OTHER Trip Report 10/19/2020

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Elliot Ridge 11,952 Meridian Peak 12,426
Date Posted	10/19/2020
Date Climbed	10/03/2020
Author	gore galore

Exploring the Known and Unknown Gore Range Summits of Elliot Ridge and Meridian Peak Massif
EXPLORING THE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN GORE RANGE SUMMITS OF ELLIOT RIDGE AND MERIDIAN PEAK MASSIF Elliott Ridge, 11,952 Meridian Peak, 12,426 It is best to begin this trip report with some cold hard facts and numbers about Elliot Ridge. This Gore Range ridge has to be one of the longest in length and largest in terms of an area in the mountains of Colorado. A look at the 1980 Piney Peak 7.5M topographic map indicates that Elliot Ridge spans a straight line distance of some 6.5 miles from the Sheephorn Divide at 10,423 feet in the north to the 11,640 foot saddle to the south just below the Elliot Ridge Trail and Mirror Lake Trail junction at 11,955 feet on the north ridge of Meridian Peak. This distance is quite deceiving though as the Elliot Ridge Trailhead at Blue Lake, 11,160 runs 6.5 miles following the contours of the ridge top to the above trail junction, 11,955. The total extent of the area of Elliot Ridge is huge. Its approximate 9 square miles are larger than the world's three smallest countries of the Vatican City, Monaco and the Pacific Ocean island country of Nauru. Elliot Ridge may be considered an alpine island itself floating above the surrounding terrain. It is highly conspicuous from both the east and west. It rises abruptly on the west some 1,300 to 1,500 feet above some very remote and isolated country of the Sheephorn Creek accessible by trail or 4WD roads. The eastern aspect of the ridge rises more unevenly from 800 to 1,500 feet in the vicinity of Mahan Lake and Eaglesmere Lakes. The terrain above these lakes is dotted with the escarpments of the ancient retreating glaciers remaining as five small permanent snowfields settled in the eastern shadow of the ridge as shown on maps. Most information regarding Elliot Ridge concerns the trail along its alpine length from Blue Lake as an approach to continue on towards Meridian Peak or to descend on the Mirror Lake Trail to the west side routes on Eagles Nest. Hardly a mention is made of the four principal summits along the ridge top or the one summit at the eastern edge of the ridge or the three unknown summits hidden among the east side ridge escarpments. But before I describe my adventures on the eight summits of Elliott Ridge something should be noted of the importance of Elliot Ridge as part of Gore Range mountaineering history. Before there was a Red Sandstone Road to Piney Lake it was very difficult to approach and climb the range's highest peak of Mount Powell without camping and bushwhacking. The suggested route in the 1952 first edition of Robert Ormes “Guide to the Colorado Mountains,” was the 6 miles up Black Creek. The guide noted that “Black Creek has no trail and is a tough, long bushwhack.” The same could be said of that route today to those familiar with it. In the early 1950's the Forest Service built a road to a point just below Mount Meridian to fight the spruce beetles following the 15 and a half mile route of a 1930's sheep drive trail. Credit for discovering this road approach along the then unnamed Elliot Ridge to Mount Meridian as a route to climb Mount Powell is found in a 1954 trip report by Jeff Greer of the Colorado Mountain Club. From his report the road turnoff from the main highway led 7 miles to the base of Sheep Mountain. “Go south along crest of ridge 8 miles, driving as far as desired toward Mt. Meridian – Jeeps may be parked on the summit. The last few miles are above timberline. Ordinary cars can be driven on the roads described with no difficulty.” Another Colorado Mountain Club member, Allen Greene described the car approach along the then unnamed Elliot Ridge to Mount Meridian in a more detailed trip report to climb both Mount Powell and Mount Meridian in 1956. The current Spring Creek road access to Elliot Ridge was then described as an insignificant road marked by a sign to Smith Ranch in two and a half miles. This ranch is located on the 1933 Mt. Powell 15M Quad map near the end of a light duty road designation. According to the local people at the ranch the road “led up to Eagle's Nest.” The continuation of the unimproved dirt road from the ranch led through heavily wooded slopes to a fork at the base of Sheep Mountain. Turning south Greene drove several miles along the broad, high ridge which becomes Mount Meridian. “We soon left timberline behind and drove along the broad, grassy ridge for some distance to a point just below the summit of Mount Meridian, a total of 18 miles from the main highway. The road is slow and narrow, but quite smooth and easy to travel.” Greene remarked that “the auto trip alone is well worth the effort, whether one climbs or not” as “the beauty of the broad ridge contrasts strikingly with the uneven peaks ahead.” Today one drives 13 miles to Blue Lake and the beginning of the Elliot Ridge Trail which follows