Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point

Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point are the two fourteeners climbed together from Lake Como above the San Luis Valley, Blanca the fourth-highest summit in Colorado and Ellingwood the ranked peak a mile along the ridge. The climbing is Class 2. The approach up Lake Como Road, which most people walk because few vehicles can drive it, makes the day about 18 miles and 6,800 feet from the 8,000-foot parking where most cars stop (15 miles and 6,000 feet from 8,800), and a two-day trip for nearly everyone.

From the parking on Lake Como Road, walk the road about 5 miles and 3,700 feet up to Lake Como at 11,750 feet, on sand and then boulders in full sun. From the lake, the trail continues past Blue Lakes and Crater Lake into the upper basin, then climbs a steep, cairned slope of talus to the Blanca-Ellingwood saddle.

Climb Blanca's northwest ridge, Class 2 with mild exposure, to the summit at 14,345 feet. Return to the saddle and follow the ridge northwest on ledges and talus about a mile to Ellingwood Point at 14,042 feet, Class 2 with a few steps. Return to the saddle and descend the basin to the lake, and the road to the car. Little Bear Peak rises across the basin and shares the camp; its Hourglass is Class 4.

From Alamosa, drive east on US 160 and north on Colorado 150 about 3 miles to Lake Como Road on the right. Passenger cars drive the first mile or two of sand; high-clearance 4WD vehicles reach roughly 9,500 to 10,000 feet; the obstacles above are for built rigs. Park where the road stops suiting the vehicle. No fee or permit. There are no toilets anywhere on the route.

Dogs are allowed; the road and the talus are hard on them and there is no shade. Not a kid climb. Carry a filter; Lake Como and the creek below it are the water, and the road has none. Camp at the established sites near the lake outlet or on any flat spot lower on the road; nothing is regulated and nothing is provided. Helmet for the upper slope, poles for the road, sun protection for everything. The town of Blanca has a gas station; Alamosa has the rest. The Blanca Peak page and the Ellingwood Point page have the planning detail, and the Alamosa hikes page has the dunes for the rest day.