Little Bear Peak, Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Pt., Culebra Peak

Our quest to climb together all 53 official 14ers in Colorado led us to the beautiful southern Sangre de Cristo mountains towering over the San Luis Valley near the towns of San Luis, LaVeta and Alamosa.

Culebra Peak, located on the expansive Cielo Vista Ranch, is the southernmost 14er in Colorado. It is the only Colorado 14er that is privately owned and can be accessed only by reservation.

The Blanca group (Blanca, Ellingwood and Little Bear) are all typically climbed via Lake Como to the west/southwest. The "road" to Lake Como holds the distinction as Colorado's gnarliest, most unpleasant backpack approach. We have to concur with this!

Little Bear Peak is one of the most technically challenging and dangerous 14ers in Colorado. We elected to climb it first (day 2) and saved the Blanca/Ellingwood duo for day 3.

Next summer we will return to the Sangre de Cristo Range in hopes of finishing the 14ers with Mt. Lindsey, Kit Carson, Challenger and Crestone Peaks.