the additional 5 or 6 miles of the tracks of the 1950's auto road to the base of Meridian Peak. The auto road which eventually became 4WD beyond Blue Lake was blocked sometime in the 1970's. The caveat now is that the last half mile before the trailhead may not be passable to passenger vehicles. ELLIOT RIDGE SUMMITS This summer I took five trips to explore and climb the eight summits of Elliot Ridge. I will begin with my last trip first to the four ridge top summits. Although I had climbed two of the four summits in years past the other two had gone unnoticed. In this respect I decided to do the Elliot Ridge enchainment from north to south of its four principal summits. The northernmost summit POINT 11,485 assumes some importance because of its Forest Service Benchmark P203, 1938. It rises only 125 feet from the trail on its south side saddle but is very prominent because of its 325 foot rise above Blue Lake and the large moraine field of its north side. Scrub trees dot the summit which has one of those large cairns that everyone seems to add a rock to. Although POINT 11,645 rises 285 feet from the saddle it shares with 11,485, its summit area is so bland that if one closes off his peripheral vision one might think he is hiking across the grass prairies of Kansas. The summit is more of a broad area than a specific point such that I thought I might have been on Mount Sunflower without the signs. I doubt if anyone besides myself has consciously set out to climb 11,645 as an objective. POINT 11,772 has a short north ridge from the saddle it shares with 11,645. Its distinguishing characteristic besides its 172 foot rise is the exposed red dirt on its south side from which it is a short walk from the trail to the flat rocks of the summit cairn. The major summit of Elliot Ridge is actually a separate peak because it rises 312 feet from the saddle to the south that it shares with Meridian Peak. POINT 11,952 is designated with a Forest Service Benchmark “Elliot Ridge”, 1970. It is a short hike from the trail on its east side prairie grass slopes to the summit. I finished my enchainment following the old auto tracks across the prairie such that I could think of it as the remnants of the Santa Fe Trail to the Elliot Ridge Trail and Mirror Lake Trail junction, 11,955 feet in about 4 ½ hours. Unlike the more notable enchainments in the Colorado mountains there is no FKT available for the Elliot Ridge enchainment and besides like Allen Greene's auto trip up Elliot Ridge in 1956 I found myself stopping often to admire the scenery and enjoying the summits time spent. Although this flat trail junction of 11,955 feet is designated with an elevation point it could hardly be considered a summit. It is somewhat of an oddity though because it is one of only two trail junctions that I am aware of in the Gore Range that is designated with an elevation point. The trail sign at the junction enabled me to get a bearing on a peripheral Elliot Ridge summit that had eluded me on a previous trip. POINT 11,735 is a singular 40 foot counter line circle located three quarters of a mile due east from the trail junction. From the map and my compass I could see that the flat rise in the distance was slightly higher than the wider contour lines that signified the gradual drop in elevation from the apex of Elliot Ridge. The summit area in patches of exposed bedrock free of the krumholtz growth on its east slopes had no apparent cairn. I suspect that anyone who had wandered off the trail would never think that they passed over one of Elliot Ridge's eight summits. From the sublime of these Elliot Ridge summits I now turn to the unknown east side summits of Point 11,375 above Mahan Lake and Point 11,127 and Point 11,266 above Eaglesmere Lakes. These three summits took three trips with some formidable bushwhacks to find and climb their hidden summits. But first a word about the terrain above these lakes where these summits are located. Although these lakes have trails to their shores the area drained by the North Fork Elliot Creek is in very rough terrain not ideally suited for cross country travel. The ancient retreating glaciers left exposed escarpments in some steep terrain with intermittent drainage patterns that are seemingly always at odds for the direction of travel. Dry tarns with forest debris, marshes and small clearings with willows must be detoured around. Downed timber covers the area adding to the difficulties. Travel is by compass with no readily apparent landmarks in the dense timber. The summits are not located until one is nearly upon them. Mahan Lake is enveloped on three sides by thick timber with a great open view on its south side of Eagles Nest. I circled the lake from the trail ending to its west shore where water lilies grew in the lake and entered the timber. POINT 11,375 is about a mile southwest of Mahan Lake and the almost two hours of bushwhacking seemed longer because of the uncertainty of where I was going. My compass pointed me to a small cliff band at the upper reaches of the thinning timber. I circled around to the west to gain the tear drop formation