Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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Wentzl wrote: ↑Wed May 21, 2025 12:02 am
Uncompahgre, not to sell it short, is a more magnificent summit. Highest in the land and a grand 1000' cliff face you can stare down, or kick a football off of, if you were so inclined.
So you would choose Uncompahgre instead of Handies?
No, my point was just that all options are good. You won't go wrong in the San Juan Mountains. Whatever you don't do this trip, you can catch the next.
Have fun, be safe.
and if the football reference seemed odd, look it up.
A few years ago, I did Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre as a combo. It’s still one of my favorite days in the mountains.
Granted, I got dropped off at the Wetterhorn TH and hitched a ride down the Unc 4wd road to my ride at the bottom… It would be a grueling day if something like that couldn’t be arranged.
But if it’s at all possible, I highly recommend linking those two hikes.
Again, you can't go wrong in the mountains and the San Juans are a favorite of many. IMO Wetterhorn is the coolest of these for the scramble at top. If I was going to pick something based on scenery and overall adventure, I'd go for Uncompahgre via Big Blue Creek and turn it into a 2 or 3 night loop. My bro and I did this trip many years ago and it's amoung my favorite adventures ever. I often recall the two nights we spent in the the shadow of Uncompahgre. It's a seriousish loop with a few substantial creek crossings, but an amazing adventure. If we're talking quality over quantity, this is my pick.
mnsebourn wrote: ↑Thu May 22, 2025 4:23 pm
A few years ago, I did Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre as a combo. It’s still one of my favorite days in the mountains.
Granted, I got dropped off at the Wetterhorn TH and hitched a ride down the Unc 4wd road to my ride at the bottom… It would be a grueling day if something like that couldn’t be arranged.
But if it’s at all possible, I highly recommend linking those two hikes.
That would be great if I could pull it off, but I'm most likely doing this solo and so logistically dont think I could arrange it. Out of curiosity, what was the mileage on that?
JerJerBinks wrote: ↑Thu May 22, 2025 5:40 pm
Again, you can't go wrong in the mountains and the San Juans are a favorite of many. IMO Wetterhorn is the coolest of these for the scramble at top. If I was going to pick something based on scenery and overall adventure, I'd go for Uncompahgre via Big Blue Creek and turn it into a 2 or 3 night loop. My bro and I did this trip many years ago and it's amoung my favorite adventures ever. I often recall the two nights we spent in the the shadow of Uncompahgre. It's a seriousish loop with a few substantial creek crossings, but an amazing adventure. If we're talking quality over quantity, this is my pick.
That sounds amazing! I'm only in colorado for a short time though and I've got enough time to do 2 individual days of hiking (wont have any of my camping gear)
I want to also add that Handies from Grizzly Gulch is one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done, and by 14er standards, I found it pretty “easy.”
If you have two days and want to bag two 14ers (since combining WH-Unc likely isn’t feasible), then Wetterhorn and Handies (from Grizzly) would be my picks.
Phill the Thrill wrote: ↑Wed May 21, 2025 7:09 am
If you're climbing Wetterhorn already, consider adding Uncompahgre either as a long-ish single day combo or camp at treeline and climb them on consecutive days. I'd do that rather than return all the way back to your car and driving over to Handies, hitching a ride, etc.
I thought about that but 17+ miles and 6000+ ft elevation gain has me questioning. Even if I started early enough and had the weather window, im not sure if I'd be able to complete Handies on day 2.
I arrived at the TH late afternoon and packed in setting up camp at treeline. That gave me a fresh start the next morning to climb Wetterhorn first, then over to Uncompahgre and back to camp. The terrain between the two is easy hiking and goes quickly. But yeah, it's a longer than average day. If you're able to drive to American Basin then Handies is a pretty easy climb, however.
"So many things I would have done, but clouds got it my way."
I thought that was an odd comment but didn't think that someone actually did it.
