Ascent of Ralston Roost on 2017-06-03| Other People: | Solo Ascent
Only Party on Mountain | | Date: | Saturday, June 3, 2017 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Ralston Roost | | Location: | USA-Colorado | | Elevation: | 9334 ft / 2845 m |
Ascent Trip ReportAfter completing the true HP with is actually on the Bear Trail; I could not resist trying the Ralston Roost. Nobody was climbing it and Peak 9320 was crowded. It looked like it was a class 3 and I sure did not want to do it if it was 4 or 5; so bushwacked down to the col and it was a wide open lovely area you could camp in. From there it is class 3 scramble to the top. At the base you have a choice of class 2 or 3 rock but none of it is hard. Once you reach the upper 40 feet route selection becomes an issue. There are opportunities for anything from class 3 to 5 to the top. I first headed to the right side and found some great rock all easy class 3 and then it became a class 5 slab. But there is a notch you can go through and on the backside there is 15 inch wide slab running parallel to the class 5 slab and you slide right up the seem with wedges to the top with plenty of hand holds. It is steep; has lethal exposure to the right and I found it had to be down climbed facing in so this crux move I would call class 4. I was not particularly happy with this route and simply slid up and touched the top with my hand and got down quickly as I do not like class 4 without a rope. I then tried to get the top again from the middle and the routes where all class 3+ or 4 in the middle and I was not comfortable with the downclimbing. I know it could get up that way but was not looking forward to coming back down that way - so I scrambled back down about 30 feet and went around a steep wall to far left side (south east ridge) and here if found all class 3. I found at least 3 different ways to the top that were mostly class 3 and only some minor exposed class 3+ (exposed but you could climb down it facing forward).
In summary, there are many ways to the top from class 3/3+ to 3+/5- so if you take you time you can pick your way to the top in whatever manner you are most comfortable with. If you are like me and do not like class 4 without a rope then I highly recommend going up the far left side of the pinnacle.
The views from this pinnacle were the best of the day. Very rewarding. There is one more pinnacle below Ralston Roost and it has more prominence and thus more scrambling. It looks way fun but no-one has entered it yet into peakbagger and hiked another 0.3 tenths each way to tag it. I was tempted but it began to rain on me at the summit so I had to get down. Perhaps, come back sometime with a buddy and go paly on the bigger but lower pinnacle below Ralston next time.
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| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 94 ft / 28 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 0.4 mi / 0.6 km | | Grade/Class: | 3, 3+ (4) | | Quality: | 7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Bushwhack, Scramble, Exposed Scramble | | Weather: | Drizzle, Pleasant, Partly Cloudy
55F and bagen to drizzle at summit | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 94 ft / 28 m | | Distance: | 0.2 mi / 0.3 km | | Route: | scramble | | Start Trailhead: | Saddle between peaks 9240 ft / 2816 m | | Descent Statistics | | Distance: | 0.2 mi / 0.3 km | Ascent Part of Trip: Denver-7
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 6542 ft / 1994 m Total Trip Loss: 4166 ft / 1270 m |
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