of the bedrock summit about the size of a standard bedroom floor plan. It had wonderful views of Eagles Nest to the side and in front to the Blue River valley with Green Mountain Reservoir and of the back to Elliot Ridge. I wanted to lie down and take a nap but in the late afternoon I knew I had to limit my time for my return effort. Eaglesmere Lakes are twin lakes encircled by walls of timber growth. I followed a user trail on the east shore where floating grass grew in the lake to the south end of the far lake. I entered the timber without a clue except to where my compass direction was pointing me. POINT 11,127 is located about a mile and a half southwest of Eaglesmere Lakes and was something of a conundrum to find. The two plus hours bushwhack seemed like every minute of two plus hours. Three small tarns marked the forefront of the higher bedrock ground where I should begin looking. I went up a draw and then to a lightly timbered escarpment formation that I thought would be the summit. But its formation was more of a projection that did not align itself to the two 40 foot circular contour lines of the map. I had wanted this to be the summit because of its appearance while wasting precious time from different angles trying to justify as such until finally convincing myself that it was not 11,127. My attention was now diverted to the opposite side of the draw. In a clearing a bedrock subtle rise in the shape of a loaf of bread matched exactly the location of the two map circular contour lines with the adjoining terrain falling away neatly to denote the summit of Point 11,127. The views were not expansive but I rather enjoyed the wild country around me while eating my lunch. Because of my previous vacillation I found POINT 11,266 on a subsequent trip. 11,266 is located on a small treed ridge end of a northeast facing cirque only about a half hours time west of 11,127. I repeated my bushwhack approach to 11,127 for use as a landmark where I then descended into the lower end of a picturesque small valley drainage. The timbered slopes across the drainage led to the craggy ridge end summit of Point 11,266. The exact high point was a small bedrock rooftop formation that if it were found as a fourteener summit would result in endless debate as to whether it was a Class 2 or Class 3 move. The craggy ridge end was free of most tree growth such that I had similar views as I found on 11,375. These three unknown summits on the east side of Elliot Ridge had no summit markings and I have to wonder if they had previous visitation. The bushwhacking country they are located in is not conducive to random hiking or wandering and their hidden summits requires careful map interpretation. Perhaps someone else has also purposely set out to climb these three summits. And while I am wondering I also wonder if anyone has explored the trail less approach to Griffith Lake in the nearby Cataract Creek valley. It is one of the few named lakes in the Gore Range that I have not visited. MERIDIAN PEAK SUMMITS Meridian Peak, 12,426 also called Mount Meridian before 1980 is often described as the northernmost high peak in the Gore Range. It is further distinguished by the permanent snowfield on its east face. Below this permanent snowfield is a small basin and on its south side a small ridge resistant to the ancient glacier of which the permanent snowfield is but a remnant. The high points of this small ridge are found on Point 11,955 and Point 11,937. I had the notion that I could best approach these summits from Piney Lake by the Marugg Creek Trail to the East Meadow Creek divide and then climbing the southwest side of Meridian Peak and descending into the east side basin to the summits of the points. But I was detoured at the divide by climbing West Cataract Crag, 12,088 and by the time I returned to the trail and climbed to Meridian Peak's summit I was beat. The summits of the points were tantalizingly close but the whole east face of the peak was full of snow in late June and I would be reluctant to descend its steepness without ice axe in hand. But I had the consolation of the view from the summit aptly described by Bob Ormes in 1970 as “the unfolding views from Mount Meridian, show you to the range to the south for what it is – a spire-filled wilderness.” And I was content with that. I returned later that summer by the Elliot Ridge Trail route. And from east of the trail junction, 11,955 I simply descended the 300 feet to the greenery of Meridian Peak's east basin, crossed a drainage and climbed the slopes to the rock outcrops of the summits of POINT 11,955 and POINT 11,937. Allen Greene concluded his 1956 trip report along Elliot Ridge by writing that “the important matter was that after all these years we had climbed Mount Powell – and by an easier and more spectacular route that I had ever known existed.” I will conclude my trip report in the same vein in that after all my years exploring the Gore Range, the important matter has always been the exploration itself and in this case of the known and unknown summits of the spectacular Elliot Ridge and Meridian Peak massif.

