Peak(s): |
Weston Peak - 13,586 feet Ptarmigan Peak - 13,749 feet |
Date Posted: | 07/19/2010 |
Modified: | 07/20/2010 |
Date Climbed: | 07/16/2010 |
Author: | BobbyFinn |
Peak(s): |
Weston Peak - 13,586 feet Ptarmigan Peak - 13,749 feet |
Date Posted: | 07/19/2010 |
Modified: | 07/20/2010 |
Date Climbed: | 07/16/2010 |
Author: | BobbyFinn |
Weston and Ptarmigan Combination |
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Mountains: Weston Peak and Ptarmigan Peak Trailhead: Weston Pass (2WD ok) Time: ~2.5 hrs My wife was out of town and I wanted to hit up some 13ers to keep myself in shape for the rest of our summer hiking plans. I left work in Denver at about 3:30 pm and headed straight for the trailhead at Weston Pass (from the 285 side). Weston Pass is 2WD friendly, though there might have been one rough area where a regular passenger car driver might have had to pick a good line to get by. I think I was hiking by 6:30 ish. The weather was blue-bird so I wasn't worried about a storm. There was a recent thread asking for info on this mountain so I thought I'd share my experience. I followed the old double track road in the above picture until it ended and then I started ascending the slope, making my own switchbacks as I went. Here's a view of the slope. And a closer view of the terrain. And here is the view down toward the trailhead from about 1/2 way up. The slope is stable and mostly grass with some small dirt sections and rocks here and there. It's not a bad way to go up a mountain, but it will give your legs a workout. Up on top of the ridge, turn right for Weston Peak or left for Ptarmigan. Now... I had studied the route and I had a quad map with me, but when I got to the top of the ridge I was unpleasantly surprised to see just how far away the peak was - or at least how far it seemed to be. However, it didn't take long to get there. The route between where I got up to the top of the ridge and over to the flatter wider area just under Weston's summit was narrow, but the hiking didn't exceed class 2. In fact, the rock was a nice change from the grassy ascent. There is some exposure in this section, but it is not bad. Just below the summit - a lot of white rock. Here's the view over to Ptarmigan once back over the rocky ridge from Weston. The terrain between the two peaks is grassy. I didn't see any trail, but the route is obvious. Here is a closer view of Ptarmigan. It was an easy hike from Weston to here. The final bit up to Ptarmigan was a talus/boulder hop. It wasn't bad and the rock was pretty stable. Summit view. For the descent, I hiked a descending traverse from below the talus leading to Ptarmigan's summit back toward the double-track "road" that I followed to begin the hike. It was pretty easy to find, even as it was getting dark. This is a nice, quick hike with great views of the Sawatch and Mosquito ranges. |
Comments or Questions |
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