One Peak Near Denver CO

[ADK4Life]

I am flying to Denver over the weekend quite soon. I will have at most 2 days to hike. If there is one peak (14er hopefully) to bag that does not go above Class 4 scrambling what would my best choice be? I would prefer to drive no more than 2 hours from Denver. I know there are some with experience in thsi state any info would be great.

 

[Oldsmores]

Two suggestions:
1) Long's Peak: This is probably the closest 14'er to Denver and is a VERY popular climb (translation, you won't be hiking alone on this mountain). It's a pretty varied route, with hiking, rock hopping, and scrambling with some interesting exposure. The east face (The Diamond) is a very impressive big wall. See Pam's recent trip report and pix.
2) Mt. Elbert: Near Leadville, Elbert is the highest point in CO and the second highest point in the lower 48. It's basically a walk-up, but nothing is easy at 14K ft., especially for us flatlanders. A bonus is the great restaurant on Main St. Leadville whose name escapes me, but serves only filet mignon on certain nights and only prime rib on others for a very reasonable price. If you really have two full days you can do Elbert one day and Mount Massive the next from the same trailhead.
Whatever you choose, it will be beautiful. Just remember to leave early and get below treeline before the daily afternoon thunderstorm!

 

[Jim lombard]

If you're going to Rocky Mt National Park to climb Longs, I would suggest a smaller hike before Longs. Twin Sister is near-by, an 11K with spectacular views of Longs and nice moderate trails. Also Flat-top and Hallet are over 12K, a beautiful hike, also moderate in the heart of the park. For a more Wilderness experience hike to Mt Ypsilon off the old Trail ridge road, a 13K.

 

[sapblatt]

Pammy's Trip Report

 

[ADK4Life]

Hmm yeah Longs looks like the peak to bag.

 

[sli74]

My plans for peaks close to Denver include Grays and Torreys, Quandry and Longs . . .

As a heads up a couple of the peaks near Denver like Bierstadt and a couple of others have road closures so check on those before you head out.

sli74

 

[ExploreTheEast]

Mount Evans

I know, I'm lazy... but you still have to hike 200 feet or so from the parking lot to the summit! And there's plenty of trails within the wilderness. That's where I got a photo of this guy, so I guess I'm fond of the place now. Good memories.

Edit:

Bierstadt is one of the easier 14ers & isn't very far from Denver. You could do Evans & Bierstadt together, traversing a Class 3 ridge in between.

The weather took a turn for the worse, but this was my original reason for going. (Almost forgot, thanks sf!) A friend of mine showed me some photos of this traverse, reminds me of the Knifes Edge at Baxter. Definitely going to do it the next time I'm in CO during warmer months.

 

[Jim lombard]

That's where I got a photo of this guy

Nice picture.

We got close to Mt Goats on Grays Peak also, they're almost tame and were sitting in the trail.

 

[sli74]

Seema, are you referring to Guanella Pass Road? They were doing some major work on it when I was there in late June, but it was still open. I had to wait about 15 minutes, but the sign guy told me sometimes the wait is more like 30 minutes!

Anyway... Bierstadt is one of the easier 14ers & isn't very far from Denver. You could do Evans & Bierstadt together, traversing a Class 3 ridge in between.

As others have said, Grays & Torreys are pretty close, but Longs is probably the most "exciting" ascent. Get an early start--not only so you don't have to deal with potential lightening, but so you get a parking spot!


Have fun!

AWESOME NEWS !!!! I wasn't counting on the road being open, that is the one I am talking about. But if it is just a short wait then maybe I need to reconsider my plans. The original plan was to do Grays and Torreys and then Evans and Biestadt and then Longs but then I read about the road closure. So, THANK YOU for the heads up. Much appreciated.

sli74

 

[ADK4Life]

I am for sure visiting Aspen to climb Castle Peak via Northeast Ridge, looks like a nice intro to the Elk Range.

 

[una_dogger]

14ers.com

http://www.14ers.com/routes.html

In case you haven't seen it, here is a great site. You can check on routes to 14ers by range, obtain printer friendly maps for all routes.