Exploring the Known and Unknown Gore Range Summits of Elliot Ridge and Meridian Peak Massif

EXPLORING THE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN GORE RANGE SUMMITS OF ELLIOT RIDGE AND MERIDIAN PEAK MASSIF

Elliott Ridge, 11,952

Meridian Peak, 12,426

It is best to begin this trip report with some cold hard facts and numbers about Elliot Ridge. This Gore Range ridge has to be one of the longest in length and largest in terms of an area in the mountains of Colorado.

A look at the 1980 Piney Peak 7.5M topographic map indicates that Elliot Ridge spans a straight line distance of some 6.5 miles from the Sheephorn Divide at 10,423 feet in the north to the 11,640 foot saddle to the south just below the Elliot Ridge Trail and Mirror Lake Trail junction at 11,955 feet on the north ridge of Meridian Peak. This distance is quite deceiving though as the Elliot Ridge Trailhead at Blue Lake, 11,160 runs 6.5 miles following the contours of the ridge top to the above trail junction, 11,955.

The total extent of the area of Elliot Ridge is huge. Its approximate 9 square miles are larger than the world's three smallest countries of the Vatican City, Monaco and the Pacific Ocean island country of Nauru.

Elliot Ridge may be considered an alpine island itself floating above the surrounding terrain. It is highly conspicuous from both the east and west. It rises abruptly on the west some 1,300 to 1,500 feet above some very remote and isolated country of the Sheephorn Creek accessible by trail or 4WD roads.

The eastern aspect of the ridge rises more unevenly from 800 to 1,500 feet in the vicinity of Mahan Lake and Eaglesmere Lakes. The terrain above these lakes is dotted with the escarpments of the ancient retreating glaciers remaining as five small permanent snowfields settled in the eastern shadow of the ridge as shown on maps.

Most information regarding Elliot Ridge concerns the trail along its alpine length from Blue Lake as an approach to continue on towards Meridian Peak or to descend on the Mirror Lake Trail to the west side routes on Eagles Nest. Hardly a mention is made of the four principal summits along the ridge top or the one summit at the eastern edge of the ridge or the three unknown summits hidden among the east side ridge escarpments.

But before I describe my adventures on the eight summits of Elliott Ridge something should be noted of the importance of Elliot Ridge as part of Gore Range mountaineering history.

Before there was a Red Sandstone Road to Piney Lake it was very difficult to approach and climb the range's highest peak of Mount Powell without camping and bushwhacking. The suggested route in the 1952 first edition of Robert Ormes “Guide to the Colorado Mountains,” was the 6 miles up Black Creek. The guide noted that “Black Creek has no trail and is a tough, long bushwhack.” The same could be said of that route today to those familiar with it.

In the early 1950's the Forest Service built a road to a point just below Mount Meridian to fight the spruce beetles following the 15 and a half mile route of a 1930's sheep drive trail. Credit for discovering this road approach along the then unnamed Elliot Ridge to Mount Meridian as a route to climb Mount Powell is found in a 1954 trip report by Jeff Greer of the Colorado Mountain Club.

From his report the road turnoff from the main highway led 7 miles to the base of Sheep Mountain. “Go south along crest of ridge 8 miles, driving as far as desired toward Mt. Meridian – Jeeps may be parked on the summit. The last few miles are above timberline. Ordinary cars can be driven on the roads described with no difficulty.”

