Follow the description for the East Ridge of Elk Tooth to the summit of Elk Tooth. Contemplate your future. Ogalalla Peak is 3/4 mile away to the west. Scramble down to the low point between Elk Tooth and Ogalalla. This is 3rd class if you use careful routefinding. You'll switch from the north to the south side of the ridge at least once on this descent. The views are tremendous.
Slog up a talus slope for a couple hundred feet to a 60-foot-high cliff. Climb up to and over a leaning block (4th class). Overcome one or two more small cliffs and reach a wonderful, Flatiron-esque slab. The exposure here is significant, particularly to the north. Stay right on the ridge crest and pull over a steep section by a few 4th-class moves on bombproof holds. Savor the moment with the entire St. Vrain drainage below your heels on one side, and Wild Basin on the other. The summit is a short distance to the west.
From the summit of Oglalla you can continue around the cirque all the way south to the small peak above Gibraltar Lake, and scramble down its north face... definitely one of the best long alpine traverses in the Indian Peaks.
Ogalalla Peak
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