Crestolita and Broken Hand Peak

Christy Mahon takes in the view of Pico Asilado. — Down in the valley below Broken Hand Peak, staring up at the impressive face of Pico Asilado.

If you’re looking for a fun weekend backpack to a quiet area with some hikeable 13ers on the east side of the Sangre de Cristos, you should consider Cottonwood Creek.

Easily accessed from the town of Crestone, the Cottonwood Creek Trail climbs up 3000 ft over about 4 miles to get you near treeline, where you have a choice. Take the more northerly fork up to Cottonwood Lake, which is a starting point for the Crestone Needle and Peak, or opt for the more southerly fork up into a quiet valley, with an option to get to a small lake, named on some maps as “Pico Pool” due to it’s proximity to the 13er Pico Asilado.

Hiking up from Pico Pool in the Cottonwood Creek valley. — Leaving camp at Pico Pool towards the unnamed 13er above camp. The Crestone Peak can be seen far in the distance, and the green, grassy slopes of Crestolita are visible in front of it. We ascended the left face and ridge of Crestolita.

The southerly, Pico Pool option is quieter because it’s further away from the popular 14ers.

We decided that’s where we wanted to be. Once we reached the small lake, we set up camp and began climbing towards a ranked 13er located right above the lake. This unnamed peak has a LIDAR measurement of 13,028 ft. and was unofficially labeled “No es Pico Asilado” in the small summit register. It was a Class 2+ hike up to the ridge, from where it was easy to reach the summit. If you needed to climb Pico Asilado as well, you can continue along the ridge to that summit.

Christy Mahon on the ridge of Unnamed 13028 — On the ridge to 13028, a.k.a. No es Pico Asilado. Again, Crestone Peak and Crestolita can be seen in the distance.

We had climbed Pico Asilado many years ago, so once we reached PT13028, we retraced our route back to camp.

Christy Mahon at camp at Pico Pool. — At camp, planning the next day’s outing.

The next morning, we descended from the lake and crossed the valley, hiking cross-country up the steep grass on the south side of Crestolita, at 13,264 ft. (LIDAR). Other guides say the north face is the preferred route, but I imagine that’s only for people looking to connect Crestolita to the other popular Crestone access points. We found the south side to be straightforward.

Christy Mahon pointing out he ski line on the Crestone Needle. — Off the summit of Crestolita en route to Broken Hand Peak, Christy stops to point out the ski line on the Crestone Needle– which looks steep!

After taking in the awesome views of the Crestones, we descended the loose-rock-filled gully of the north couloir and then climbed steep grass and tundra again to the summit of Broken Hand Peak (13,573 ft. USGS). It was unbelievably windy, so we sheltered as best we could on the summit to take in the views, before heading down on a more southerly route that would allow us to hike the valley that descends south between Crestolita and Broken Hand.

Christy Mahon hiking up Broken Hand Peak. — Hiking up the grass/rock slopes of Broken Hand Peak. Crestolita’s North Face is behind, with the summit on the right.

Christy Mahon on the summit of Broken Hand Peak. — On the summit of Broken Hand Peak. The Crestone Needle dominates the view! Upper South Colony Lake can be seen in the valley below.

It was a gorgeous place to be. We didn’t need to be back at camp too soon, so we hiked up the valley toward Milwaukee Pass to enjoy being out in the alpine with no one around. Eventually, we followed game trails back to Pico Pool for a second night.

The next morning, we hiked out Cottonwood Creek. We had two nights at Pico Pool with no one around, and we summited three new 13ers. Apart from some aggressive mosquitoes, which a campfire managed to repel very well, it was a fantastic weekend.