Fools Peak is an obscure little summit residing in one of the more interesting and less visited parts of Colorado's Sawatch Mountains. A few years ago I stumbled on a picture of its rugged north side and made a mental note of an obvious, broad, northeast facing couloir that seemingly split the peak in two. I'd have to expore that someday.

Someday eventually arrived. A long approach up the quiet East Brush Creek drainage necessitating a 4am start delivered us past frozen Lake Charles and to the apron below the couloir. The climb turned out to be very casual; the steepness of the snow never reached 40 degrees. Interestingly, graupel, nearly a foot deep in places, filled much of the couloir! I'm glad we weren't around when that storm broke loose!

The couloir ends in a notch next to an impressive gendarme. From here we climbed moderate snow up the north face for the remaining several hundred feet to the summit. This part of the route was actually more challenging than the couloir itself and felt fairy exposed for a bit. Luckily we found great conditions here, at times thin but firm neve-like snow over slabby rock.

Peaks Climbed: Fools Peak (12,947') & Charles Benchmark (12,050')

Location: Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado Trailhead: Fulford Cave Campground

Difficulty: Class 2, Moderate Snow Mileage & Gain: 11 mi, 4,500 ft

Date Climbed: 5/28/2016