Grab Life by the (Little) Horn

Prelude:
This was an absolutely fantastic route that had just the right amount of spice and just the right amount of chill tundra plodding. I mapped out the individual ridgelines based on some basic information in a guide book, but for the most part we didn't really know much about the ridges outside of the overall class (i.e. class 1, 2, 3, etc.). To be honest, it's more fun that way sometimes! Anyway, after an eventful skimo season full of classic lines and big days, my partner and I took Friday and Saturday to have some much needed R&R. We thought about taking a rest day on Sunday as well, but I would have regretted letting an entire weekend of perfect weather in July slip by without doing some kind of linkup, and boy did this one deliver! The mountains around Horn Creek Basin are incredibly lush and green with beautiful rock striations that really create some unique patterns unlike anywhere else in Colorado. That, combined with the 6000' of prominence on either side of the mountains, made for a truly gorgeous day in the mountains... albeit, with lots of bugs...

Approach:
We woke up at 12 AM in Golden and were on the road by 12:30 AM. We arrived at the trailhead right around 3:30 AM and were on the trail by 3:40 AM. After about a mile of hiking, we turned off the trail and followed a defined ridge feature up to the summit ridge. The route we took was off-trail and quite spur of the moment as the original plan had been to take the trail into the basin and head up the steep grassy slopes to the summit of Little Horn Peak. The slope angle along the ridge was lower and we thought there might be a better chance of catching sunrise above tree line if we took the ridge. Thankfully, the ridge went with surprisingly low BS! There was some deadfall, but it was generally easy to avoid and there were no willows. Two hours later and we were above tree line with a fantastic sunrise as our reward. With the sun illuminating the entirety of the ridge we planned to traverse that day, we set off with new energy that only the first light after a long hike in the dark can provide.

Route Information:
Mileage: Approximately 16.5 Miles
Elevation: Approximately 7200'
Class: 4
Time to Complete: 13 Hours

Exposure: High
Rockfall: Low
Route-Finding: High
Commitment: High

Little Horn Peak - East Ridge (Class 3)

The East Ridge up Little Horn Peak was consistently uphill and primarily Class 1/2. There was a short section of Class 3 scrambling leading up to the summit. Route finding was simple - follow the ridge crest! Rock was was also solid and a ton of fun. Based on the slope angle and ease of navigation, I would definitely put this on the list for avalanche safe winter routes in the Sangres as well.

Fluted Peak (East-to-South Ridge - Class 1/2)

The Ridge from Little Horn to Fluted Peak was primarily class 1 with a bit of class 2. Super chill with lots of beautiful views!

Mount Adams - Northeast Ridge (Class 4)


The Ridge from Fluted to the summit of Adams was initially very relaxed and primarily went at Class 1 to the saddle. From the saddle, there's sustained scrambling on solid rock to the next prominent bump on the ridge where the ridge turns towards the West. The route finding is fairly simple - essentially staying on the ridge crest along a semi-knife-edge feature - outside of two well-defined steps. For the first step, we ascended a gully/dihedral feature on the left side. A bit of straightforward scrambling later, and we reached the second step, which we ascended up the center and slightly to the right on a pile of stable, stacked rocks. Once you reach the point where the ridge changes direction, the scrambling eases. While the two steps were challenging, both were short and over fairly quickly. The remaining ridge to the summit is mostly Class 2 with some brief sections of Class 3 scrambling.

UN 13,580A - South Ridge of Adams (Class 3) to the North Ridge of 13,580A (Class 2)

The next stop along our ridge was unnamed Peak 13,580A. As you approach Mt. Adams from the NE, it won't look like there's any way off the summit in the direction of the unnamed 13ers without some serious 4th or 5th class downclimbing. We were very relieved to see that wasn't the case! Do not try to descend the gully that appears to go directly from the summit. Walk a another 20-30 feet West along the summit ridge and you'll look down to find a rather pleasant-looking grassy slope that starts off at Class 2. There were a few ledges that required some brief Class 3 movements, but exposure was low (at least in comparison to the NE ridge). Staying at/near the ridge proper appeared to plop you right at the easiest point to navigate the ledges. From the saddle, it's an easy hike to the summit of 13,580A, which turned out to be a beautiful peak, somewhat reminiscent of the Dolomites with a broad grassy slope on one side and cliffs to the East.

UN 13,580A to UN 13,517B - South Ridge of UN 13,580A (Class 1/2) to North Ridge of UN 13,517B (Class 4)

The descent off 13,580A to the saddle was easy, but the difficulty ramped up quickly from there. The North Ridge of UN 13,517B was definitely the crux of the route, with several airy, exposed movements, knife edges, class 4 slabs, and one very nerve wracking descent into a notch that necessitated a small jump. There's not really a bail option to the East at this point (bailing in that direction would necessitate going back to Adams and descending some aspect of the East Face). Once you're on this part of the ridge, you're committed. If there's one section scrambling that should be your go/no-go decision point for this linkup, it's this one. It may be possible these difficulties could have been bypassed, but we didn't see a viable alternate route, even if you were to lose significant elevation. That being said, the rock is very solid and super enjoyable to scramble on. Once you're past the notch, the terrain eases momentarily. Staying ridge proper would require 5th class climbing to access the summit. Traverse a grassy ledge on the West side of the summit block to access a rock gully with good rock quality (Class 3/4) that takes you to the summit. Despite all the cautionary statements, this was my favorite part of the traverse!

UN 13,517B to UN 13,541 - Class 2

UN 13,517B marked the end of our originally planned ridge traverse, but since we still had some energy left and it was a gorgeous day, we decided to bag UN 13,541 as well. Whether you decide to descend directly off the summit towards Little Baldy Mountain or bag UN 13,541, the remainder of your day won't exceed Class 2. We headed over and up to the summit of UN 13,541 and were happy we did - this unnamed summit has some of the best views of Kit Carson, Challenger, and Obstruction Peak! It took us 30 minutes to hike up and back down to the saddle. From the saddle, we traversed UN 13,517B's grassy SE slopes to reach the E Ridge. Try not to loose elevation as you traverse from the saddle over to the East Ridge as the terrain gets steeper as you descend the SE slopes. Walk the Class 1/2 Ridge up and over Little Baldy Mountain, then over the next bump (not a named summit). The next obvious divot in the ridge is where you want to start heading down into the basin. I actually highly recommend following our GPX track for both the entrance and the exit for this ridge traverse as we experienced almost non-existent BS getting back to the main trail!