Jones Pass to Loch Lomond (near St. Mary's) - the mountains visible from the Genesee exit of i70 WB. This trip has been on my mind for the better part of a year now, but it always seemed so elusive. Distance, elevation gain, lack of water availability on the ridge, figuring out rides for a thru-hike, and a long weather window were all top of mind. In addition, I could only find trip reports from St. Mary's to Berthoud Pass, but not including Jones Pass. As far as I'm aware, we're the first to do this route (please let me know if anyone's done it before!)

I enlisted my buddies Rob and Collin for this endeavor, both of whom I know are always game for a long day in the mountains. After a lot of planning, we had the route set. Start at Jones Pass, Stanley Mountain (12er), cross Berthoud Pass, CO Mines Peak (12er), Mt. Flora (13er), Mt. Eva (13er), Parry Peak (13er), Mt. Bancroft (13er), and James Peak (13er). In total, 7000ft of gain across 20 miles.

We started at 12:15 AM with high spirits. The way up to Stanley was a breeze. Solid footing, well-defined trail, and gradual slopes. After that, you continue east on the ridge towards Berthoud Pass. It was very flat until we reached some switchbacks, dropping us down to the road. From there, we started up the road to Colorado Mines Peak. There were some radio towers, various other buildings, and equipment at the summit. Next was Mt. Flora, after a long break to watch the sunrise and escape the wind. Past this, the trail begins to disappear. Mt. Eva had a fallen radio tower near the summit, which was unique. Parry Peak and Mt. Bancroft followed. All of the 13ers felt roughly the same with 500-1000ft of gain on a rolling ridge. The trail was class 1 up until the ridge between Mt. Bancroft and James Peak. This turned out to be a fun, easy class 3 scramble that was well cairned. By the end of it all, we had logged 16 hours, 7 summits, 5 13ers, and a great day none of us will forget!