Nicest Front Range 13er

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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sand man
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by sand man »

Navajo is pretty awesome and has some great scrambling near the top.

sand man
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12ersRule
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by 12ersRule »

I've got a few recommendations:

"The Citadel" from Dry Gulch is an amazing view. There are 2 summits: the west one, I'd say is class 2+/3. The east one is class 3+ and is pretty exposed. There is an unpleasant loose gully on the approach to the summit, but there are some chimneys near it where you can avoid, but not all of it.


Mount Alice - one of the most scenic mountains ever. Really long approach mileage-wise, mostly good trail though. The last ridge is class 2+. There are some scrambling opportunities though.

McHenrys - Amazing views from here. Did it from Stone Man Pass. It's got some route finding challenges. Stay near the ridge from Stone Man Pass and you should be able to pick up a cairned trail.

That's probably my top 3 so far. The Mummys are really nice too: Fairchild, Mummy, Hagues, Rowe Peak, but it's a long boring approach for 6 miles until you get to Lawn Lake. After Lawn Lake, it's great!
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climbing_rob
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by climbing_rob »

+1 on the Citadel, nice and close, beautiful approach up Herman or Dry Gulch, I like Herman better, nice little scramble finish AND you can avoid the scree-gulch by simply catching the ridge to the east summit early, class 3 up-climb in a dihedral, easy ridge walk from there. But if you want the west (lower?) summit as well, you do have to downclimb that class 3 east summit crux section, not a biggie, not exposed to more than 10 feet.
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PKelley
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by PKelley »

A loop on Mt. Meeker is sweet. I went up the Loft and down its northeast ridge. The views of the diamond and the north-facing cliffs of Meeker are wonderful.
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BTL
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by BTL »

The Skyline Traverse could be considered nice. :) Arrange an easy car shuttle (St Marys/Berthoud Pass), start at Berthoud Pass, ascend Mines and make your way N/NE to James Peak. Along the way, there are many nice 13ers (Flora, Eva, Parry, Bancroft). The views are great and you get to spend lots of time on above treeline ridges. There are even some bonus 12ers close by if you're in the mood for extra credit. Another plus is that almost all of the route is contained on one quad - Empire.
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zoomie83
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by zoomie83 »

Greenhouseguy and I did this hike. Makes a nice loop.

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bradyj
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by bradyj »

Bancroft Peak is a blast with the east ridge rappel and 5.2 climb right after. I might be partial though since I just did this one and it was my first class 5 mountaineering experience.
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Mark A Steiner
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by Mark A Steiner »

Squaretop from the area of Guanella Pass. Magnificent summit panorama in all directions. All the highest summits in the southern Front Range are easily viewed from there. Must take road from US 285 at Grant, though.
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awake
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by awake »

I've only done a handful of 13ers, but I really enjoyed Mt. Eva and Mt. Flora.

If you go from Berthoud Pass, the first part of the trail isn't very exciting because you're just walking up a dirt road to Colorado Mines Peak. But afterwords, it's an enjoyable and easy hike and you can pretty much go as far as you want. Also, the trailhead is extremely easy to get to.
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rijaca
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by rijaca »

The 13ers in the Blue Lakes/Lake Isabelle drainages of the IPW offer spectacular views of rugged mountains and lakes. Navajo/Apache/Paiute/Audubon, and the high 12ers aren't bad either (Pawnee/Shoshoni/Toll).
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Rich H
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by Rich H »

for me it would have to be any of the 13ers in the IPW or RMNP. I climbed the mummys last weekend and saw nobody until we were back down below the trees... because there are no dogs in RMNP the wildlife seems less timid so you can walk right up on deer and sheep etc - had a marmot basically come sit in my lap on ypsilon.

i love the front range granite and it seems like it all has been recently scraped from the last ice age so there isn't much loose rock
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randalmartin
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Re: Nicest Front Range 13er

Post by randalmartin »

If you like scrambling, the Southeast Ridge route of Mount Audubon was nice.
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