HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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YEONDERIN
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by YEONDERIN »

How do you guys know or learn where all these obscure peaks are? I just tried looking up peak 3 in the San Juans and found nothing on it. What I did find said Peak 3 was near Copper Mtn. Then I got the elevation of the peak 3 from this site and searched by that. This led me to several peaks with different names around the state but none of them called peak 3. Is there a good web site or book that makes this sort of research easier? I noticed that the experienced users of this forum talk often about these sort of lesser known peaks and it is hard for us beginners to learn and follow along.
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by Presto »

A few resources:

Guide to the Colorado Mountains, Robert Ormes
A Climbing and Hiking Guide to the San Juan Mountains, Robert Rosebrough
Colorado's Other Mountains, Walter Borneman
Roof of the Rockies, William Bueler (though not technically a guide, some interesting historical information)

Another I do, though quite time consuming, is to study topos ... literally for hours to find peaks, potential routes, examine the topography ... prior to trying to find some written information about the peak. With the obscure 13ers, there are instances where you're just not going to find much more than what someone has posted on the internet (but, that's a good thing :-$ :wink: ).
Last edited by Presto on Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
As if none of us have ever come back with a cool, quasi-epic story instead of being victim to tragic rockfall, a fatal stumble, a heart attack, an embolism, a lightning strike, a bear attack, collapsing cornice, some psycho with an axe, a falling tree, carbon monoxide, even falling asleep at the wheel getting to a mountain. If you can't accept the fact that sometimes "s**t happens", then you live with the illusion that your epic genius and profound wilderness intelligence has put you in total and complete control of yourself, your partners, and the mountain. How mystified you'll be when "s**t happens" to you! - FM
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by lordhelmut »

YEONDERIN wrote:How do you guys know or learn where all these obscure peaks are? I just tried looking up peak 3 in the San Juans and found nothing on it. What I did find said Peak 3 was near Copper Mtn. Then I got the elevation of the peak 3 from this site and searched by that. This led me to several peaks with different names around the state but none of them called peak 3. Is there a good web site or book that makes this sort of research easier? I noticed that the experienced users of this forum talk often about these sort of lesser known peaks and it is hard for us beginners to learn and follow along.
Summitpost.org , Futhermore's trip reports or a map. Some is rarely documented online. The peak 3 you speak of is in the Tenmile Range, west of Frisco (part of the Tenmile Traverse). Its a 12er. Its tough to find little to any info on Pk.3 in the Weminuche, but for bearings sake, these start to the North (pk.1-3) of Vestal Basin and get higher as you head South (Pk.4/5/6/7/8/9 divide Tenmile Basin, Leviathon Lake and No Name Basin), Pk 10 off the Jagged ridge and the rest scattered around Ruby and Chicago Basin's.
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by Presto »

by lordhelmut » Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:56 pm
... Furthermore's trip reports ...
Yeah, that's an understatement .. :D
As if none of us have ever come back with a cool, quasi-epic story instead of being victim to tragic rockfall, a fatal stumble, a heart attack, an embolism, a lightning strike, a bear attack, collapsing cornice, some psycho with an axe, a falling tree, carbon monoxide, even falling asleep at the wheel getting to a mountain. If you can't accept the fact that sometimes "s**t happens", then you live with the illusion that your epic genius and profound wilderness intelligence has put you in total and complete control of yourself, your partners, and the mountain. How mystified you'll be when "s**t happens" to you! - FM
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by lordhelmut »

Presto wrote:
by lordhelmut » Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:56 pm
... Furthermore's trip reports ...
Yeah, that's an understatement .. :D
I think that right there is enough to go on for 10 years. Some solid beta and peaks....
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by YEONDERIN »

Much thanks for all your help. There is always so much to explore and learn, that is what I love about this addiction.
Life and death are only a breath away, no matter where you are...
Living is only a breath away in the high country !

Being lost is a state on mind not a location of the body...
if you always are where you want to be then you can never get lost.

NEVER GROW OLD.....YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET IT ! (John Wayne)
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by elkheart22 »

Just go to links on 14ers.com. Check Breckclimbing or 13ers.com........
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by DaveLanders »

Note that the numbered peaks in the San Juans are spelled out (for example Peak Three or Peak Four), whereas the peaks
in the Tenmile Range just use the digits (for example Peak 3 or Peak 4). This may help when you are doing searches.
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by mattpayne11 »

You can also find pretty much any mountain via search on my website through the search function in the summit listing. You can even narrow it down by mountain range, Yosemite Decimal class, etc. Fun tool if you're bored.
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by llamaman »

I guess it depends on where in CO you want to go. There are 100s of 13ers and 100s of 12ers in this state, so pick where you want to be and then ID a mountain or two.
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by Rich H »

Barry Raven wrote:Peak 3 in the San Juans. Fairly easy climb but a view second to none. This is the view from the summit.
not to derail this forum for a 13er but I have a funny story about pk 3.

I climbed Pk 2 & 3 about 6 years ago with Aron Ralston. We were going to attempt to do all 8 (Arrow to the Guardian) of the Major Grenadiers in a day starting from Molas Pass. I drove down from Denver the night before and we car camped. I had just finished the Hardrock run and my legs were still shot. But we started down about 2 am in the rain through the hundred switch backs and we get going up the climbers trail to the Grenadiers when I fell and had a branch go into my knee. Aron was getting frustrated with me cause I was moving slow...then as we broke into the basin he fell into a pond up to his chest. It became rather obvious that we weren't going to get all 8 and Aron had already climbed most of them so I pointed over to Pk 3 and said why don't we climb that and then we continued on to Pk 2. They turned out to be some great peaks and we made a good day of it. We didn't have a camera and it is good to see those pics. The views were amazing from the top though.

cheers and luck to your proposal
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Re: HELP - Best 13er for Scenery & Solitude

Post by mattpayne11 »

Always neat to hear stories about Mr. Ralston. :D
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