Route Description

From Fairplay, take Colorado 9 to the town of Alma. From the center of Alma, continue north for about 1/2 mile and turn left on the Park County 6 road. After 1.4 miles, turn left onto Quartzville road. Near 2.2 miles, stay left at a confusing intersection. Near 3.5 miles, reach the intersection of Zinc Road. This is the trailhead. Zinc road turns left and is usually not plowed in winter. Park at the road junction, but be sure not block either road.

Details:

Because there is no trail, this route is best done in winter or spring when the terrain is mostly snow-covered. Photo #1 and Photo #2 provide an overview of the route. From the Zinc Road junction, walk 0.1 mile north up Quartzville road to bypass a parcel of private land up to your left (west). After walking up the road, climb left into an area of sparse trees and continue hiking west towards Mt. Bross. Continue through trees to eventually get a better look at the route ahead - Photo #3. You can hike southwest all the way into the Moose Creek drainage, but it’s not necessary; continuing directly west onto the lower portion of a ridge will save you from losing a bit of elevation.

Ascend the ridge or up along the right side of the drainage and the remaining route becomes quite obvious - Photo #4 and Photo #5. Follow the edge of the snow and hike up to 13,600’ where you will cross the road used in Mt. Bross Route #1 from Mineral Park - Photo #6. Above the road, continue west and southwest along the right side of the snow or on the edge of the ridge (Photo #7 and Photo #8) to bypass the steepest snow in the bowl near the top - Photo #9. Above 14,000’, reach easier terrain and hike a few hundred yards west to reach the true summit - Photo #10.

Skiing?:

It's usually difficult to get a continuous ski from the true summit, but it can happen. The best skiing is often directly down the snow bowl east of the summit - Photo #11, Photo #12 and Photo #13. As the pitch eases near 13,600' (Photo #14), you may be able to ski continuous snow all the way down to 12,000' where the terrain levels out in Moose Creek - Photo #15 and Photo #16. Work your way northeast and east to reach your starting point on the main road.