Route (roughly) up to Broken...

Route (roughly) up to Broken Hand Pass to begin the standard South Face route of Crestone Needle. The trail is well marked either as a worn path or with huge cairns. We did it with minimal difficulty in the dark with headlamps. Upon reaching the chute directly below the pass, stay left, and engage in class 3 scrambling. The route through the chute will move to the right of the chute halfway through and finish on the right. Upon reaching the pass, look right (north) to a notch and a cairn. Climb through the notch and follow the trail and cairns.
August 1, 2003. Photo and editing by Alan Ellis.