As I mentioned in the Sand Dunes album, Duncan and I had made trip to the Blanca Group before, but had to turn back short of the summit on Blanca because we didn't have the right equipment to make it safely up and back from the summit. So in 2005 we made a return trip to finally conquer Blanca and hopefully bag Ellingwood and Little Bear as well. Little Bear is the one of the most technical fourteeners in Colorado and we thought that we were prepared to do it, but one look at the snow covered ascent told us that we had better play it safe. Even Blanca was not as easy as we had hoped, but we were better prepared and determined to make it to the top. We were so tired that trying for Ellingwood the next day was out of the question, so I guess we'll be going back again soon to finish off this trying triumvirate.