Taken from Guanella Pass,
1 shows the route. Locate the Bierstadt Trail and begin descending east toward Scott Gomer Creek. Weave through willows on wooden bridges and trail sections for nearly a mile to reach the creek, near 11,500' -
2. After crossing the creek continue to a large boulder, on the left, and pick a spot to leave main trail. There are several thin trails that start in this area but they are hard to find. You will do some willow-bashing no matter which way you go.
After leaving the Bierstadt trail, the key is to walk on the right side of the creek and around the tree-covered hill that's between you and The Sawtooth -
3 and
4. It may help to walk up onto the side of this hill but only enough to get out of the thick willows. Once you are around the hill, the creek is below and you can now see a gully to the east -
5. Continue east along the creek and cross it to reach the base of a gully
that climbs between Mt. Spalding and The Sawtooth -
6. This gully is the crux of the route but it's easier than it looks from Guanella Pass. Enter the gully and follow a faint trail up through the rocks and willows near the bottom -
7. As the gully narrows, the trail becomes more obvious.
8 looks down the gully. Climb until the slope eases near 13,300'.
Above the gully
, continue southeast toward the highest point. 13er Mt. Spalding is to your left, Mt. Bierstadt and The Sawtooth are to the right. Continue up as the gully flattens out into a large open area. As you gain ground, look for a hump which is the start of Evans' west ridge -
9. Near 13,700', the end of the ridge becomes more obvious and that hump becomes more defined.
10 looks back down on the terrain and
11 shows the start west ridge. At 13,800', locate a cairned route that continues to the hump -
12. The cairns are part of an established route from Summit Lake, over Mt. Spalding, and along the west ridge. Hike to a notch
just before the hump, drop to the right slightly, and follow the cairned trail below the ridge crest -
13. Continue along the ridge to a point where you can finally see the summit -
14. Hike to the corner of the Mt. Evans road and then over 100 feet to the summit
or walk all the way to the parking area and take the tourist trail to the top -
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