Another Colorado Mountain Club member, Allen Greene described the car approach along the then unnamed Elliot Ridge to Mount Meridian in a more detailed trip report to climb both Mount Powell and Mount Meridian in 1956.

The current Spring Creek road access to Elliot Ridge was then described as an insignificant road marked by a sign to Smith Ranch in two and a half miles. This ranch is located on the 1933 Mt. Powell 15M Quad map near the end of a light duty road designation. According to the local people at the ranch the road “led up to Eagle's Nest.” The continuation of the unimproved dirt road from the ranch led through heavily wooded slopes to a fork at the base of Sheep Mountain.

Turning south Greene drove several miles along the broad, high ridge which becomes Mount Meridian. “We soon left timberline behind and drove along the broad, grassy ridge for some distance to a point just below the summit of Mount Meridian, a total of 18 miles from the main highway. The road is slow and narrow, but quite smooth and easy to travel.”

Greene remarked that “the auto trip alone is well worth the effort, whether one climbs or not” as “the beauty of the broad ridge contrasts strikingly with the uneven peaks ahead.”

Today one drives 13 miles to Blue Lake and the beginning of the Elliot Ridge Trail which follows the additional 5 or 6 miles of the tracks of the 1950's auto road to the base of Meridian Peak. The auto road which eventually became 4WD beyond Blue Lake was blocked sometime in the 1970's. The caveat now is that the last half mile before the trailhead may not be passable to passenger vehicles.

ELLIOT RIDGE SUMMITS

This summer I took five trips to explore and climb the eight summits of Elliot Ridge. I will begin with my last trip first to the four ridge top summits. Although I had climbed two of the four summits in years past the other two had gone unnoticed. In this respect I decided to do the Elliot Ridge enchainment from north to south of its four principal summits.

The northernmost summit POINT 11,485 assumes some importance because of its Forest Service Benchmark P203, 1938. It rises only 125 feet from the trail on its south side saddle but is very prominent because of its 325 foot rise above Blue Lake and the large moraine field of its north side. Scrub trees dot the summit which has one of those large cairns that everyone seems to add a rock to.

Although POINT 11,645 rises 285 feet from the saddle it shares with 11,485, its summit area is so bland that if one closes off his peripheral vision one might think he is hiking across the grass prairies of Kansas. The summit is more of a broad area than a specific point such that I thought I might have been on Mount Sunflower without the signs. I doubt if anyone besides myself has consciously set out to climb 11,645 as an objective.

POINT 11,772 has a short north ridge from the saddle it shares with 11,645. Its distinguishing characteristic besides its 172 foot rise is the exposed red dirt on its south side from which it is a short walk from the trail to the flat rocks of the summit cairn.

The major summit of Elliot Ridge is actually a separate peak because it rises 312 feet from the saddle to the south that it shares with Meridian Peak. POINT 11,952 is designated with a Forest Service Benchmark “Elliot Ridge”, 1970. It is a short hike from the trail on its east side prairie grass slopes to the summit.

I finished my enchainment following the old auto tracks across the prairie such that I could think of it as the remnants of the Santa Fe Trail to the Elliot Ridge Trail and Mirror Lake Trail junction, 11,955 feet in about 4 ½ hours. Unlike the more notable enchainments in the Colorado mountains there is no FKT available for the Elliot Ridge enchainment and besides like Allen Greene's auto trip up Elliot Ridge in 1956 I found myself stopping often to admire the scenery and enjoying the summits time spent.

Although this flat trail junction of 11,955 feet is designated with an elevation point it could hardly be considered a summit. It is somewhat of an oddity though because it is one of only two trail junctions that I am aware of in the Gore Range that is designated with an elevation point.

The trail sign at the junction enabled me to get a bearing on a peripheral Elliot Ridge summit that had eluded me on a previous trip. POINT 11,735 is a singular 40 foot counter line circle located three quarters of a mile due east from the trail junction. From the map and my compass I could see that the flat rise in the distance was slightly higher than the wider contour lines that signified the gradual drop in elevation from the apex of Elliot Ridge. The summit area in patches of exposed bedrock free of the krumholtz growth on its east slopes had no apparent cairn. I suspect that anyone who had wandered off the trail would never think that they passed over one of Elliot Ridge's eight summits.

