Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
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Ashley
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Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
I'm looking for good 13ers around the Fairplay/Buena Vista area for next weekend. We are staying in Fairplay, but are not opposed to driving to the Buena Vista area for the day; we love the Sawatch, and have done all the 14ers there, but very few 13ers. Would like to stick to Class 2, and 10 miles or less if possible. We are parents of twins that have ONE long weekend away - Silverheels and East/West Buffalo are on my short list right now. Thank you!
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anasarca76
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Re: Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
I hear Mt. Oklahoma is quite nice. Also North Apostles or Ice Mountain are suppose to have great views! but I believe they are class 3. Good luck and enjoy your trip no matter which one you decide on!
Randy
Randy
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huffy13
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Re: Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
My son and I are taking a small group of his cross country teammates for a hike of Horseshoe and Peerless Mountains this Saturday...Fourmile Creek is right by Fairplay and there are a few 13ers you can bag from there. Hiked Sheridan earlier this year and I thought it was a pretty nice area for a Mosquito Range trip.
Seems like the times that I need a mountain the most are the times that I can not get to them.
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TaylorHolt
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Re: Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
I would definitely recommend the Buffalo Pks, but I would also recommend a GPS on that hike (if starting from the Fairplay side). I dont usually take one, and I legitimately got lost for about 45 minutes trying to find my car. There are a lot of old roads below tree line that get confusing. That said, those peaks have great views of the entire Sawatch range, and the hike seems to fit your description perfectly.
“If you're bumming out, you're not gonna get to the top, so as long as we're up here we might as well make a point of grooving." -Scott Fischer
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EatinHardtack
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Re: Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
I have hiked / climbed almost all the Mosquito and Tenmile range 13ers and with that said the Buffalo Peaks are probably my favorites. They are totally worth the trip and day for climbing. As long as you can read a map fairly well, you should have no issue finding the trailhead from the fairplay side. But just know that it takes longer than what you may think to get back to the TH. And there are a ton of random roads back there. Again this is totally worth the trip, these are great peaks.
Another suggestion would be to do Weston Pk, Ptarmigan Pk and maybe add in Horseshoe (weather dependent) from Weston Pass. Easy 2wd access on the EAST side of Weston pass and great views pretty much the entire hike.
I also love the Mosquito Pass 13ers as well. Kuss->Mosquito->Treasurevault->Tweto is a great loop. Just south of Alma for access. Don't overlook London Mtn here either. That is my favorite of the area.
Another suggestion would be to do Weston Pk, Ptarmigan Pk and maybe add in Horseshoe (weather dependent) from Weston Pass. Easy 2wd access on the EAST side of Weston pass and great views pretty much the entire hike.
I also love the Mosquito Pass 13ers as well. Kuss->Mosquito->Treasurevault->Tweto is a great loop. Just south of Alma for access. Don't overlook London Mtn here either. That is my favorite of the area.
"In our youths our hearts were touched with fire" - Oliver Wendell Holmes
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wineguy
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Re: Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
Clinton, a centennial, Class 2, 9.2 miles according to Roach. Pretty approach in the shadow of Mount Lincoln, also get to see Wheeler Lake. If you have energy and like ridges, take a stroll over to Traver.
"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters." - Norman Maclean
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Ashley
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Re: Suggestions for 13ers near Fairplay/Buena Vista
Thanks all for your input! It was very helpful. We ended on up on London and Tweto on Friday (started late, needed a easy, short hike). We did East Buffalo on Saturday - we got stuck in a storm around 11:00, which prevented us from chasing West Buffalo. You were right about the roads, though - we floundered a bit on the way back, and ended up on the road about 1/4 mile from our car. We did Silverheels on Sunday, which was also nice, but more difficult than we expected. We saw maybe 10 people on the peaks the whole weekend - I love 13ers!
