"Tincup Peak"

Route: CT/CDT
Posted On: 6/16/2025, By: rleclair
Info: Near summer conditions from the trailhead to the basin. Once in the basin, there are 4-5 snow crossings to contend with. Snow was hard in the morning and softened during the warming day. Once at Tincup Pass, the route to UN13083 was snowfree. The traverse to Tincup had some snow on the east facing slopes but easily avoidable. The traverse to Emma Burr Mountain was effectively snowfree save for east facing snow/small cornices to the right of the ridgeline. Save for the basin, never hiked on snow that day. Great day! 

Route: CDT and UN 13038 Bushwhack Loop from St. Elmo
Posted On: 6/9/2025, By: bryanpeck3
Info: There were several hundred feet of snow on the CDT above treeline, but the rest of the valley was mostly dry. Minimal snow from Tincup to UN 13038 and through the woods down to the road. 

Route: SE ridge via the CDT/CT
Posted On: 5/31/2025, By: cloudkicker
Info: Basically full summer conditions if you do it the way we did. We went up Tincup Road to the CDT/CT trail which led us to a nice easy ridge from 12,5 to the summit of Tincup. From there we traversed to UN 13038 and on down its south slopes back to a dispersed site at 10,6 where we parked. Most of the route was dry, and where there was snow it was either no consequence or easy to avoid. 

Route: CDT trail
Posted On: 10/26/2024, By: rachel
Info: I parked my stock Tacoma about 2.5 miles up FS 267 before the huge mud pit, which is near Woodchopper Creek. I hiked the road then took the pleasant and dry CDT through the trees. I left the trail near 12,400 and followed the ridge to the summit of Tincup with minimal snow. 

Route: Tincup Pass/FS 267
Posted On: 10/26/2024, By: sunny1
Info: I attempted to drive to Tincup Pass from the east on FS 267. There is a large, deep, rutted mud hole at approx 3 mi up from St Elmo that was impassable in a Chevy Silverado. In the a.m., it was partially frozen. There are vehicle parts in the area. Just a fyi, if anyone is considering the pass and surrounding 13ers soon. You'll need higher clearance and rugged tread tires to get thru this area, or find a place to park and walk up to the pass. Check out 10/6/24 post with photos: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/tincup-pass-4x4-road 

Route: from Tincup Pass
Posted On: 4/15/2024, By: kyrawhitworth
Info: Continuous snow from St Elmo to Tincup Pass. Road was hard packed so no flotation needed until close to the basin. From Tincup Pass, the ridge up is mixed snow and rock, no flotation needed. Some deeper spots of snow after the first false summit but we were early enough in the day that it was relatively supportive. We did not continue to Emma Burr due to wind and the connecting ridge having some deeper looking snow spots that could get messy as the snow was rapidly warming. Had a great ski down into the basin from the pass (snow was grabby around noon). 

Route: From Tincup Pass
Posted On: 8/10/2023, By: tjf242424
Info: I was able to drive all the way to Tincup Pass from St Elmo in a Subaru Outback Wilderness. There are some rough bumpy sections, but no issues with traction or clearance and no stress at all. Not sure of the condition of the road on the west side of the pass. The peak is obviously in summer condition. 

Route: Loop with 13,050 and Fitzpatrick
Posted On: 6/29/2023, By: 9patrickmurphy
Info: I was able to get my Subaru Forester up to the CDT junction without too much difficulty. The very beginning of the Tincup Pass road at Saint Elmo seemed to be just about the worst, if you can make it up that, you can get to the CDT. I scraped my bumper at a puddle obstacle further up but did no damage. This route would be some obnoxious mileage if starting from Saint Elmo. Cruiser trail up the CDT on the way to 13,050, though there are some snow crossings that required poles and microspikes. Axe was a nice to have, not a need to have. You could drop into the basin to avoid the snow crossings. Ridge to 13,050 was the slowest part of the day, lots of big blocky talus and ups and downs. Took a lot longer than anticipated to get from the trail to the summit and back. Easy tundra stroll up Tincup. Inconsequential snow. Easy tundra stroll down to Tincup Pass. There is an old trail that connects Tincup Pass with Napoleon Pass, and this has been noted in previous trip reports for Fitzpatrick. I had intended on using this to skirt the 12er West of the pass, but there is a monster cornice where the trail intersects the ridge. So I skirted dumb talus, climbed a grassy ramp, just to descend to the ridge's lowpoint. I wish I had just gone over the 12er, it would have been the same amount of effort, and hey, it's a ranked 12er. Tundra stroll to Fitzpatrick's summit. Descending straight East off Fitzpatrick's summit was simple enough, some snow, a little wet in the willows. Until getting down to the creek, where it is quite wet (very wet). I wouldn't advise this egress right now but it would be great for a fall hike. The Texas wheelchairs are out in full force, by the way. 