From the sublime of these Elliot Ridge summits I now turn to the unknown east side summits of Point 11,375 above Mahan Lake and Point 11,127 and Point 11,266 above Eaglesmere Lakes. These three summits took three trips with some formidable bushwhacks to find and climb their hidden summits. But first a word about the terrain above these lakes where these summits are located.

Although these lakes have trails to their shores the area drained by the North Fork Elliot Creek is in very rough terrain not ideally suited for cross country travel. The ancient retreating glaciers left exposed escarpments in some steep terrain with intermittent drainage patterns that are seemingly always at odds for the direction of travel. Dry tarns with forest debris, marshes and small clearings with willows must be detoured around. Downed timber covers the area adding to the difficulties. Travel is by compass with no readily apparent landmarks in the dense timber. The summits are not located until one is nearly upon them.

Mahan Lake is enveloped on three sides by thick timber with a great open view on its south side of Eagles Nest. I circled the lake from the trail ending to its west shore where water lilies grew in the lake and entered the timber.

POINT 11,375 is about a mile southwest of Mahan Lake and the almost two hours of bushwhacking seemed longer because of the uncertainty of where I was going. My compass pointed me to a small cliff band at the upper reaches of the thinning timber. I circled around to the west to gain the tear drop formation of the bedrock summit about the size of a standard bedroom floor plan. It had wonderful views of Eagles Nest to the side and in front to the Blue River valley with Green Mountain Reservoir and of the back to Elliot Ridge. I wanted to lie down and take a nap but in the late afternoon I knew I had to limit my time for my return effort.

Eaglesmere Lakes are twin lakes encircled by walls of timber growth. I followed a user trail on the east shore where floating grass grew in the lake to the south end of the far lake. I entered the timber without a clue except to where my compass direction was pointing me.

POINT 11,127 is located about a mile and a half southwest of Eaglesmere Lakes and was something of a conundrum to find. The two plus hours bushwhack seemed like every minute of two plus hours. Three small tarns marked the forefront of the higher bedrock ground where I should begin looking.

I went up a draw and then to a lightly timbered escarpment formation that I thought would be the summit. But its formation was more of a projection that did not align itself to the two 40 foot circular contour lines of the map. I had wanted this to be the summit because of its appearance while wasting precious time from different angles trying to justify as such until finally convincing myself that it was not 11,127.

My attention was now diverted to the opposite side of the draw. In a clearing a bedrock subtle rise in the shape of a loaf of bread matched exactly the location of the two map circular contour lines with the adjoining terrain falling away neatly to denote the summit of Point 11,127. The views were not expansive but I rather enjoyed the wild country around me while eating my lunch.

Because of my previous vacillation I found POINT 11,266 on a subsequent trip. 11,266 is located on a small treed ridge end of a northeast facing cirque only about a half hours time west of 11,127. I repeated my bushwhack approach to 11,127 for use as a landmark where I then descended into the lower end of a picturesque small valley drainage. The timbered slopes across the drainage led to the craggy ridge end summit of Point 11,266.

The exact high point was a small bedrock rooftop formation that if it were found as a fourteener summit would result in endless debate as to whether it was a Class 2 or Class 3 move. The craggy ridge end was free of most tree growth such that I had similar views as I found on 11,375.

These three unknown summits on the east side of Elliot Ridge had no summit markings and I have to wonder if they had previous visitation. The bushwhacking country they are located in is not conducive to random hiking or wandering and their hidden summits requires careful map interpretation. Perhaps someone else has also purposely set out to climb these three summits.

And while I am wondering I also wonder if anyone has explored the trail less approach to Griffith Lake in the nearby Cataract Creek valley. It is one of the few named lakes in the Gore Range that I have not visited.

MERIDIAN PEAK SUMMITS

Meridian Peak, 12,426 also called Mount Meridian before 1980 is often described as the northernmost high peak in the Gore Range. It is further distinguished by the permanent snowfield on its east face. Below this permanent snowfield is a small basin and on its south side a small ridge resistant to the ancient glacier of which the permanent snowfield is but a remnant. The high points of this small ridge are found on Point 11,955 and Point 11,937.

