- Humboldt Peak to Columbia Point -

This was a fantastic climb and probably my favorite this summer thus far. I had not climbed Humboldt since 2018 and was wanting to get back. It was only my 3rd 14er, very early in my journey to complete them all, and my first in winter. Although, at the time, I didn't know about winter snowflake summits. Amazingly, I had driven to the 4wd trailhead on January 18th of that year without issue. I knew nothing about winter climbing and took the standard West Ridge route. I didn't see anyone else all day and was lucky there wasn't much snow.

On this occasion, I arrived at the trailhead around 10 the night before and would sleep in my truck. The road was much rougher than I had remembered from previous trips up the road, but not really an issue for my truck. I just took it slow and steady and picked good lines. There were probably 5 or 6 other cars in the lot. I found a good spot and went to sleep with a 3:30 am wake up call.

Day of Climb: Monday, August 24th 2026

Peaks: Humboldt Peak, Columbia Point, "Obstruction Peak" and "Kitty Kat Carson"

Trailhead: South Colony 4wd

Mileage and Elevation Gain: Approximately 16.5 miles with 6630 feet of vertical gain.

I started my climb at 4:52 the next morning. I had seen a couple groups leave before me, and it was reassuring that there were others out there in the darkness. I made great time up the closed portion of the 4wd road reaching the split by 5:45 and went right towards Humboldt. I passed quite a few tent campers in this next section, as well as a couple pack llamas munching on grass. They spooked me at first until I realized what they were.

First light brought beautiful views of the Crestone Needle and Peak as I passed by continuing up the trail. I reached Humboldts saddle at nearly 12,900 feet by 7:10 and started up the West Ridge. The trail was easy to follow most of the way. I did lose it in a few spots briefly in the talus field, but would reconnect quickly. I passed one other climber going up and hit the summit at 8:12. There was a twosome at the summit when I arrived. The rock shelter seemed a little short of the summit, so I kept going a bit for a nice view looking down Humboldts East Ridge. The views of the Crestones and surrounding peaks were spectacular, of course! Humboldt has to have some of the best summit views of any 14er.

I spent probably 25 minutes at the summit which was entirely too long knowing there was a threat of afternoon thunderstorms. I still had 3 more peaks for the day. The skies were clear for the moment, but still, I headed back down the West Ridge at a quick pace to make up time. I passed a couple groups making their way up, but for the most part it was a quiet day on Humboldt. I've been climbing mostly on Mondays this summer and have found it to be a good day to avoid crowds.

Once back at the saddle, I continued west along the ridge towards Columbia Point, my primary goal for the day. The ridge led me first to a point at 13,290 feet. I reached it by following a grassy ledge system just below the ridge on climbers right, and then worked my way up a steep slope to reach the point. I believe it's better to just stay on the ridge crest though. Some climber trails lured me lower.

From the point, I could see across to Bears Playground and the rest of the route. A jagged ridge needed to be crossed first though. This section was very time consuming and most definitely the crux of the route. There were lots of little ups and downs as I progressed along it, and it took good route finding to keep it 2+. Eventually though, I popped out on "Bears Playground"🐻. I've often heard about this place and it was cool to be venturing across it finally. No bears though, but lots of marmots.

Once off the jagged ridge, I hiked north and then angled northwest over easy terrain to gain Obstructions ridge. I hit Obstructions summit soon after at 11:06 staying entirely on the ridge crest and had traveled approximately 8.5 miles from the trailhead so far. The views looking west towards Kit Carson and Columbia Point were very dramatic. Likewise, that of the Crestones. You really couldn't go wrong looking in any direction.

I did not take a break on Obstruction and kept moving. Columbia Point was not far now, but Kitty Kat Carson, an unranked summit, was next on the agenda. I dropped off Obstructions summit and took the class 2 ridge to the saddle with "Kitty Kat Carson" and started heading up following a faint trail. I climbed up the right side of the face over mostly class 2 terrain. It was steep and looked tough from a distance, but I encountered no difficulties and summitted Kitty Kat just 40 minutes after leaving Obstruction.

More great views from Kitty Kat, and now Columbia Point was just a short jaunt away. I snapped a few quick photos and departed Kitty Kat. The drop to the saddle was only about 50 feet and then Columbia was a brief, easy climb from there. Took all of 5 or 6 minutes to cover the distance and I was standing on Columbia Point. Kit Carson Peak looked massive from here and the 360° views were outstanding. I think Columbia lost it's ranked status by a foot or something stupid like that, but it's still a great peak though and an enjoyable climb. The memorial plaque honoring the 7 astronaut that died during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was nice to see. It was placed in 2003 and was complete with an F-16 flyby.

I enjoyed the summit to myself for about 5 minutes and then began a hurried descent as penty of clouds were rolling thru. None looked to threatening though, but I could see some rain showers to the south. I was back to Kitty Kat in a nano second and quickly dropped down it's steep east bowl face. I was back to Humboldts saddle by 2 pm and on my way back to the trailhead. With the strength of my new hips progressing quickly, I was able to jog some of this last section. I was back at my truck by 3:30 and heading home shortly thereafter with another great day in the books.