Fisher's Peak

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
User avatar
KentonB
Posts: 713
Joined: 5/13/2007
14ers: 58 
13ers: 56
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by KentonB »

susanjoypaul wrote:^^Hi Kenton! Still waiting for Area 32
Rest assured, my OCD is forcing me to monitor it daily! :-)
User avatar
bdloftin77
Posts: 1090
Joined: 9/23/2013
14ers: 58  1 
13ers: 58
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by bdloftin77 »

susanjoypaul wrote:Greenhorn Mountain is a nice 12er, and the highpoint of Pueblo county, if that matters.

There are three routes up there: the Upper Greenhorn Trailhead via Ophir Creek Road (seasonal), Lower Greenhorn Trailhead (Rye) and the Bartlett Trailhead (Rye). I've done two of the routes, and most of the third one, and they were all good hikes with awesome views.

You can stop on the way and hit up ranked 8er Capulin Mountain, a volcano just north of the highway, and about 5 hours from Lubbock and 2 hours from Rye. It's not much of a climb, but it is a very scenic leg-stretcher, with a paved trail to the top, from what I recall. I've been up there twice.
Does anyone know how rough the road is to the upper Greenhorn trailhead? Would a typical 2wd passenger car make it alright?
User avatar
susanjoypaul
Posts: 2050
Joined: 9/8/2006
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 88 6
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by susanjoypaul »

bdloftin77 wrote: Does anyone know how rough the road is to the upper Greenhorn trailhead? Would a typical 2wd passenger car make it alright?
I got to all of them in a Suzuki SX4, so yes, unless they are terribly washed out, you can get there in a passenger car. The road to the upper trailhead was actually in better shape than the others, but it's been a couple of years...
User avatar
bdloftin77
Posts: 1090
Joined: 9/23/2013
14ers: 58  1 
13ers: 58
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by bdloftin77 »

Okay, thanks a lot! Hopefully it'll be in decent condition tomorrow morning.
User avatar
KentonB
Posts: 713
Joined: 5/13/2007
14ers: 58 
13ers: 56
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by KentonB »

susanjoypaul wrote:^^Hi Kenton! Still waiting for Area 32 :-D
Glad I still get notifications for all these old threads. Did you ever finish up the Fort Carson peaks, Susan?
User avatar
susanjoypaul
Posts: 2050
Joined: 9/8/2006
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 88 6
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by susanjoypaul »

Hi Kenton,

I didn't get Booth, which is going to suck when I get around to working on Pueblo County again. I don't relish the thought of sitting through another safety meeting, and waiting for the road to open, etc., but I'm not going to poach it either.

-Susan
User avatar
KentonB
Posts: 713
Joined: 5/13/2007
14ers: 58 
13ers: 56
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by KentonB »

As I recall, Booth was at least one of the more enjoyable buttes down there. And yeah, that would be a real tough one to poach. Especially with mortar shells and bullets whizzing by. :-D Good luck!
User avatar
bdloftin77
Posts: 1090
Joined: 9/23/2013
14ers: 58  1 
13ers: 58
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by bdloftin77 »

Thanks, Susan. The road wasn't too bad at all for most of it. Just slightly rough 2wd at worst near the top. I might try going again sometime.. I'm thinking it would have great views on a clear, non-hazy day.
User avatar
susanjoypaul
Posts: 2050
Joined: 9/8/2006
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 88 6
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by susanjoypaul »

bdloftin77 wrote:Thanks, Susan. The road wasn't too bad at all for most of it. Just slightly rough 2wd at worst near the top. I might try going again sometime.. I'm thinking it would have great views on a clear, non-hazy day.
Glad you got up there! Yeah, it's a great little peak with awesome views. I have a chapter on it in my next book, but most of the history was chopped out so I'll post it here, along with some info on the peak views I enjoyed on a very clear day up there. The bighorns were up there, too, and as I summited, a dust devil whirred up from the west face of the peak and buzzed me and my partner, coming within inches of our feet. It was trippy!

