Comanche Peak/ Venable Peak Trip Report by Mike Downey

Route: Comanche Lake Trail to Comanche Peak, Sangre de Cristo crest towards Phantom Terrace to Venable Peak, Middle Fork North Crestone Creek to North Crestone Creek Trail to North Crestone Creek Campground.

Background: This is one of the group climbs that is sponsored by the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Council, a group of climbers from the Westcliffe area.

Pre-Climb: I got up at around 5 a.m. and left the house at 6:30 a.m. and made the half hour drive to Westcliffe Park where the group was meeting. After signing a waiver form and meeting some of the visitors, I boarded the bus that was rented by the group and we headed straight for the Comanche-Venable Trailhead at Alvarado Campground.

The group originally decided to go the Venable Lakes Trail but changed it's mind since that route is slightly longer. We instead headed up the Comanche Lake Trail at around 7:50 a.m.

The Climb: The first few miles of trail come through some beautiful aspen forests as the trail makes it way up the Alvarado Creek drainage. There are a few switchbacks along this section. I passed the time talking about the Taylor Ranch fiasco near San Luis, Colorado and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) projects that had been going on in the Wet Mountain Valley.

After the switchbacks the trail winds around the east side of Spring Mountain (13,244). A large avalanche chute marks the face of the mountain and has a few springs, which are the source of Alvarado Creek. The trail crosses the chute and offers a great view of the Wet Mountain Valley. Water runs across the trail here and it can be very muddy. I tried to walk on the grassy parts as much as I could.

From the chute, the trail goes through another series of switchbacks in the forest as it climbs one of the ridges that branch off of Spring Mountain to the south. The trail crossed the ridge and enters the Hiltman Creek drainage, which starts from the base of Comanche Peak (13,277).

The trail winds along the south slope of Spring Mountain and crosses several avalanche chutes. The trees grow sparingly along the slope here, probably because of the frequent avalanches, so the views to the south were awesome. The cliffs on the next ridge to the south are pretty impressive and the north face of Horn Peak (13,450) rises above the cliffs.

I reached Comanche Lake at around 10 a.m. and the mileage on the pedometer was about 4.25 miles. Comanche Peak looks impressive from the lake and rises some 1,500 vertical feet from the lake. The jagged appearance makes it look like it should be a Crestone Peak (14,298) neighbor.

The group met up at the lake and then broke up as several people decided to make the climb up to Comanche Peak. After the lake the trail quickly leaves timberline at around 11,700 feet. There are a few switchbacks along this south slope. From these tundra slopes we could see and hear marmots all over the place. There were some big fat ones that would sit out on a rock and watch us as we passed.

At 5.75 miles, we reached Comanche Pass (12,750). The group stopped for a short break here and we pulled out a topo-map to debate about the elevation of the surrounding area.

The group then made the accent up Comanche Peak some 500 feet above. The northwest slope of Comanche is steep but grassy and easily climbed. We climbed along the ridge that separates the northwest slope with the vertical east slope that shoots up from Comanche Lake. There is a faint path along the grassy slope, but we made took our own paths and reached the summit at around 12 p.m.

The summit is narrow but offers an incredible 360 degree view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and valleys beyond. There were no clouds at this point so the sun reflected off of all the mountain peaks. I signed the summit register and then took out my camera and snapped several shots of the mountains and the valley. I took a shot of the north face of Horn and another of Kit Carson Mountain (14,169). We headed back down and the question was raised as to whether we could climb Venable Peak (13,352) as well. After some consideration we decided that the clouds were not threatening at all and that we could make it in around and an hour and a half.

Kim Millet and I then headed across the trail behind Spring Mountain to Venable. We left the trail close to Phantom Terrace and then began to climb the south slope of Venable. I finally realized that the summit of Venable is not on top of the terrace, but further to the west. After climbing past a few rocks over mostly grassy slopes, I reached the summit at around 1:20 p.m. By this time the clouds were still far off and did not seem threatening.

We headed back down and ran into a few folks who were camping out at Venable Lakes, a place above timberline and exposed to weather. I thought to myself, �this is just not a good idea to camp above timberline.� We also ran into the head for the Division of Wildlife in Custer County. I guess they were checking for fishing licenses.

We made it all the way back to the Comanche-Middle Fork North Crestone Creek Junction at around 2:20 p.m. and hurried down the switchbacks, noticing that the clouds were heading this direction. The switchbacks are a pain because they are very long and only drop like 10 feet per switchback. The slope was not too steep, it seems like a trail could have been built straight up the slope without too much trouble. I guess this is some kind of protection against erosion.

Seeing as how we weren�t making too much progress by staying on the switchbacks, we cut part of the trail and made it to the trees, probably around 2:30. We continued moving pretty quickly to catch up to the group, since we didn�t want to be the last ones back.