Question, aren't the trail ratings in the West different and more difficult than here in the NE? For instance, a class 3 in the West is considered a scramble and 4 and 5 require ropes and are considered rock climbing. Sorry if this is a silly question, I've only seen ratings applied to trails out West and a class 4 is way more than a scramble from what I've read. If someone can point me to a link that lists the rating system used here, I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[jfb]

Question, aren't the trail ratings in the West different and more difficult than here in the NE? For instance, a class 3 in the West is considered a scramble and 4 and 5 require ropes and are considered rock climbing. Sorry if this is a silly question, I've only seen ratings applied to trails out West and a class 4 is way more than a scramble from what I've read. If someone can point me to a link that lists the rating system used here, I'd greatly appreciate it!

I don't know any good links, but based on my experiences climbing in the east vs. west (e.g. Petit Grepon, III, 5.8) I'd say the climbing ratings are pretty similar. However, you have to realize that some expert climbers call 3rd class, 4th class and easy 5th class climbing "scrambling" while most people consider scrambling to be rated 3rd class. Also, because climbs out west frequently have greater exposure and other objective hazards, many rope up for class 3 climbs.

Edit: Here's an interesting link: climbing classes

 

[Oldsmores]

Upon further review...

Lifer-
As I thought about this, I figured I should add a caveat here. I'm not sure what your experience with altitude is - it varies greatly from person to person, and even for an individual it can vary between one trip and the next. Having said that, it would not be uncommon to have trouble flying from near sea level to Denver one day and climbing to 14,000 feet the next. That's not a textbook acclimatization plan, but you may get away with it.
If nothing else, it might help if you can sleep at or near the trailhead the night you arrive. If memory serves, I think the Long's trailhead is at about 9600 feet.
Good luck!

 

[keepin' on]

oldsmores brings up a great point. When visiting last year my friends told me to drink lots of water on the plane and keep drinking once I was there. We did a short hike the next day near Boulder, near the Flatirons....if I remember we topped out at about 10,000 feet and, though winded, it was a great hike and no major problems acclimating to the altitude.

I am due to return again in a few weeks and asked about more serious hikes. My friend who happens to be a “travel agent for outdoor adventures” and avid hiker recommended Indian Peaks Wilderness. It is just south of Rocky Mountain National Park. He mentioned that it is less crowded than RMNP. I have no specific trails to recommend, but I did purchase a trail guide to try and plot out a few routes. Here’s a link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...62310/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/103-9635979-6435820

I just got the book and haven’t had much time to look through, but it looks like a great one!

Good luck and happy trails

Edit 08-11-05: One side note; the book gives the class ratings for each hike.

 

[RGF1]

I am for sure visiting Aspen to climb Castle Peak via Northeast Ridge, looks like a nice intro to the Elk Range.

Castle is a great climb with stunning views though the road / trail dose start to feel endless on the way down . Wear lots of Sun screan and start out very early as in 3 am .
Another Very nice and shorter peak is La Plata about 9 miles round trip and thge tail is lot more shaded than the road /trail on Castle.
If you have time fora b 3 day back Pakc i highly recomend Snowmass. a challenging 14 k peak with soem great camping at Snow mass lake a amazing place . the hike in is very gentel except the last mile and the creek crossing can be tricky and deadly in a high flow.
The Elks are some of the most bueatiful moutains in North America.

 

[erugs]

Leadville Restaurant

The restaurant in Leadville mentioned in the response suggesting Mt. Elbert is Qunicy's. It comes highly recommended by my son, who is a graduate of Colorado Mountain College (Outdoor Recreation Leadership program) in Leadville. We visited him for graduation last May and enjoyed a wonderful meal there. (I think I had veggie lasagna as I don't eat much red meat.) Elbert, Massive and Longs are on my "want to do" list.

 

[una_dogger]

Indian Peaks

I second IP over RMNP. I've been to RMNP, Indian Peaks, West Elk Wilderness, La Garita Wilderness, and the Powderhorn Wilderness. The Wilderness areas are definately more my style, no paved roads, less "overt/obvious" managment, less people, less cars.

John Fielder puts out an excellent book called "Colorado's Wilderness Areas".

For fourteeners, Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area south of Leadville has the most in one Wilderness Area.

On altitude, seems like alot to try to cram into a weekend. I've been to just over 18k on the Thorong La Pass in Nepal and have done many backpacking trips in high altitude, without probs, but I have always planned acclimatization days and used diamox.

Be safe and have fun!