I had the notion that I could best approach these summits from Piney Lake by the Marugg Creek Trail to the East Meadow Creek divide and then climbing the southwest side of Meridian Peak and descending into the east side basin to the summits of the points.

But I was detoured at the divide by climbing West Cataract Crag, 12,088 and by the time I returned to the trail and climbed to Meridian Peak's summit I was beat. The summits of the points were tantalizingly close but the whole east face of the peak was full of snow in late June and I would be reluctant to descend its steepness without ice axe in hand. But I had the consolation of the view from the summit aptly described by Bob Ormes in 1970 as “the unfolding views from Mount Meridian, show you to the range to the south for what it is – a spire-filled wilderness.” And I was content with that.

I returned later that summer by the Elliot Ridge Trail route. And from east of the trail junction, 11,955 I simply descended the 300 feet to the greenery of Meridian Peak's east basin, crossed a drainage and climbed the slopes to the rock outcrops of the summits of POINT 11,955 and POINT 11,937.

Allen Greene concluded his 1956 trip report along Elliot Ridge by writing that “the important matter was that after all these years we had climbed Mount Powell – and by an easier and more spectacular route that I had ever known existed.”

I will conclude my trip report in the same vein in that after all my years exploring the Gore Range, the important matter has always been the exploration itself and in this case of the known and unknown summits of the spectacular Elliot Ridge and Meridian Peak massif.

Comments or Questions

planet54	2 T's or 1 10/19/2020 7:44pm Elliott Ridge is my favorite place to wander around. I have been hiking it since the late 70's. USGS has it with 2 T's and so does an old Arapaho NF map that I have but it doesn't matter really. I have been on all of the high points along the ridge but not the bushwhacking ones.I saw your entry in the Meridian Register noting that you did Pt 12,088 this summer.Years ago I met a lady from Kremmling that remembered riding in a car along the ridge when she was a kid.I have always thought that the 11,955 elevation at the trail junction is a mistake . The spacing of the contours doesn't seem to fit.Have you visited the Lode Mining Claims up there? Rambling thoughts over. Thanks for the report.
gore galore	Glaring 10/19/2020 8:56pm Proofreading error on my part. It should be 2 T's per USGS maps. The older editions of the Ormes "Guide to the Colorado Mountains" spell it with 1 T. Your mention of meeting someone who rode in a car along Elliott Ridge back in the day is a great anecdote. I have to wonder if anyone actually drove a 1950's jeep to Meridian Peak's summit per the 1954 CMC trip report - "Jeeps may be parked on the summit." I am not familiar with the Lode Mining Claims.
ltlFish99	great memories 10/20/2020 5:30pm Thanks for posting this as it is rare to see this area discussed much here. I Thought the place was fabulous. It was my first summer that I started hiking just after joining The CMC in April of 1987. A friend and i were camping at Mahan lake and I thought I would take a hike. So, i grabbed my map and headed for elliot ridge. It was just delightful, going up above Eaglesmere lakes and then gaining the ridge via a neat 8 or 10 foot small wall of snow remaining from a cornice. Once on the ridge I was thrilled with the view and could see Capitol peak in the distance. This was exciting as it was quite beautiful and Capitol was my destination of an upcoming CMC trip a week or 2 later. I often think about the place and long to return there.
Jay521	Not sure how I missed this... 10/28/2020 1:42pm ... but as all your reports are, this was a great read. I haven't spent much time in the Gores. That will change in 2021. As always, thanks for your reports and attention to detail. History is important. I'm not sure why it took me so many years to come to that conclusion...
CORed	Cornice 11/12/2020 2:17pm My grandparents had a cabin on Green Mountain Reservoir when I was a kid (born 1955). My grandfather had a jeep, and we used to explore the back roads in the Gore range. We used to fish at times at Mahan Lake (lots of mostly small brook trout). The permanent snowfields on Elliott Ridge are mostly associated with a huge cornice that forms on the east side of the ridge in the winter, and parts of this cornice usually persist through the entire summer and fall. I don't think any of these are actually big enough to form true glaciers, but they rarely, if ever, melt out.

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