Route Description

- Drive to the town of Gardner - northwest of Walsenburg on Colorado 69.
- From Gardner, head west for about 1/2 mile on CO 69 and turn west on the road to Mosca Pass. There should be brown Forest Service signs on CO 69 indicating the turn.
- Just after the start of this road, there is a Forest Service sign that says "Upper Huerfano - 21.5" and "Lily Lake Trhd - 22.5".
- Continue 6.8 miles and bear right. Shortly after this the road turns to dirt.
- Drive 4.7 miles to a junction and turn left onto Forest Road 580.
- Drive 3.4 miles and the road will enter private property. There is a "Forest Access" sign that reads "Upper Huerfano - 5.3 mi."
- Continue 0.6 mile and stay left at the entrance to the Singing River ranch. The road becomes rough, narrow, but still 2WD.
- Continue 0.8 mile and pass the entrance to the Aspen River ranch. The road turns to 4WD after this point.
- Drive 3.4 miles enter the San Isabel National Forest. The road continues to get worse.
- Drive 0.8 mile and pass a small sign for the Huerfano and Zapata trails.
- Drive 1 more mile to the end of the road at the Lily Lake TH. The last 1/4 mile is rough but usually ok for most 4WD vehicles.

Details:

First, follow Mt. Lindsey Route #1 to the 13,150-foot saddle between Iron Nipple and Mt. Lindsey. From the saddle, the Northwest Ridge is in full view and may look intimidating to some. More than 1/2 way up the ridge a crux wall makes this route more difficult than the North Face gully route. The crux requires about 30' of Class 4 climbing, indicated in red on Photo #1 and Photo #2.

Hike southeast along the ridge on a small trail and, near 13,200' where the trail turns east and starts across the North Face, turn right and hike up to the ridge. The route from here to the crux stays on the ridge or left of the ridge. Taken near 13,400', Photo #3 shows the ridge as you approach more difficult terrain. Continue hiking along the ridge and the terrain will become more rugged and require Class 3 scrambling - especially on the ridge crest. Photo #4 was taken on the approach to the crux section. As you scramble up to the crux wall (Photo #5), it's clear that the route is becoming more serious. Scramble across a steep area below the ridge crest, down to a notch, and then up to the base of the crux wall. Photo #6 and Photo #7 were taken in this area and show some of the rugged terrain features.

Photo #8 is a head-on view of the crux wall and it's clear that there are several options. The only feasible way to keep the difficulty at Class 3 is to bypass the wall on the left side. This can be done but it leads into less stable terrain that becomes more steep on the north side of the ridge. If you are comfortable with short Class 4 sections, the best option is to climb the right side of the wall or just left of center. Both of these options are brief and will keep you close to the ridge crest once past the wall. Photo #9 was taken during a direct climb of the wall just left of the large, vertical crack in the center. Carefully pick your line to reach the Class 2 terrain above the crux. Photo #10 looks down over the wall after climbing up the center.

Above the crux, continue up the ridge on easier ground - Photo #11. Taken near 13,800', Photo #12 looks down on the ridge and Photo #13 looks down over the Northwest Face gully route. Continue to the 14,000-foot false summit on the northwest end of the summit ridge. From here, it's less than 0.2 mile to the summit - Photo #14. Hike along the summit ridge and then up the final pitch to the top - Photo #15. Photo #16 was taken from the 13,150-foot saddle and shows the Northwest Ridge under mid-day lighting.