Anyway, here's more on Greenhorn:

The name of the peak refers to Cuerno Verde, Spanish for “Green Horn,” the nickname of Comanche Chief Tabivo Naritgant, who was known for the green-tinted bison horn that adorned his battle headdress. The chief inherited the helmet and the nickname from his father, who had been killed by Spanish explorers in an act that set in motion Naritgant’s tribal requisite to avenge his father’s death. The ongoing battle between Naritgant and the Spaniards ended when the chief—along with his first born son and about a dozen others of the Comanche tribe—was killed in combat near Greenhorn Mountain on September 3, 1779, by Spanish troops and Native American allies under army captain Juan Bautista de Anza. Naritgant’s headdress was brought to Spain and presented as a trophy to King Charles III, who presented it to Pope Pius VI, and today the battle helmet of Chief Tabivo Naritgant remains in the collection of the Vatican Museums. A plaque in Greenhorn Meadows Park, Colorado City commemorates the defeat of Naritgant, or “Green Horn,” referring to him as the “Cruel Scourge.”

From the summit of Greenhorn Mountain, the surrounding plains and valleys—sites of numerous battles between Spaniards and Comanches—may be viewed. Easily recognizable peaks visible from the summit include the isolated mound of 6er Huerfano Butte, along I-25 far below and to the southeast; the imposing twin summits of 12er East Spanish Peak and Spanish Peaks highpoint, 13er West Spanish Peak to the south; and the twin 13er summits of the Buffalo Peaks near Trout Pass to the northwest. In addition, on a clear day and with a keen eye, you can count as many as twenty 14,000-foot peaks from the summit. Looking southwest and turning clockwise, the following ranges are visible: the Blanca Group to the southwest; the Crestones and Great Sand Dunes, across the Wet Mountain Valley to the west; the Sawatch Range to the northwest; and the Front Range, including the Pikes Peak massif, to the north.

Upon your return to the trailhead, you may drive back the way you came, or turn right—rather than left—onto CO 165 South to Rye and then get on I-25 from there. Heading north on the interstate, exit at Colorado City to visit Greenhorn Meadows Park and ponder the legacy of Comanche Chief Tabivo Naritgant, “Green Horn,” who lost his father, his son, and his life to western expansion, and for whom the park and nearby creek, mountain, trail, and entire wilderness area are named.

-Susan
User avatar
ChrisinAZ
Posts: 437
Joined: 8/11/2010
14ers: 58  14 
13ers: 36
Trip Reports (12)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by ChrisinAZ »

Funny enough...Greenhorn was the first peak I ever did in that area, and Fishers was one of the last! Greenhorn was short, easy, and had some INCREDIBLE views of the Sangres...particularly with the fall colors out in full display.

Fishers? It's an endeavor! I took Susan's long route from the south, going solo with several inches of tedious patchy snow everywhere higher than the trailhead. It was an exhausting 16-hour slog, but one of the more surreal hikes I've ever done in Colorado. Picture walking across miles prairie that could almost be out of western Nebraska, but at almost 9,000' up! Once you hit the straight gas pipeline road, the views really start to open up though. The routefinding up the last bit once you're on Fishers Peak proper is a lot easier than it looks from afar, but the bushwhacking sucks.

Interestingly, the highest point of Fishers Peak Mesa to me seemed to clearly be the bump to the east of the pipeline road. From the summit, the point over on the rim looked so much clearly lower, I didn't bother visiting!

If anyone wants more information on Fishers, I've put up a TR on listsofjohn and peakbagger. If you have any further questions, PM me.
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."
— Jack Handy


Mah peaks
User avatar
susanjoypaul
Posts: 2050
Joined: 9/8/2006
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 88 6
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by susanjoypaul »

ChrisinAZ wrote: Interestingly, the highest point of Fishers Peak Mesa to me seemed to clearly be the bump to the east of the pipeline road. From the summit, the point over on the rim looked so much clearly lower, I didn't bother visiting!
Hi Chris,

The western point registered a few feet higher on my GPS, but in my book I recommend tagging them both just to be sure. I did not bring a hand-level and don't trust my GPS with elevations, so I'm still not entirely sure if the cairn to the east or the outcropping to the west is the true summit!
ChrisinAZ wrote:It was an exhausting 16-hour slog, but one of the more surreal hikes I've ever done in Colorado.
...and I'm not going back up there to find out :-)

-Susan
User avatar
spiderman
Posts: 808
Joined: 9/26/2011
14ers: 58  3 
13ers: 27
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Fisher's Peak

Post by spiderman »

I brought a Trimble surveying GPS up to the Mesa Peaks. The bump to the east of the pipeline road was a bit higher than the western candidate (1-2', if my memory is correct). It isn't much, but it was reliable beyond the 95% confidence level. I'm glad that it wasn't the other way around or else Chris would have to go back to tag the true summit :twisted:
Post Reply