going left is the easier direction as it is slightly less steep, but you do have to navigate this bulge of rock. It is a very easy climb with amazing hand and foot holds the whole way up, it’s just an absolute no fall zone and it is all a mental game.

The whole headwall lasted less than 10 minutes and we proceeded up the last small ridge to the summit of Crestone Needle (14,196 feet). Shout out to Daniel who we met on the trail, a Sangre de Cristo regular who had some very helpful tips. The traverse took us two hours and is only about a mile and a half long.

We were all feeling great and riding high at the top of Crestone Needle. Getting down Crestone Needle requires another burst of complete and total mental engagement as you descend the east gully. This is the second gully on your way down past the dihedral. The first gully is a more difficult descent. The descent from Crestone Needle is very steep and requires careful hand and foot placement. It was pretty slow going and mentally draining but eventually you reach the saddle where you can traverse over to Broken Hand Pass and bypass the drop down to Cottonwood Lake. 

Lindsay, Rachel, Elisabeth and myself made it back to camp, packed up, and were back at the 4WD trailhead around 4:00pm. Super stoked we completed the traverse! In total the Crestone Traverse is about 14 miles and 5,300 feet from the 4WD parking lot.