Mt. Harvard Trip Report 07/05/2016

Peak(s):	Mt. Harvard - 14,424 feet Mt. Columbia - 14,075 feet
Date Posted:	07/05/2016
Date Climbed:	07/02/2016
Author:	maylemay

Harvard and Columbia
So a few friends and I were itching to hike a route that would bag us two (or more) peaks in one go and after a bit of research we settled on Harvard and Columbia. Looking back, we should have done more research and planned a little bit better but it is too late for that now. Anyway, so we checked the weather and here is where mistake number one happened. It looked like thunderstorms Friday night and more thunderstorms and rain very early on Saturday afternoon. Ignoring the weather report, we got to the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead around 8:30 pm on Friday night and hit the trail about 8:45: way later than we would've liked. Mistake number two. Hiking through the basin was beautiful and you stay next to the creek for a while which added some great ambient noise to the hike. Thankfully the weather held decently and it was only sprinkling a little bit. We hiked for a little over an hour and a half and by that time we had gone a little over 3.5 miles and we were getting close to the fork where the trail splits to go to Harvard and Columbia and since we were planning on leaving all of our camping gear and picking it up on the way out we decided to stop and make camp. We finally got to bed around 11 that night. The forecasted thunderstorms never happened that night although it did sprinkle for a while. Mistake number three came when we did not get up the next day until 4 am. We did not pack up our campsite and hit the trail until 4:45 which was way later than it should have been. The trail is nice for a while after the fork and before you really hit the main part of Harvard, but due to the large amount of rain that the trail got the week before we went, a lot of it was muddy and quite wet. There are a lot of bushes that crowd the trail and due to the water that was all over the leaves, we got pretty soaked. The weather was pretty dreary as well. We completed nearly the entire hike inside of a cloud, so it was very humid and wet (see photo 1). For a while the trail up Harvard is very nice and there was an abundance of wildflowers and grass that made the hike enjoyable. Once you really hit the side of Harvard, however, things change. The trail very abruptly goes out of the grassy areas and into a boulder field. It is much steeper after that but still well worn and easy to follow. The final pitch right before the summit is steep and requires some scrambling but I found it enjoyable. We summited Harvard a little before 8 am after just about three hours of hiking. Thankfully we made it to the top of Harvard without any rain, although we did get snowed on while we were on top of Harvard. You can see us at the top in the second photo. We did not stay very long because of how cold it got and so we quickly left down the ridge toward Columbia. For the first half or so the traverse was pretty fun. The weather was still terrible but the trail was still pretty even with the amazing views blocked by clouds (see photo 3). A little over a mile into the traverse things take a turn for the worse. We accidentally took the VERY steep and very loose gully that 14ers.com does not recommend. We definitely could tell why it is not recommended. You can see a glimpse of just how steep (and long) the gully is in photo 4. We made it out of the gully without much more than some scrapes (I did take a face first tumble but I was thankfully able to catch myself before it was too serious) and we turned toward Columbia. The trail after the gully is basically nonexistent for quite a while. There were some tracks in the snow which we were able to follow (see photo 5). As you can see in the photo, there was a lot more snow than we expected. Thankfully it was mostly hard and we only postholed a few times. This section was very tedious though and crossing the snow and boulders took much longer than we had expected. It took around 1.5 hours to get from the top of the gully to where Columbia finally came into view (see photo 6). Getting from this spot to the ridge and final ascent of Columbia was not difficult and did not take long. At the base of the ridge of Columbia the clouds finally broke for a bit and we were greeted with a wonderful view of Harvard (see photo 7). The ridge of Columbia was not too steep or very long but by that point we were quite exhausted so it took longer than we would've liked. We finally summited Columbia a little before 12. The traverse took over 3.5 hours. We quickly left Columbia and headed down. I think we again missed the trail and we turned off the south ridge of Columbia before we should've. We ended up descending what was basically the equivalent of the previous steep gully, except it was far longer. It was all loose rock and gravel that we basically slid down because of how steep it was. The upside is that it was a very fast way to descend the mountain. We ended up losing about two thousand feet in less than a mile and less than an hour. Once you get closer to tree line the rocks start to firm up and we reconnected to the trail and followed it back down. We stopped by our campsite and picked up what we left and then we made it back to the trailhead just before 3 pm. So we were in for a much longer and more difficult day than we had expected. We probably should not have gone because of the weather, we should have arrived at the trailhead much sooner, and we should've started hiking much earlier the next morning. But you live and you learn. It was still a very enjoyable hike and if the weather is good and you are prepared for quite a long hike I would definitely recommend bagging these two peaks. Just be sure to come prepared. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Harvard and Columbia

