Harvard/Columbia Traverse

[14erFred]

I spoke on the phone with a US Service representative in Leadville who claimed that the downed timber from last year along the Mt. Harvard Trail up Frenchman Creek has been cleared. But I haven't spoken to anyone who's gone up the Mt. Harvard Trail from the Frenchman Creek trailhead. Any updates on current conditions of the drive to the upper TH for Frenchman Creek and the hike up Frenchman Creek would be much appreciated.

[rijaca]

I spoke on the phone with a US Service representative in Leadville who claimed that the downed timber from last year along the Mt. Harvard Trail up Frenchman Creek has been cleared. But I haven't spoken to anyone who's gone up the Mt. Harvard Trail from the Frenchman Creek trailhead. Any updates on current conditions of the drive to the upper TH for Frenchman Creek and the hike up Frenchman Creek would be much appreciated.

Huh? The 'standard' Mt Harvard trail ascends from the N Cottonwood TH. There is a trail up Frenchman Creek to near/just above t-line in the basin below Harvard/Columbia, and the S Pine Creek trail heads north just below t-line. There are no trails ascending either Columbia or Harvard from Frenchman Creek. As previously posted, Columbia from here ascends the stable talus/grassy north slopes. The east ridge of Harvard can be reached and climbed from this basin as well. There is a TH conditions report for Frenchman Cr from 6/23/13.

[geojed]

Huh? The 'standard' Mt Harvard trail ascends from the N Cottonwood TH. There is a trail up Frenchman Creek to near/just above t-line in the basin below Harvard/Columbia, and the S Pine Creek trail heads north just below t-line. There are no trails ascending either Columbia or Harvard from Frenchman Creek. As previously posted, Columbia from here ascends the stable talus/grassy north slopes. The east ridge of Harvard can be reached and climbed from this basin as well. There is a TH conditions report for Frenchman Cr from 6/23/13.

The trail up Frenchman Creek is actually called the "Harvard Trail" on topo maps (see below). It used to be the standard route until they changed it to the Horn Fork Basin route.

[rijaca]

My 15' USGS Mt Harvard quad calls it Harvard trail. My TI map calls it Frenchman Creek trail.

Not sure when or if the route up from Frenchman Creek was ever the standard route for Harvard/Columbia. Borneman and Lampert describe the 'standard' route using Horn Fork basin, although they do mention an eastern approach 'from the Harvard trail up Frenchman Creek'.

[planet54]

My 15' USGS Mt Harvard quad calls it Harvard trail. My TI map calls it Frenchman Creek trail.

Not sure when or if the route up from Frenchman Creek was ever the standard route for Harvard/Columbia. Borneman and Lampert describe the 'standard' route using Horn Fork basin, although they do mention an eastern approach 'from the Harvard trail up Frenchman Creek'.

Going back to the Ormes book,Guide To The Colorado Mountains 6th edition 1974 there are four routes given for Harvard. First is Pine Creek;second is the Harvard Trail;third is a route, not a trail, from the Lenhardi Mine (Leinhart USGS) and last he writes a " satisfactory Harvard - Columbia route has been found from the south" and he then describes the Horn Fork route.So I think that Horn Fork was not the standard route at that time.When I did Harvard for the first time in 1977 I used the Horn Fork route because I had been up to Bear Lake a few times previously and knew the area.There was plenty of evidence that other people had used that route already.

Does anyone remember when the Colorado Trail through the Sawatch was called the Main Range Trail?

[Jay521]

Does anyone remember when the Colorado Trail through the Sawatch was called the Main Range Trail?

I seem to recall that designation when I first started doing Sawatch 14ers. Which would have been in the mid 70's, I think.

[14erFred]

Geojed and Planet54 are right. The Mt. Harvard Trail is the original designation on USGS maps of the trail up Frenchman Creek to the East Ridge of Harvard. It really should be renamed the Frenchman Creek Trail. Nevertheless, numerous guidebooks call it by its original name. Thanks for the heads up on the trip report, rijaca.

[mdfreiberg]

My buddy and I did Harvard and he continued on to Columbia, 2 weeks ago. We camped at the top of Frenchman Creek Basin. It was fantastic as no one entered that day from that basin. He followed the gentle ridge (I believe SE) to the 13er point to return to camp. He mentioned steep talus for a bit once off of the ridge, but he dropped right into camp at 11,900. I personally think it would be easier to drop off of Harvard and pick a different line up to Columbia (there are multiple lines that look easier than the standard route) since the traditional traverse looks like a pain. Good luck!

