"Heisshorn"

Route: middle fork TH
Posted On: 7/29/2024, By: zootloopz
Info: The drive from Montrose to the TH was 20 mins quicker than google maps predicted. On the way out to Ridgway, it tried to send me down a an old road now blocked off trail, but continuing straight ended up being perfectly fine. Easy driving except for the rare divot which can catch you off guard, one of them got me pretty good. Hike itself with just Heisshorn and no other 13ers was 12.4 miles, 3,600ft of gain, and took me 7 hours elapsed round trip. I was moving slow, so this could go 6 or less. The class 4 section was straight forward, don't try to dip off to the side, just stay to the more solid ridge proper and you will have a good time. That being said, this is only San Juan "solid", aka I was still testing all of my holds in exposed areas. Beautiful approach, beautiful area. Had a nice moose encounter on the way back about a mile from the TH. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/30/2024, By: supranihilest
Info: Stellar scramble. From "El Punto" we traversed the easy ridge over to "Heisshorn". The last little bit before the ridge transitions to the gray rock of the scramble is dirt/mud and very slick when wet. The initial section of the ridge is just a scramble over large broken blocks and not particularly inspiring, but for the most part it's stable. As one ascends the rock becomes more loose, so be careful if there are others below you. Once at the knob the ridge is laid out before you and much longer than it looks from below - score! The scrambling begins immediately and remains sustained at the Class 2+ to Class 3 level all the way to the summit. Exposure remains high all the way as well but we barely noticed it since the scrambling is so good and the rock solid. At first the ridge becomes like a blunt knife edge, the hands and feet are excellent on the ridge crest and along the sides of the ridge, respectively. A couple of little gendarmes are scrambled over or on talus ledges to the side - find whatever is most comfortable for you. One side of the ridge or the other is usually just straight vertical and impassable anyway. After scrambling a handful of the towers you'll reach the final summit pitch which is broken Class 3 slabs, traversing up and across wonderful, solid, lichen-encrusted rock. The exposure here is highest and a slip would probably mean death but the scrambling is just delightful and not that hard. Harder rock lurks nearby, and there is some talus in spots to be aware of, but for the most part the whole ridge is just great. Once on the ridge crest it's a short walk to the top. Be careful descending but generally the solid and grippy rock make the descent a non-issue. Whiley and I both consider this a 5-star scramble and very worthy of repeats. The Middle Fork trail is easy to descend and has a couple of snowfields covering the upper part, just look for wooden poles to follow. Once in the trees the trail is muddy and there's a silly number of stream crossings so it was hard for us to keep our feet dry. One creek crossing where the Porphyry Basin trail splits off the Middle Fork trail required a long leap that may be difficult for some but there's only like two miles left at that point so just wading the creek isn't the worst thing in the world. 

Route: From El Punto
Posted On: 9/18/2023, By: HikerGuy
Info: Hiked a clockwise loop of 13,220 (13,222B), 13,350 (13,340A), "El Punto", "Heisshorn", 13,382 (13,377), 13,215 (13,206) with Heather aka @mtn_chicken. An awesome day up high with a great partner. We started at 5:30am and finished at 5pm for 11h 30m roundtrip. My Caltopo track showed 15.61 miles and 5,834 of vert. The route was damp but dry except for gaining the saddle/ridge up to 13,340A, there were a few inches of snow in the gully, microspikes helpful if not mandatory. El Punto felt the most difficult, on the Class 4 side of Class 3/4. 13,220 (13,222B) was the next most difficult, it felt on the Class 3 side of Class 3/4. Rating feeling is subjective, height/reach and loose rock tolerance dependent. Heisshorn is a blast, sustained scrambling on good rock, Class 3 IMO. Incredible views of Wetterhorn and Coxcomb, the Cimarrons are spectacular! 

Route: from the saddle with El Punto
Posted On: 7/30/2020, By: SnowAlien
Info: Missing a register. Good scramble, nearly not as loose or consequential as El Punto. Watch out for sheep. 

Route: The Sketchy Ridge
Posted On: 9/11/2016, By: Grover
Info: Just a heads up if you are contemplating a summit bid of "Heisshorn": The ridge run to the summit is extremely loose and sketchy. And I mean super loose! You'll need quick feet and quick hands when something breaks free - which will happen. The good news is, the views of the East Fork Basin, including the unique views of Uncompahgre, Matterhorn & Wetterhorn from the northwest are outstanding. Because of this, I highly recommend a visit to the Middle Fork Basin. 

Route: Middle Cimarron/NE ridge
Posted On: 7/14/2016, By: TravelingMatt
Info: Mostly dry. Necessary to traverse a short but steep snowfield below the col around 12,300', which you can't see until you're right above it. I glissaded it. Snow on ridge does not interfere with climbing. This is a rather loose but fun scramble with a couple catwalk segments on the ridge. Where the ridge doesn't go, stay lower to the left (east). Great views of Uncompahgre, Wetterhorn and Coxcomb. Long approach (~5 miles to col) but worth it. El Punto, on the other side of the col, is a nightmare of loose angle-of-repose scree and dirt with a rather terrifying last move up to a summit that has no good place to stand or sit.