Route: From Tincup pass
Posted On: 1/28/2023, By: Will_E
Info: Road conditions are good to St. Elmo, well plowed. The road to Tincup Pass had 3 or 4 inches of fresh snow this morning, I didn't need snowshoes until a mile or so from Tincup Pass, the first snowmobilers of the day arrived just before I reached the pass. I left my snowshoes just above the pass, didn't need any traction today, but definitely needed goggles, wind was just a little less miserable than yesterday above treeline. Getting down from Tincup Pass was much easier, there were a lot of snowmobiles out this afternoon. 

Route: From tincup pass
Posted On: 4/25/2021, By: lkk8815
Info: Parked in the visitors parking for St Elmo, tincup pass road is still closed and there's No Parking signs everywhere else. Road is packed from snowmobiles, but less so the higher up you get. From tincup, I went over to 13050 and then dropped backed down to the road. Snow through the trees was surprisingly supportive and pleasant with snowshoes, but I could see it being a struggle on a warmer day. Watch said 12 miles total. 

Route: Via Tincup Pass
Posted On: 3/19/2021, By: ScottLovesRMNP
Info: My Corolla handled the icy road on the way in just fine in the AM, but on the way out in the afternoon after a warm day, the road was a mix of mud, water, slush, and ice. It was quite a mess and required careful and slow driving. The Tincup Pass road is nicely groomed by snowmobiles and in great shape. One steep climb right at the end to reach the pass, but it's short and not too difficult. From there, the climb to Tincup's false summit is windblown and almost all snow can be avoided. From the false summit, it's a bit of a chore in the strong wind to get to the true summit because of snow, some of which is icy and slick while other snow is trapdoor city. Carried spikes and snowshoes, but used neither all day. 

Route: from St Elmo
Posted On: 11/20/2020, By: WildWanderer
Info: Approach conditions the same as for Fitzpatrick last week: icy roads. I wore microspikes the entire time, and snowshoes in the basin. microspikes were overkill on the ridge, but I was too lazy to take them off. Snow on ridge was avoidable. 

Route: From Tincup pass
Posted On: 8/5/2020, By: Trotter
Info: Easy class 1/2 walk from tincup pass. Needs a summit register and can, couldn't find one. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 12/23/2019, By: dolfh
Info: There is a large parking area on the east side of St. Elmo. Road 267 starts 1/2 mile from the parking lot. I didn't see a better place to park closer to road 267. 267 is solid packed from snowmobile traffic all the way to Tincup Pass. The west facing ridge up to "Tincup Pk" is mostly wind scoured. The slope angle is near 35 degrees below the west ridge point. The summit ridge of "Tincup Pk" has a few areas of deep powder. I used Ascent snowshoes most of the day and trail crampons on the steep section. 

Route: South Ridge via Tincup Pass
Posted On: 12/21/2019, By: supranihilest
Info: The road from St. Elmo is nicely groomed. The grooming ends a few hundred feet below the pass. The snow from the end of the groom to the pass is nasty deep sugar. From the pass conditions are mixed snow (sugar and hard pack)/tundra/rock. The route is obvious. Be mindful of slope steepness. The summit ridge is in good shape. I wore snowshoes the entire way up and down.