Handies and American Peak

from American Basin

This was my comeback climb. For the past 3 years I've climbed very little because of bad hips. Years of hockey, rugby, skiing and a physically demanding job had done a number on them. Then, I started mountain climbing and they went downhill fast. I was tired of struggling at work, and especially, every time I went out for a climb. So, I finally went to see a surgeon this past winter for total hip replacement in both. It was the best thing I've ever done. He did them in two separate surgeries 7 weeks apart and now 4 months later I'm climbing pain free and livin' the dream once again.

I picked Handies for my first climb since coming back because I failed to summit it last fall while attending the fall gathering. I did manage to struggle up Whitecross (one of only 2 peaks I did last summer) that day, but my hips kept me from climbing any further. Also, I figured if everything went well on Handies I could easily add on American Peak which I'd been wanting to climb for years.

Day of Climb: Sunday August 10th, 2025

Peaks: Handies Peak and American Peak

Trailhead: American Basin

Mileage and Elevation Gain: Approximately 7.5 miles and 3387 feet of gain.

I got a late start from Fort Collins and didn't arrive at American Basin until well after midnight parking 1/2 mile from the end of the road. Lake City is always a longer drive than I remember. I easily could've made the upper lot, but didn't want to wake those sleeping there, plus I was tired of that road. It's in real bad shape after passing the Grizzly Gulch trailhead and took me over an hour to drive it from Lake City.

I woke around 5 and started my climb just after 6. This would be my first time climbing Handies since 2019 during my finishing year and I was excited to get going. I quickly walked up the road and was hiking on the trail in no time. There were 4 or 5 cars in the lot, but I had yet to see anyone.

I hiked at a good pace on the moderately sloped trail and covered the 2.1 miles to Sloan Lake in 33 minutes. I saw 2 hikers here descending already and another large group resting on their way up. I took the short detour out to the lake for the view and to scope out Patriot Couloir which I planned to use later in tbe day to ascend American Peak. From lower in the basin Patriot looked way to steep to climb. Now looking at it from the lake it at least looked sorta doable. Handies was first though, so I was quickly on my way again.

The rest of the climb went well and I reached the summit 3.3 miles after leaving the truck. It took about an hour and 45 minutes total to summit. I was happy to be on my first 14er summit in what seemed like forever and my bionic hips felt great. I had only passed a couple groups on the trial going up from the lake and was pleasantly surprised at the lack of crowds for a Sunday on an easy peak. There's that drive though that must deter many folks. I even had the summit to myself for a few minutes before others finally started to arrive. First, two separate groups popped out from the east slopes and several from the standard. I overheard at least 4 or 5 saying this was their very first 14er summit, and what a great peak to start their journey on. I guess this was the beginning of a new journey for me as well.

I enjoyed the usual summit camaraderie and the fantastic views for 20 minutes or so, and then set off to tackle American Peak. I always enjoy doing 14er/13er combo routes whenever possible. These peaks didn't go particularly well together because there wasn't a doable connecting ridge (that I saw), but I could get American easily enough after descending to Sloan Lake.

The descent back to Sloan went quick with amazing views of the lake and Americans long ridge towering over it. Once back at Sloan, I left the trail and went around the left side of the lake to reach the base of Patriot Couloir. I was following yaktoleft13's route from his excellent trip report. He had used Patriot to get American, Jones and Niagara. I didn't want to push it though and was only going for American.

At the far side of the lake I followed a talus filled drainage up to the base of Patriot Couloir. There was still a sizable snowfield there that gave me a short, but nice relief from the talus before entering the couloir. Up close Patriot looked more climbableb than ever. Until now I really had my doubts as it seemed so steep from a distance.

After climbing the snow, I entered the couloir and stayed to the left hugging the wall. There was plenty of good rock here to grab for leverage which kept me from sliding backward in the steep scree after each step. I also used a hiking pole in my right hand to help as well. It was slow going, but this method worked pretty well throughout couloir. Thankfully, the steepness eased and the climbing was easier the higher I went. The couloir did seem to go on forever though.

As I neared the top, the couloir began to level out a bit and it slowly transitioned into an easy rock scramble as I exited to the left. The summit of American Peak was just a short talus climb away, and I quickly topped out for my second summit of the day. The views from American were beautiful and even rivaled those of the slightly taller Handies. As is usual for a 13er, I had the summit to myself and found looking straight down on Sloan Lake was something else. I enjoyed the solitude and stunning vistas from this lovely perch for a good 20 minutes before beginning my descent.

Originally, I had planned to descend the Patriot Couloir back to Sloan Lake. It was the shortest option but it didn't seem safe to me, and it probably wouldn't have been very pleasant either. Instead, I decided to traverse to the far end of Americans ridge to descend what I thought would be an easier gully.

I dropped off of Americans summit retracing my steps back to the top of Patriot. I then started following a use trail through the talus along the backside of Americans ridge. Surprisingly, this trail went amazingly well with no difficulties. Near the saddle with Jones I was tempted to veer off to bag another 13er but kept going. I rounded the corner there and continued NW over more mild terrain until I reached the short gully that would get me back to American Basin.

I finally made it to the exit gully after a long traverse. This was a steep, dirt/scree mix gully but fortunately not too long. I pretty much just slid down until reaching a snowfield close to the bottom. This gully was definitely a better choice for my descent over Patriot. I continued on from there over more talus and a couple steep slopes before a final descent through a wash gully back to the Handies standard trail. Once back on the trail it was just a mile or so back to my truck to finish another beautiful day in the mountains.