Mount Helen

From the south end of Breckenridge, drive 2 miles south on Colorado 9. Turn right on Spruce Creek Road. Stay right up a hill before turning left at an intersection. Continue another mile to reach the obvious 2WD trailhead at 10,400'. To continue to the upper, 4WD Spruce Creek trailhead, pass through the gate and drive nearly 2 miles to reach the end of the road, near 11,100'. If you're headed to the Crystal Creek area, leave the lower trailhead, and after 0.2 mile turn right and follow a steep, narrow, 4WD road that goes all the way to Lower Crystal Lake, at 12,000'.

 1 and  2 show the route from the east. This route is Class 2 but it lacks a trail above 11,200'. If you parked at the lower trailhead, begin your hike up the road. Pass the road to Crystal Creek soon after you leave the trailhead. Reach the Aqueduct road after 1 mile on the Spruce Creek road. Turn right and walk up the Aqueduct road to a gate. Pass the gate and walk 50 yards to reach the Wheeler trail as it enters the forest on the left. The entrance is marked with a small sign.

Follow the trail about 100 yards through the forest to a point where the trail begins to climb a small hill. The remaining route does not have a defined trail. Turn left and leave the Wheeler trail. Hike west, southwest up a short slope. There are few small clearings along the way. Not long after starting up through the trees, continue directly west up through the trees. Near 11,200' the terrain flattens out and there are some clearings. Continue west and locate a steep gully that cuts through the trees.  3 and  4 show the gully. Climb the gully from 11,300' to 11,500'. This narrow gully is a bit steep but still easy to hike. A small stream runs down the center through mid-summer. At the top, angle to the right into a clearing. Reach tree line near 11,600'.

Find another, wider gully above tree line -  5. It's in the middle of Helen's east slope. This gully usually holds snow into July. The remaining 1,500' feet to the summit is on grass and easy terrain. Hike up or around the wide gully and continue west up the east slope.  6 shows the last 600' feet to the summit. Keep hauling to reach the easy talus below the summit. Gain the summit for a great view of surrounding Tenmile peaks.  7 and  8 are views from the summit.  9 looks back down on the route.

The East Slope usually has good snow in spring.  2 shows the slope in mid-winter. In spring, the snow can be patchy, but a continuous line from the summit is usually possible. The ski route is generally the same as the hiking route described above.  10 is a view of the terrain near 11,800'. The steepest section is the narrow gully near 11,400' -  11.

It is also possible to start this hike on the south end of the Aqueduct road that runs between Spruce Creek and Crystal Creek. This involves leaving the main trailhead, driving over 1 mile up the main Spruce Creek road (4WD but not too difficult), and turning right to the start of the Aqueduct road. The road is gated on both ends but parking here shaves some time and elevation off of your hike.