During the last 6 miles we moved at around 3 miles an hour. The clouds were really starting to get thick and it began to rain lightly at 2:45. Even though we were well below treeline, we were not sheltered in thick forests. The middle fork of North Crestone has little tree coverage. The lightning came around 3 and the rain began to fall much heavier. By this time we had pretty much made it to the thick aspen forests and felt we were protected.

It turns out the group was not too far ahead of us. We reached them at around 3:30 or so to find that they had been trying to find shelter under a big boulder while hail was falling. Lucky for Kim and I, we completely missed the hail and were surprised to find hail completely covering the ground like a snow had just fallen.

Around 4 or so I reached the North Crestone junction. This can be a confusing place. There are two turns here, a left and then a right. I just had to look for signs for the North Crestone Creek Campground. If you are going to the lake or Venable Pass, then you are in trouble. The trail number for the main trail is Forest Trail 746. Middle Fork is Forest Trail 744.

There is a creek crossing shortly after the junction. The ground was very wet at this point and even though there is a bridge made of fallen timber, I chose to cross the creek on the rocks since the bridge was probably slippery enough to be dangerous. I was right because we later found out that one of the group members had slipped on the logs.

The last two miles are long but beautiful. North Crestone Creek is a large beautiful creek with many waterfalls. There are a few mine shafts along this section as well, which is probably why the two miles of trail passed the campground are two track. A few group members and I explored one of the shafts and found that it was only about 50 feet deep or so, nothing spectacular.

We finally reached the parking lot at North Crestone Creek Campground at around 4:45 p.m. We then waited for the rest of the group to get down, which was close to 5:30. The group took a bus to the restaurant in Crestone, but I went with my Grandparents to the County Bounty in Salida, which was pretty good. It was exactly what I needed.

Comanche-Venable Thumbnails:

That's me at Comanche Lake with Comanche Peak towering over me

Horn Peak (13,450) to the south as seen from the summit of Comanche Peak

Me on top Comanche with Horn beyond

View South towards Mount Adams (13,931) on left and Kit Carson Mountain (14,169) on right

North Crestone Creek drainage to the West of Comanche Peak emptying out into the San Luis Valley beyond

Venable Peak to the North under cloud shadow and Rito Alto Peak (13,794) beyond

The Phantom Terrace below Venable Peak-you can see the "trail" pass along the rim of the terrace

Vertical shot of Phantom Terrace on the side of Venable Peak

Looking East towards the Wet Mountain Valley from the top of the Phantom Terrace. The Venable Lakes are visible on left on the side of the slope

Another shot from Phantom Terrace, this is a better view of the basin below the terrace. A few years back a man was killed when he rode a motorcycle off the edge

The view north from Venable towards Rito Alto Peak (13,794) and Eureka Mountain (13,489)

The San Luis Valley to the West from the summit of Venable

A view from summit of Venable towards the high peaks to the South. From left, Comanche Peak (13,277), Mount Adams (13,931) and Kit Carson Mountain (14,169). Beyond that you can see the top of Humboldt Peak (14,069) and Crestone Needle (14,201)

Another shot towards South with Kit Carson in center. Venable's summit canister is visible on the right

View of Wet Mountain from the top of Venable

Me on top Venable with Kit Carson massif to my back

2002 Thumbnails:

I made the "Venable-Comanche Loop" in 2002 with Sangre de Cristo Mountain Council. This trip was cold with a fog settled over the tops of the peaks. A few of these pics are from a horse back trip I made a week or two before the hike.

Bright and early in the morning with an open view towards the Wet Mountain Valley

Approaching the Phantom Terrace with a fog over it

Crossing the Phantom Terrace in a fog, you can barely see the hikers in this picture

Peering through the fog from the top of Phantom Terrace towards the Wet Mountain Valley

This view of the San Luis Valley opened up for about 30 seconds before closing off again

Another shot of the Wet Mountain Valley to the East from the Terrace

Thats me at Comanche Pass (12,750) with Comanche Lake and the Wet Mountain Valley beyond. I'm wearing a poncho because it very cold and wet

This is a shot taken a few weeks before from near Venable Lakes

Lower Venable Lake which is well below its normal fullness due to an extremely dry winter

Venable Falls in a dry year...imagine how it would look during a wet year

Another shot of Venable Falls

About the Author

I am currently a student at University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), where I intend to get a degree in Political Science and Geography/Environmental Studies. When I'm not studying, you will find me in the mountains. I have been climbing since I was pretty little and have done climbs throughout California, Colorado and Arizona, including the highpoints of those states. I have done Mount Whitney and Mount Elbert, but I plan on doing some even higher mountains, maybe Aconcagua, Mount Mckinley or Kilimanjaro, Check back with me in about 10 years. Meanwhile you can check out some of the other trips reports:

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