Mt Hopes Southeast Ridge and Quail

from Sheep Gulch

I'm not sure there's any trip reports on this ridge, so I hope this is helpful. It's a really good route.

I had been thinking about climbing these peaks for the better part of a month but work and weather kept getting in the way. Finally, a nice forecast and a day off aligned, so I got my chance and headed to Leadville. As a bonus, I lucked out finding a highly coveted Melanzana appointment and this got my girlfriend (TalusCat) to join the trip as well. We stayed the night at the Rodeway Inn which for once had a good rate. Most times I just sleep at the trailhead or drive from home at 3 in the morning so the Rodeway was a nice luxury.

Day of Climb: Thursdsy October 30th 2025

Peaks: Mt Hope and Quail Mountain

Trailhead: Sheep Gulch

Mileage and Elevation Gain: Approximately 8.3 miles and 4,868 feet of gain.

After a wonderful night's sleep we made the 45 minute drive to the Sheep Gulch trailhead. My girlfriend dropped me off and headed back to Leadville for the day while I started up the nice trail towards Hope Pass.

There was a short flat section initially as the trail meandered through a nice forest. It then got steep quick and remained that way for the duration of my short time on the trail. At about the 1.5 mile mark I left the trail and headed northwest towards Hopes Southeast ridge. This was right at the 11,600 foot contour line.

After leaving the trees I hiked over a rock river then up a grassy slope which abruptly turned into talus. I quickly realized I could exit the talus to the right for an easier grass slope which took me to the base of the gully I was looking to climb. There appeared to be many options for gaining the ridge though, but to me this gully seemed to be the path of least resistance.

The lower section of the gully was steep but not difficult. Then I went through a couple sections of easy rock scrambling before reaching a clearing just below the southeast ridge. Hopes false summit and southeast face could now be seen in the distance while the southeast ridge was towering above to the left. I then took a steep talus slope to gain the ridge proper and encountered my first snow of the day but it wasn't much.

I reached the Southeast ridge proper at 13,000 feet and it was a beautiful sight. It looked like an 8 lane expressway leading directly to Hopes summit. The crux of this route is definitely gaining the ridge. The last mile to the summit looked to be a cruiser.

Indeed, the ridge walk to the summit was quick and uneventful. It was mostly a nice stroll over grassy tundra with the occasional talus mixed in. There were no difficulties or route finding to speak of. The snow cover was thin and avoidable while the views all around were amazing. I got a nice look at the East Ridge from this vantage and it appeared dry, so I didn't expect any issues getting to Quail next. I had been a little worried about possibly descending a snow covered East Ridge.

At the false summit, I merged with the standard route, and shortly after I was standing on the summit of Mt Hope. The views were stunning in all directions. It was a perfect bluebird day. I totaled about 3.1 miles to the summit which is slightly shorter than the standard East ridge route. Overall, this was a very efficient and great way to summit Hope. One could easily descend this route or make it more of a lollipop and go down the East Ridge towards Quail as I was planning to do.

The summit was windy, so I quickly took a few photos and departed towards the East Ridge for my descent. After descending the false summit I dropped onto the ridge into the crux rock scramble and found the correct gully difficult to find from above. In hindsight, I wish I had studied the photos of this ridge more. Nevertheless, I found my way through the talus with some help from a few scattered cairns. The ridge then thankfully became much more defined and mellow the remainder of the way down to Hope Pass.

At Hope Pass I started the 1000 vertical foot climb up Quails West Ridge on a nice trail. It quickly became snow covered and icy but still manageable without putting on microspikes. The higher I went the more snow there was. The ascent to the first false summit didn't take long though and from here on up I lost the trail completely in snow. It wasn't deep, but I was happy to be wearing gaiters as I occasionally punched through the hardpack.

I crossed over one more false summit before finally reaching the true summit. There was a couple dilapidated log cabins here and incredible views all around of sawatch peaks.

Quails summit was windy as well, so I took refuge behind a cabin for a quick break. It was really nice to be on another summit already and I enjoyed it for a good 15 minutes before heading down. I put microspikes on to help the descent go quicker over the snowy false summits and I was back at Hope Pass in no time. I then had a peaceful stroll back to the trailhead. I hadn't seen another soul all day. I was quickly discovering that weekday climbs in the fall were a great time to get out.

My girlfriend was waiting for me at the trailhead. We then zipped backed to Leadville for our Melanzana appointment. You can never have too many of these. Afterwards, we had a delicious late lunch at High Mountain Pies, another must Leadville stop, and then made the long trip back to FC. Thanks for reading!