Mount Shavano Angel of Shavano

On U.S. 285, one mile north of the U.S. 50 junction near Poncha Springs, turn west onto County Road (CR) 140. This turn is about 21 miles south of Buena Vista, and across the highway from the Salida airport. Measure from here. On CR 140, drive 1.7 miles and then turn right on CR 250. Continue to 2.6 miles where the road turns to dirt. Once you enter BLM land the road becomes rough and rocky. At 5.9 miles, stay left at a junction and continue on FR 252. Reach the signed trailhead at just over 9.0 miles. If the lot is full, there is overflow parking if you continue 0.1 mile beyond the trailhead.

The "Angel of Shavano" is a snow feature that resembles an angel  1  2. It's located in the center of Shavano's southeast slopes and frequently used as a spring snow climb. In some years, you may find continuous snow from the angel to the summit. From the trailhead, follow the trail approximately 0.1 miles to a trail junction  3. Turn right onto the Colorado Trail and hike 1/4 mile to another junction and turn left onto the Mt. Shavano trail  4. Follow a wide, rocky trail for a short distance and turn right to follow the well-defined Shavano trail north, then west  5  6. Zig zag through the forest and pass a couple of boulders  7 to reach a flat area near 10,700'. Continue to a stream and follow it up a hill before crossing it at 10,800'  8. Near 11,100', leave the trail by turning left and hiking west along the drainage below the Angel. If you are unsure where to turn, continue on the main trail to a corner at 11,200' where the trail swings right. Turn left here and hike west into the drainage  9.

Without a trail, continue west through the trees on easy terrain. Locate the stream in the drainage and follow it west/northwest toward tree line. If there is snow coverage, simply take the path of least resistance through the forest  10. The terrain never gets too steep, just some small hills. Near 11,600', pop out of the trees near the center of the basin below the Angel  11. Continue around a corner and above 11,600' to get your first head-on view of the Angel  12. This is a good area to turn on your avalanche beacons and study the snow conditions ahead.

Continue up the center of the basin to reach the bottom of the Angel  13. As 14ers go, the Angel is an easy snow climb and ski/ride. Begin your ascent of the Angel. The steepest terrain is between 12,200' and 12,600'  14  15. Taken on a different climb and in early summer,  16 is a look across the Angel from the standard trail. Continue through the upper body and to the head where you finally get a view of the summit  17. The terrain becomes easier above 13,300', near the top of the Angel. If you run out of snow, this is a good place to decide if you want to use the upper part of the standard East Slopes Route to gain the summit, since you'll be crossing that upper trail, near 13,600'. If there is more snow above, the most direct route is to continue north up the slope, gain the east ridge  18, then turn left ascend rocky terrain  19  20 to reach the summit  21  22.

Leaving the summit:  23
Into the Angel:  24
Lower part of the Angle:  25  26

If there is heavy snow cover, the trek to 11,100' can be confusing if you aren't familiar with it. A GPS with pre-loaded route/waypoint data and careful map preparation is helpful.