So a few friends and I were itching to hike a route that would bag us two (or more) peaks in one go and after a bit of research we settled on Harvard and Columbia. Looking back, we should have done more research and planned a little bit better but it is too late for that now. Anyway, so we checked the weather and here is where mistake number one happened. It looked like thunderstorms Friday night and more thunderstorms and rain very early on Saturday afternoon. Ignoring the weather report, we got to the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead around 8:30 pm on Friday night and hit the trail about 8:45: way later than we would've liked. Mistake number two. Hiking through the basin was beautiful and you stay next to the creek for a while which added some great ambient noise to the hike. Thankfully the weather held decently and it was only sprinkling a little bit. We hiked for a little over an hour and a half and by that time we had gone a little over 3.5 miles and we were getting close to the fork where the trail splits to go to Harvard and Columbia and since we were planning on leaving all of our camping gear and picking it up on the way out we decided to stop and make camp. We finally got to bed around 11 that night. The forecasted thunderstorms never happened that night although it did sprinkle for a while.

Mistake number three came when we did not get up the next day until 4 am. We did not pack up our campsite and hit the trail until 4:45 which was way later than it should have been. The trail is nice for a while after the fork and before you really hit the main part of Harvard, but due to the large amount of rain that the trail got the week before we went, a lot of it was muddy and quite wet. There are a lot of bushes that crowd the trail and due to the water that was all over the leaves, we got pretty soaked. The weather was pretty dreary as well. We completed nearly the entire hike inside of a cloud, so it was very humid and wet (see photo 1).

For a while the trail up Harvard is very nice and there was an abundance of wildflowers and grass that made the hike enjoyable. Once you really hit the side of Harvard, however, things change. The trail very abruptly goes out of the grassy areas and into a boulder field. It is much steeper after that but still well worn and easy to follow. The final pitch right before the summit is steep and requires some scrambling but I found it enjoyable. We summited Harvard a little before 8 am after just about three hours of hiking. Thankfully we made it to the top of Harvard without any rain, although we did get snowed on while we were on top of Harvard. You can see us at the top in the second photo.

We did not stay very long because of how cold it got and so we quickly left down the ridge toward Columbia. For the first half or so the traverse was pretty fun. The weather was still terrible but the trail was still pretty even with the amazing views blocked by clouds (see photo 3). A little over a mile into the traverse things take a turn for the worse. We accidentally took the VERY steep and very loose gully that 14ers.com does not recommend. We definitely could tell why it is not recommended. You can see a glimpse of just how steep (and long) the gully is in photo 4. We made it out of the gully without much more than some scrapes (I did take a face first tumble but I was thankfully able to catch myself before it was too serious) and we turned toward Columbia.

The trail after the gully is basically nonexistent for quite a while. There were some tracks in the snow which we were able to follow (see photo 5). As you can see in the photo, there was a lot more snow than we expected. Thankfully it was mostly hard and we only postholed a few times. This section was very tedious though and crossing the snow and boulders took much longer than we had expected. It took around 1.5 hours to get from the top of the gully to where Columbia finally came into view (see photo 6). Getting from this spot to the ridge and final ascent of Columbia was not difficult and did not take long. At the base of the ridge of Columbia the clouds finally broke for a bit and we were greeted with a wonderful view of Harvard (see photo 7).

The ridge of Columbia was not too steep or very long but by that point we were quite exhausted so it took longer than we would've liked. We finally summited Columbia a little before 12. The traverse took over 3.5 hours. We quickly left Columbia and headed down. I think we again missed the trail and we turned off the south ridge of Columbia before we should've. We ended up descending what was basically the equivalent of the previous steep gully, except it was far longer. It was all loose rock and gravel that we basically slid down because of how steep it was. The upside is that it was a very fast way to descend the mountain. We ended up losing about two thousand feet in less than a mile and less than an hour. Once you get closer to tree line the rocks start to firm up and we reconnected to the trail and followed it back down. We stopped by our campsite and picked up what we left and then we made it back to the trailhead just before 3 pm.

So we were in for a much longer and more difficult day than we had expected. We probably should not have gone because of the weather, we should have arrived at the trailhead much sooner, and we should've started hiking much earlier the next morning. But you live and you learn. It was still a very enjoyable hike and if the weather is good and you are prepared for quite a long hike I would definitely recommend bagging these two peaks. Just be sure to come prepared.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Wish I lived in CO	Nice Trip 7/6/2016 7:24am You guys did fine, no need to beat yourself up. A 4:45 start was just fine. Too bad it was cloudy the whole time, but looked like it was a fun trip. Congrats!
BostonBD	I Agree 7/15/2016 7:29am Great trip and report other than the weather. When Columbia is involved, it's hard to sugar coat a trip report. Well done.
tortoise in TX	Quick question 4/14/2019 4:53pm Is the last place for water Bear Lake? I plan on doing this same combo in July. Thanks so much.

Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.

Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.

14ers.com

Social

Mobile App