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Mount Ouray

West Ridge
Difficulty Class 2 
TrailheadMarshall Pass
Start10,850 feet
Summit13,979 feet
Total Gain3,275 feet
RT Length6 miles
AuthorBillMiddlebrook
Last UpdatedMay 2023
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Trailhead

From the U.S. 50/285 junction in Poncha Springs, drive approx. 5.5 miles south on U.S. 285 and turn right on the Marshall Pass road (FS 200, dirt). Follow the signs for Marshall Pass and drive 13.5 miles to reach the Marshall Pass trailhead.

Route

You can start this hike from either the main Marshall Pass trailhead or from the end of the Forest Service 200C spur road, which is on the north side of the main road, just 0.1 mile before the Marshall Pass TH. Parking at the end of the 200C road will shorten your hike slightly and it has toilet! If you start at the main trailhead ( 1), walk east down the main road and turn left onto 200C - 2. Walk past the Hutchinson & Burnett cabin ( 3) and turn right to start north up through the trees - 4 and 5. Hike north to reach treeline at 11,800' and continue up easy terrain, toward a ridge crest - 6.

Hit the ridge near 12,000' to see the rest of this short route - 7. The summit is off to the northeast but turn left and follow the ridge north toward Ouray's west ridge - 8 and 9. You'll find some faint trail segments along the ridge but if you don't, simply stick to the ridge crest. Near 12,500', ascend a small, rocky bump ( 10) and continue to the west end of the west ridge - 11. Turn east and hike toward the obvious summit - 12. After hiking over a couple of small bumps on the ridge ( 13), reach the final, 1,300-foot pitch - 14.

Start up the steeper ridge and you'll soon encounter a mix of rocky ( 15) and grassy ( 16) terrain. Stay near the ridge crest to reach a strip of light-colored rock - 17. Bypass this area on the left ( 18) to regain the ridge near 13,500' and continue up ( 19) to the summit - 20.

Notes

None
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20

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