Mt. Harvard Trip Report 07/29/2025

Report Type	Mini
Peak(s)	Mt. Harvard - 14,424 feet Mt. Columbia - 14,075 feet
Date Posted	07/29/2025
Date Climbed	07/28/2025
Author	Winter Parker

Harvard & Columbia
Plenty of parking at the N Cottonwood Trailhead. Other than the ruts at the beginning of the road (see photo) the road is mostly smooth. I elected to hike into the Horn Fork Basin and set up camp a little below (say 1/3 of a mile or 15 minutes) the Harvard/Columbia junction. It’s a good spot. It’s about 2.7 miles (less than 2 hours hiking to the best camping spots). I used a tent hammock (see photo) to travel light. I chose a spot where I could see the peaks. By camping here, I was able to summit both peaks individually and enjoy the stars and the wild while limiting my miles. I did not do the traverse. Many of the people I met were doing the traverse. The approach to Harvard was straightforward. There was a little bit of scrambling at the top of Harvard but not bad. Some young women I met turned back just below the top because they were concerned with the exposure. I believe they were looking into the valley on the far side of the approach to the summit. If you climb on the approach side just above and to the left of the snow patch as you are looking at the summit - I did not think it was too sketchy. Columbia has a lot of switch backs and some loose dirt as you approach the ridge which I found to be a little slippery in places. I summited Columbia at sunset (the weather looked great) and did not see a single person on the way up, on top of or on the way down. The last hour was by headlamp. Breakfast at Jans afterwards in BV was great. I’m almost 60 so camping made both peaks easier by eliminating some miles because I wanted to summit both and did not want to solo the traverse. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Harvard & Columbia

Plenty of parking at the N Cottonwood Trailhead. Other than the ruts at the beginning of the road (see photo) the road is mostly smooth. I elected to hike into the Horn Fork Basin and set up camp a little below (say 1/3 of a mile or 15 minutes) the Harvard/Columbia junction. It’s a good spot. It’s about 2.7 miles (less than 2 hours hiking to the best camping spots). I used a tent hammock (see photo) to travel light. I chose a spot where I could see the peaks. By camping here, I was able to summit both peaks individually and enjoy the stars and the wild while limiting my miles. I did not do the traverse. Many of the people I met were doing the traverse. The approach to Harvard was straightforward. There was a little bit of scrambling at the top of Harvard but not bad. Some young women I met turned back just below the top because they were concerned with the exposure. I believe they were looking into the valley on the far side of the approach to the summit. If you climb on the approach side just above and to the left of the snow patch as you are looking at the summit - I did not think it was too sketchy. Columbia has a lot of switch backs and some loose dirt as you approach the ridge which I found to be a little slippery in places. I summited Columbia at sunset (the weather looked great) and did not see a single person on the way up, on top of or on the way down. The last hour was by headlamp. Breakfast at Jans afterwards in BV was great. I’m almost 60 so camping made both peaks easier by eliminating some miles because I wanted to summit both and did not want to solo the traverse.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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