HOLD ON! This route is long, requires Class 3 climbing skills and is not recommended for hikers who are new to the high peaks.
Hike to the summit of Mt. Bierstadt
by following the
Mt. Bierstadt - West Slopes Route. Taken from Mt. Blue Sky,
1 is a view of Bierstadt and portions of the Sawtooth ridge. From the summit of Bierstadt, look north to see the Sawtooth and the rugged connecting ridge -
2. Leave from the north side of the Bierstadt summit and begin your descent towards the saddle between the two peaks. Stay right of the ridge crest as you descend -
3. As you get closer to the 13,300-foot saddle, study the remaining route carefully -
4. Just beyond the notch at the saddle, there is a large gendarme which holds the most difficult climbing -
5. Reach the notch and hike up to the gendarme -
6 and
7. Climb it as far as you feel comfortable, turn right, and scramble around to easier terrain on the east side of the gendarme -
8.
After passing the gendarme, enter a small gully prior to another rock outcropping -
9. Turn left and ascend this gully to a notch
in the ridge -
10. Pass through the notch, turn right, and follow a ledge along the west side of the Sawtooth -
11. The ledge starts off narrow but soon becomes easier and more obvious -
12. To cross the final ledges, drop a bit (or turn right and climb slightly before traversing above a rock wall) and ascend the ledge to 13,600' -
13 and
14. Turn right and hike up through talus to reach the top of the Sawtooth
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15 and
16.
Look east to see the west ridge on Mt. Blue Sky but the summit is not visible yet -
17. Walk toward Blue Sky's west ridge to reach a cairned trail near 13,800'. The cairns approaching the ridge are part of an established route from Summit Lake, over Mt. Spalding and along the west ridge. Continue toward an initial hump on the ridge (
18) and to a notch near the hump -
19. Drop to the right slightly and follow the cairned trail east below the ridge crest. The trail stays below the ridge for most of the remaining hike to the summit. Continue along the ridge to a point where you can finally see the summit -
20. Hike to the corner of the Mt. Blue Sky road and up 100 feet of gain to reach the summit
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21 and
22.
The descent: You do not have to return over the Sawtooth and Bierstadt to reach Guanella Pass... Hike back to the west end of Blue Sky's west ridge where you can see the Sawtooth to your left -
23. Instead of heading toward the Sawtooth, hike northwest through an open area between the Sawtooth and Mt. Spalding (right). Continue down through this open area (
24) to reach the top of a gully
which drops into Scott Gomer Creek, east of Guanella Pass. The narrowing terrain will lead you into the gully. It quickly gets steeper but there is a trail down most of the gully -
25. It holds some loose rock and scree so be careful. Near the bottom of the gully, weave through willows and rocks to reach the its base -
26. Hike left above some ponds and locate a small trail on the west side of the creek.
27 looks back at the gully. From here, route finding through the willows can be unpleasant. There's a narrow trail almost all the way back to the Mt. Bierstadt trail but it's easy to lose. Stay left of the creek and continue west through the willows -
28. In early summer, this area will be wet and you may be forced to bushwhack through the willows. Hike approximately 1 mile along the left side of the creek to reach the Mt. Bierstadt Trail just before the stream crossing. Once you finally reach the Bierstadt trail, turn right and follow it back up to the trailhead -
29.
