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Trailhead: Twin Sisters TH across from Lily Lake on CO7
Route: Standard trail
Length: A little over 7 miles
Vertical: About 2600 feet
Partners: Solo
Note: I originally posted this as TS Mountain when it should have been TS Peaks. Thanks to 12ersRule for setting me straight!
Some time back, 14ers.com member SenadR and I were heading to RMNP on CO7 and he mentioned that Twin Sisters Peak provided some excellent views of Longs Peak. He was not wrong.
Twin Sisters appears to be a pretty popular hike. Easy access, well maintained trail and stellar views make this a mountain that many people climb, I'm sure. Oddly enough, even though the weather was nothing short of fantastic (can you say "no wind at all"?), I saw less than a dozen other people on the trail the entire day.
The road to the TH is closed for the season so that means you have to walk a whole half mile to the TH. But the view on the road isn't all that bad... Nearing the TH. The trail started out fairly clear. Then became a little icy.
I wore spikes most of the way up and probably half the way down as warming temps turned the ice to slush.
On the way up, I repeatedly stopped to take pictures of what many people consider Colorado's most beautiful mountain. What a mountain!
Most of you will remember the floods that hit Colorado a couple years back. I **think** it was during that time that the landslide on Twin Sisters occurred. I'm fairly sure that the trail criss-crossed this area. This area certainly shows Mother Nature's power. Looking up from where the trail crosses. Looking down
A short video
The trail was sporadic near the landslide and provided a couple more "up close" views of the slide area.
Nearing the top. The top of the slide.
More snow as you gain elevation. And that mountain is still there... Some open areas on the way up. The snow varied from ankle deep to mid calf the rest of the way.
Nearing treeline, the views really started opening up.
Looking north. Looking northwest The Mummy Range ??
Another short vid taken in this area.
Breaking treeline, the rest of the route becomes apparent. I passed this couple and met them later on the summit
Note: If you happen to see this report, please PM me as I have some pictures of you on the summit. It sure was nice chatting with you!
Nearing the saddle, looking back down. Mother Nature's art. What I think was an old weather station? On the summit and a view of Guess What...
And a short 360 vid from the summit.
This was a fun, fun day, but I guess they all are when we live where we do.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and please be careful out there.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
I did Twin Sisters for the second time over the summer and enjoyed visiting
them again through your nice photos. The views of Longs and Meeker are
really spectacular. I wonder if RMNP (and/or the Forest
Service) has any plans to rework the trails by the slide area? The social
trails that have developed are certainly passable, but they don’t look
particularly sustainable (at least to my untrained eye).
Twin Sisters was the first mountain I climbed in Colorado and I love to go back and do it every spring. I remember that first year I was to afraid to climb the eastern summit (the one without a trail or radio tower). I like to return and remember those innocent days! I believe Twin Sisters Mountain is reached by a ridge off the eastern summit and is a little more scrambly. Always nice to revisit this great place, in person, or in a trip report! :D
Dave - No worries - I honestly do appreciate the correction.
Brian - I agree. I had to zoom in some to get the diamond from TS and from MLW, I almost had to zoom out to get it all in frame.
MathGuy - I do hope the FS (who I think has that portion of the trail) does do something with the social trails. It was a little hard for me to tell with the snow but I have a feeling it will get pretty torn up if something isn’t done fairly soon.
CtLee - I did do the eastern summit and took a relatively hard line up - at least as hard a line as I could find. Sure is a fun mountain - one that I wish I had started as an annual tradition rather than Bierstadt. But that’s another story.... :)
Nice report, Jay! Hadn’t really seen the slide area up close. I may finally give these a go this winter. Can’t beat the views of Longs and the easy access. Oh and Mummy Range indeed, CCY and Fairchild, L to R. Hope you’re doing great!
I just HAVE to spend more time in RMNP. Such a beautiful place that I have avoided for decades for no good reason. I appreciate the confirmation on the Mummy Range. Gotta get back up there soon.
I was just up there myself a couple of weeks ago! It definitely looks much different in the snow, especially that shot right after you came out above treeline. Thanks for sharing!
PmReyn2010 – Snow can make a mountain look completely different, can’t it? Another reason I love the seasons in Colorado.
Ryan – That is the first landslide area I’ve been up close and personal with. Something else, eh? Thanks for your compliment – coming from you, that means a lot.
Halfpint – Memories are good. In the end, that’s all we have. Sincere thanks for your post.
Saw the big gash it left across the valley when I came down Longs last year and this past summer, but thought the trail climbed up to the summits farther on the northwest side. I didn’t realize the T–S trail actually crossed the slide area. Great shots of it, Jay!
Yeah – I believe SenadR had told me that the slide wiped out a chunk of the trail when he pointed out Twin Sisters to me. There were signs at the TH warning of trail damage due to the slide. The pictures really don’t do it justice. The size and scope of that thing is something else.
The Park Service is planning to fix the trail in the landslide area, but I don’t think they have decided on a final plan yet. One of the issues is that rebuilding it across the slide is unlikely to work, because that slide will probably continue to erode. The Park Service has responsibility for the entire trail, even though part of it is on National Forest land. (There may be some kind of funding arrangement with that, but I don’t know for sure.)
Dave – That’s interesting the the NPS has responsibility for the whole trail. And I do see it will be a problem trying to rebuild it over that slide area. I would guess a bit of serious moisture and it would become loose. Thanks for your thoughts.
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