off_the_hook Posted August 20, 2006 Posted August 20, 2006 Climb: Dorado Needle & Eldorado-Northwest Ridge & East Ridge Date of Climb: 8/19/2006 Trip Report: Bjorn and I climbed the Northwest Ridge of Dorado Needle on Friday after doing the approach that morning and the East Ridge of Eldorado on Saturday for sunrise. The glaciers are in fine shape with no problems encountered. Fun routes, great views, superlative star gazing, and a great partner. We set out from the Eldorado Trailhead at 9:15 am and sweated up to the Eldorado Glacier, arriving at the base of the East Ridge of Eldorado at 12:45 pm. We enjoyed the blueberries above the stream crossing. We dropped our bivy gear at the East Ridge camp spots and worked on setting up some passive solar for water. After a little rest we set out for Dorado Needle at 1:30 pm. The Glaciers were in good shape and we made nice time up to the Needle. The Northwest Ridge was very fun with solid rock and nice exposure. We took photos and chilled on the summit for an hour and then downclimbed back to the glacier. The evening light on the return crossing of the Inspiration Glacier to our bivy gear was fabulous. We made it back to camp at 6:30 pm and found 10+ liters of water in the clear plastic bags we set out in the sun. What a great use for those blue bags! While the itinerary could have been condensed into a long day, spending the night was awesome. A gorgeous evening was followed by some amazing star-gazing at night with the milky way, shooting stars, satellites, and airplanes. We woke up at twilight and set out for Eldorado’s summit at 5:45 am, catching sunrise on the way up and enjoying early morning light from the summit for an hour. Notice the smooth 80's style shirt I'm wearing that is as old as me. See a close-up here My previous two climbs of Eldorado were in the afternoon so it was nice to see a different angle of light. The sun angle on the summit ridge was perfect for photography and we took pictures of each other. We descended down the East Ridge, packed up, and set off at 9 am. We reached the parking lot at 11:15 am very satisfied and happy to be done before the heat of the day. Gear Notes: axe, crampons, used three pieces just because we brought them Approach Notes: No snow until Eldo Glacier, Inspiration and upper McAllister in fine shape with no moat/schrund problems yet. Quote
Chad_A Posted August 21, 2006 Posted August 21, 2006 Thanks for posting the pics! My partner and I were the ones camping down at the col below Dorado Needle Friday evening. I think it must've been you guys whom we hollered to. Thanks for the report; good to see you guys had a great time. Quote
goatboy Posted August 21, 2006 Posted August 21, 2006 Damn! Nice work! I've always wanted to go up there...your photos really make me want to go NOW. Thanks. Quote
JayB Posted August 21, 2006 Posted August 21, 2006 Cool TR. Nice photos. What's the name of the mountain that has all of the paralell buttresses rising up from the glacier? Quote
TrogdortheBurninator Posted August 21, 2006 Posted August 21, 2006 torment - forbidden ridge I think Quote
goatboy Posted August 21, 2006 Posted August 21, 2006 torment - forbidden ridge I think True, true... Quote
Weekend_Climberz Posted August 21, 2006 Posted August 21, 2006 Nice photos and cool trip. That whole area is pretty phenomenal. Quote
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