Best,
Mike

[bjkent76]

I did the Traverse yesterday starting with Columbia and then going over to Harvard. I went up the standard route on Columbia and it was every bit as miserable as described. That said, I would much rather go up that route than descend it. On the bright side it was a pretty quick shot up to summit. I tried to stay high on the ridge during the traverse not wanting the give-up elevation knowing the climb still ahead of me on Harvard. That was a mistake. It was a slog-fest through loose talus and what seemed like endless boulder hopping when I did drop down a little lower. Personally I would drop down into the basin if I had it to do again. Harvard was a fun climb and beautiful mountain with an excellent trail all the way back to Horn Fork Basin and camp. harvard's summit was surprisingly cool. Big thanks to those who recommended doing the traverse starting with Columbia. Definitely the way to go.

[3rdGenNative]

As BJKent above said, it's a slogfest. We did it the day before yesterday trying to match the route description that we had found on this site. The hike up Columbia was tough but wow, the elevation gain was impressive. Finishing Columbia was pretty easy after reaching the south shoulder. The traverse though was awful. We had met some people on the trail as we were going in. They said it took them 4 1/2 hrs to go the 2 1/2 miles between the summits. I think it took us 5 hrs. Granted, the three of us were between 50 and 60 yrs old HOWEVER, the 60 yr old guy is a triathlete and another of us had a bike race up Mt. Evans last weekend. We tried to go along the 12,800 ft. contour line but I believe that we ascended the ridge a little too early. Everything was freakishly loose and really steep. We pretty much hated the traverse but made it across safely. We put in almost 12 hrs. hiking from the basin, up Columbia, over to Harvard and back to camp in the basin. Thankfully, we had great weather and barely enough water.

[climbnowworklater]

Psycholoco and I just did the traverse from Harvard to Columbia 7-5-13. Tough but fun. Total hike time RT: 7:35
It took 3:05 to summit Harvard, 2:15 to traverse, and 2:15 to get back to TH.
My experience: Harvard was easy on a great trail. The traverse was average with minor route finding. The ascent of Columbia was straightforward and expected.
Descent of Columbia was tough. My thoughts are this: would you rather ascend or descend scree? For this particular trip, I would rather descend scree and be 3 miles from the car after a long day.
The alternative is to climb scree, which can burn my legs out early, and then have 7 miles back to the car after the traverse and Harvard.
It comes down to personal opinion.

[goingup]

Yesterday, we successfully ascended the west slopes of Columbia and then descended to the basin in between Harvard and Columbia and then re-ascended to re-claim the Harvard ridge line and then we were tricked about 4 times until we eventually made it over to the Harvard summit where we then took the standard route down.

This was one of my favorite days on the mountain and one of my longest. We are truly blessed the weather held out. Even with a 4 a.m. start this took us about 15 hours to do. However, we stop a bit to enjoy our surroundings, take pictures, and look at things like spiders eating flies. Also my feet were totally numb for the last 4 miles and I was walking like I was 80 years old.

I do not understand why people claim this is the route from hell. There is definitely some loose stuff, and ya it's steep, it's a giant mountain. But there are some places you can turn in to class 3 scrambles, the route finding is fun, and the basin in between Columbia and Harvard gets an A+ for beauty in my book. Also, the wildflowers on Columbia's west slopes A++. And we had both summits to ourselves and barely saw any people.

I don't believe you are supposed to do this hike the other way. Where you attain Harvard first and then descend Columbia. We ran into a really nice father and son group who did it that way by accident because they missed the turn off for Columbia's west slope. We also met some people who were planning on going that way even though I suggested going the way we went because it is more ecologically friendly to the 14er.

I would HIGHLY recommend this route as we did it. Up Columbia, down Columbia a ways, up Harvard, down Harvard (paying close attention to not scaring the slopes or basin). It truly is not at all the horror fest any of the trip reports made it out to be. It is long, steep, and at times you must pay very close attention to where you are going and where your hands and feet are. But a truly awesome awe inspiring day and an excellent chance to push myself physically!!!!! Five stars Harvard and Columbia...I would definitely do this one again.