Needing some advice

[huffy13]

My wife's family is coming down from Ohio to Texas for my son's HS graduation the last weekend of May. None of them have ever been to CO so I rented us a cabin just south of Breck for the week of June 1-7. They love my trip reports and they want to bag a peak while we are there. I was looking at Bald Mountain A...I thought it looked like a great peak, but the more I think about it, peaks like Silverheels and Guyot look kind of good too. I just want to get some advice from some of you folks that have bagged some of these 13ers in the Breck area. I want a peak that won't be technical (since I will have noobs), is easy to get to the TH, and has great views not only from the summit, but also on the hike. I am open to anything that is within 30-45 minute drive from Breck. Any suggestions? BTW, Quandary would be an obvious choice if I had not already bagged it...if I ever do that one again I want it to be the harder west ridge route.

[OmahaAdam]

I can't say that I have a lot of experience in that area but I thought Crystal Peak and its lakes were a fantastic hike. You could even hit the saddle and head up Peak 10 for something very straightforward. A flatlander's $.02

[huffy13]

I can't say that I have a lot of experience in that area but I thought Crystal Peak and its lakes were a fantastic hike. You could even hit the saddle and head up Peak 10 for something very straightforward. A flatlander's $.02

I will investigate that one further.

[Jay521]

Both Silverheels and Bald are good choices. I think that Bald probably has better views as you go up but both have great views from the summit. I have not done Bald in the winter so I'm not so sure about the TH access but Silverheels can be done from the top of Hoosier Pass fairly easily. Guyot is the toughest of the 3 as a winter climb, in my opinion.

[sunny1]

Since you'll have people who are new to the mountains, and not acclimated, I think you will want to keep things slow and easy on the first outing.
You want to have success.

You may be dealing with snow cover June 1-7.
I think either Bald A or Silverheels would be good choices.
Silverheels is a Class 1 from the south, Beaver Creek TH. If you have a 4WD, you can park at 11K. It's then 7 mi r/t, ~2900 ft elev gain.
A couple of bonuses for this approach: south facing - possibly less snow to contend with AND there are some beautiful Bristlecone pine stands on this approach.

I've done Bald A from Boreas Pass - as long as the road is open, it's 2WD access. I've not climbed Bald A using the description on 13ers.com, so can't comment on that approach. I did see vehicles on that road when I climbed it from the other angle - may be a non-issue if there's still snow.

Guyot would be more difficult than these 2, but not technical. If I had non-acclimated beginners with me, I'd personally do Silverheels from the South (assuming the roads are clear the 1st week of June).

Hope this helps! Have fun.

[Scott P]

Is the Boreas Pass road open that early? I would guess not, but I haven't tried it then.

Bald Mountain is prettier than Silverheels, or at least I think so. I've only done Silverheels from the Hoosier Pass side though.

[EatinHardtack]

If you want a good starter peak in the area then I'd suggest Mt. Pennsylvania. It's south of Breck and a little south of Alma. Super easy and the TH is 2wd access. The views of the Mosquito range are great. It's a wonderful starter peak and if your relatives want to do another you can then step it up to another peak.

All other suggestions are good as well. But I am recommending this as a test piece of a peak. No one will be on Pennsylvania either, you'll probably have the whole thing to yourself.

[Jim Davies]

A lot of routes will cross snowfields that time of year. Something to consider if your family doesn't have the gear. Sniktau from Loveland Pass would probably be the easiest 13er, and it's ridges all the way so little snow trouble. Or Grizzly from the same TH for a longer hike. Just stay off the cornices.

[Jay521]

Somehow, I managed to miss that you were doing this in June..... I think that everything I said still holds for that time of year tho. But I would say that the route up Silverheels from the Como side is much prettier than from Hoosier Pass. And everything everyone else has said (Crystal, Sniktau, Grizzly, etc.) is all true.

Have fun and let us know what you ended up doing.

[Jim Davies]

Here are a few examples of what to expect near that time of year (actually a few weeks later, so there'll be more snow).
This is Upper Crystal Lake and the Crystal-Peak 10 saddle on June 18, 2010. The standard route traverses the face of Peak 10 from lower right up to the saddle.

UpperCrystal.jpg (152.5 KiB) Viewed 606 times

And here's the east ridge of Silverheels, looking from the summit toward Como, June 16, 2009. Snow appears to be avoidable until the last 50 feet or so to the summit (I came up from Hoosier Pass, which required some snowfield crossings on the way).

SilverheelsComo.jpg (128.82 KiB) Viewed 606 times

This is the upper ridge to Sniktau, June 6, 2008.

SniktauRidge.jpg (155.56 KiB) Viewed 606 times

[huffy13]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will look into each and every one of them. Snow was a concern and I definitely want to keep it easy as possible so we have a better chance at a successful hike. If need be I will just head a little south from Breck if it helps keep the amount of snow minimized. I'll be looking at all the peaks on our way there...heck, I may even see what the Horseshoe Mountain area looks like.

[mtngoat]

Sherman? Democrat, Lincoln, Cameron, Bross?

You'll hit snow on pretty much any of them but if they wanted to tackle a 14'er, those could be possible depending on TH access that early. Northstar Mtn off Hoosier Pass can also be good if not too windy.

That being said, the Crystal Peak Area is very pretty and you can summit Peak 10 and ridge walk your way back to the Crystal Lakes Rd.