Mount Sneffels

Statistics:

Date of Hike: 7/26/2004	Trailhead: Yankee Boy Basin	Round Trip Dist: 8 miles
Elevation Gain: approx. 3,500 feet	Start Time: 5:15 a.m.	Finish Time: 11:45 a.m.

Trip Report:
Shelf Road

I had originally planned to hike the standard route (Lavender Col) up Mt. Sneffels, but I changed my mind after reading several FourteenerWorld trip reports about the southwest ridge route. I’m glad I did, because I enjoyed my trip up the southwest ridge much more than my descent of the scree-filled south slopes.

I was staying in Durango, and I set my alarm for 3:00, planning to get to the trailhead around 5:30. I was so excited about the hike that I woke up at 2:30 and decided to go ahead and leave. After dodging a few deer on U.S. 550, I eventually arrived at County Rd 361 for a very interesting drive up to the 2wd trailhead near the old mining town of Sneffels. As Roach says in his description, the shelf road is indeed “spectacular”.

I arrived at the trailhead (10,700’) around 5:00 and began hiking up the 4wd road by 5:15. Hiking on the road in the dark was not very interesting, but I didn’t have to wait long for the sky to start getting light and the outlines of the surrounding mountains to appear. I passed the 4wd trailhead after about ½ hour and reached the beginning of the foot trail around 6:00. About this time, I turned around and was rewarded with a stunning display of colors in the eastern sky while the sun was still behind the mountains. From here, it was a short hike up past Wrights Lake (12,200’) and on to the base of Blue Lakes pass. While taking a break to admire the view of the pinnacles on Sneffel’s southwest ridge, I noticed a few other groups of hikers to the north. They appeared to have driven up to the end of the 4wd road (north of Wrights Lake and probably about 12,400’ in elevation).

After taking a few pictures, I headed up the trail and reached the top of Blue Lakes Pass (12,980’) around 7:00. The real fun began shortly after I turned and headed up the southwest ridge. The first part of the ridge was not very difficult and was primarily class 2 hiking over rocks. I stayed close to the pinnacles to avoid a patch of snow and because I knew that the route would eventually cross over to the other side of the ridge at 13,500’. The rest of the route up was definitely the most enjoyable experience I’ve had while on a fourteener. I still consider myself a beginner, and I thought that this route was a good introduction to Class 3 climbing. In general, the challenging sections were fairly short and it was easy to find good hand and foot holds. Probably the most difficult section involved ascending a near vertical wall of rocks that was about 10 feet high.

As I continued up, I kept checking my altimeter so I would know when to begin looking for the notch at 13,500 to cross over to the right side of the ridge. I ended up finding the notch easily. It was marked with a cairn, and there were obvious footprints from other hikers. After going through the notch, I descended about 100’ before turning left and heading up the south-facing gully. It might have been possible to make it to the gully without descending, but the route looked a little too dangerous for me. I quickly figured out that the footing was much better towards the sides of this steep gully, and after a short while I emerged on the upper section of the ridge.

Up SW Ridge	Steep Section	Upper Ridge	On Summit

The rock towards the top was more solid, and I worked my way over towards the ridge crest on the left. I soon reached a section that I would describe as a blunt knife-edge. I’m sure I looked like a turtle as I straddled the ridge and crossed this section using my hands and feet. Not exactly Capitol Peak, but still fun for a beginner. A few minutes later at 8:30, I was standing on the summit. A couple of other groups had just come up the Lavender Col route, so we talked for a few minutes and took summit photos. I decided to go down the Lavender Col route. I enjoyed seeing this section, but I thought the hike down was fairly tedious. I stopped for lunch at Wrights Lake and then continued down the trail to the 4wd road. I was surprised at the number of vehicles on the road on a Monday. It looked like there were several photographers taking pictures of the streams and waterfalls off to the side. I got back to my car around 11:45 just as a few drops of rain began to fall. I was glad that I got an early start, as I drove through a spectacular thunderstorm on the way back to Durango.

To view the pictures of my hike click on the link below:

Mount Sneffels Photos at Ofoto.com

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Web page created by John Ferreby 8/4/2004