Mount Sneffels is sometimes described as Colorado's best and most beautiful mountain. The peak stands above those around it and is in view from the road across Dallas Divide between Telluride and Ridgeway. The peak has symmetry, rugged ridges, pinnacles, and spires that contribute to its aesthetic quality from a distance and is surrounded by a wilderness area, impossibly blue lakes, and some of the most rugged scenery in Colorado. Back in the 1990s when I was climbing a lot of fourteeners Sneffels was high on my list since it’s not considered too difficult a climb.
When Doug and I came to the spur of the moment decision to make Mount Sneffels our hike we headed directly to Ouray for the night
. Set in a narrow canyon in the shadow of high peaks much of the time, this old mining turned tourist town is nicknamed "The Switzerland of America". When we got to town we parked and went out on foot in search of accommodation, difficult in such a popular place on Labor Day weekend. I found there were still a few spots available at the town campground, so we managed to make this into a camping trip after all with one night in a tent.
We tried for a reasonably early start but a dawn start to our hike was not going to happen. There are several routes to Mount Sneffels, but the most favored involves a drive up an 4WD road into Yankee Boy Basin to around 11,000 feet, depending on how far up the rugged road you can get your vehicle. Even most regular cars can make it into the lower parts of the basin for a slightly longer walk up the road. Typical of the San Juan Mountains, the road to the Basin has some of the steepest drop-offs and most spectacular near tunnels I’ve driven anywhere in Colorado. Now there’s one scary road!
We stopped and parked at an elevation I’d estimate around 11,000 feet and continued up the road a significant distance on foot. Yankee Boy Basin well deserves its reputation as one of the most beautiful alpine areas in Colorado.
The things started to become less fun as the trail turned left up a quite steep scree and talus slope toward a notch in the ridge
. The ascent was a boring and grueling 1,000 feet or so that took Doug and me an hour. It is stretches of trail like this one that have always made me wonder why I’m doing this when I climb peaks.
The reward at the top was a spectacular view and a steep drop off on the other side, an alternative approach route to the peak. From here there was a serrated ridge rising to sharp pinnacles and spires to the east and the trail up the rocky couloir towards the peak to the west. From here the route became more fun in the sense that, even though it was slow going, every few feet higher brought an ever more expansive view and sense of accomplishment with three-point climbing/scrambling up the rocks. I suppose there’s some danger in climbing up a gully like this, partly from rocks that may be loosened by climbers above you. You could also fall and cut yourself on one of the sharper rocks, but it’s probably not so steep that you’d keep falling very far if you were to lose your footing and fall down
. Overall, though, I found this part of the climb very enjoyable and quite unique among my fourteener hikes over the years.
At the top we came to “The Notch” a spot where you need to hoist yourself up a rock for the last few feet of hiking to the summit. This was somehow the only really scary spot. Mount Sneffels’ Peak is a rather sharp point that only accommodates a few hikers at a time. We were lucky in that the large group we passed at the Notch wasn’t fighting us for space at the top which we had to ourselves for 15 minutes to take pictures and eat a quick snack with a view.
The way down on hikes like these is usually scarier than the climb because you are constantly facing out towards the elements rather than looking at the rocks in front of you, but we made it down without incident. All told I’d have to call this one of my best hikes in Colorado and Mount Sneffels one of my two or three top favorite fourteeners I’ve climbed.
I was ready to camp again in Ouray, but Doug insisted on dinner at an Italian restaurant and a room in a hotel to celebrate our conquest, something possible to find now that the Labor Day weekend was wrapped up.
Mount Sneffels - My Latest Fourteener Quest
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Mount Sneffels Wilderness, Colorado, United States
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