Route Description

From Lake City, turn west onto Second street. Drive 0.1 miles and turn left onto the Henson Creek road. This is the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway. Drive 5 miles to the sign for the Nellie Creek trail (#877). The sign is on the right. There are a few pull-offs along the road in this area. If you do not have a high-clearance 4WD vehicle, park on the Henson Creek road and hike up from here. Continue 4 miles up the Nellie Creek road to reach the trailhead. The road crosses a stream twice. 2.3 miles up this road there is a junction. Turn left and stay on the main road. There is a restroom and large parking area at the trailhead.

Details:

From the upper end of the parking area, start up the trail. Hike nearly 1/2 mile to tree line where the trail approaches Nellie Creek. Near 11,800', pass some large boulders as you parallel the stream - Photo #1. Climb up a hill to a trail junction near 11,950' and continue west on the Nellie Creek trail into the large basin south of the peak - Photo #2 and Photo #3. You can see the peak through the remainder of the hike. Follow the trail southwest as it crosses the basin - Photo #4. Above 12,600', the trail turns left and heads to the southern end of Uncompahgre’s South Ridge - Photo #5 and Photo #6. Photo #7 is another look at the peak from approximately 12,800’, below the ridge.

Near 12,900', turn right (west) and hike along the east side of the South Ridge. Near 13,200', the trail angles more to the north as it continues along the ridge - Photo #8. Continue to Uncompahgre’s Southeast Face where the terrain becomes more steep as on the left portion of the face - Photo #9. After a few of switchbacks (Photo #10), reach the crest of the South Ridge near 13,800' - Photo #11. The hiking has been easy to so far. Follow the trail as it goes left (northwest) around to the west face. You are now faced with the crux of the route. You must climb about 150' of steep, loose rock to get to the easier upper slopes - Photo #12.

Keep track of the trail as it turns right and climbs up through this steep section - Photo #13. Near 13,900', there are several trail sections; look for cairns and take your time - Photo #14. Each trail section basically leads to the same place. After some brief climbing, regain the better trail on the crest (Photo #15 and Photo #16) and follow the trail northeast on easier terrain. From this area, Photo #17 looks down on much of the route. Continue north (Photo #18) toward the summit. Photo #19 looks back down on the final summit pitch. Photo #20, Photo #21 and Photo #22 were taken from the summit.

Skiing?:

For a fine spring day of skiing this route, check out this trip report. Photos of Uncompahgre with snow: Photo #23, Photo #24, Photo #25, Photo #26, Photo #27, Photo #28, Photo #29, Photo #30