How would you rank Vermillion compared to the 14ers?

[sheller]

I just climbed Vermillion on Saturday with my boys. This was a last minute decision, so I was going off information in a book that labelled it as class 2+. After the hike I found out it was a class three. I was curious how you would rank it in difficulty compared to the other 14ers. I definitely thought it was a little more exposed and technically difficult than Snowmass? Where would you place it?

[Jon Frohlich]

I'm sure I ran into you Saturday. Don't know if we talked. I'd say Class 2+ is accurate. There weren't really any moves I considered Class 3. It's definitely not the nicest rock. My dog was a rock star getting up and down that. The exposure on the summit was certainly interesting.

[12ersRule]

It reminded me a lot of El Diente from the Kilpacker side. I'd put it somewhere between 6-10 of the 14ers.

I'd say Capitol, Little Bear, Mt Wilson (Kilpacker side - routefinding and loose rock), North Maroon, and Pyramid were definitely harder.

In the same ballpark as Crestone Needle, El Diente, Maroon, and a few others.

Agree with Jon that it's the loose rock that's mainly the issue on it. The difficulties aren't as sustained as a lot of the other peaks mentioned, but the crux is as exposed as a lot of 14ers, for sure.

Congrats for summitting it!

[d_baker]

Class 2+.
The final gully is loose but not all that bad. And it's a short gully. Sure, summit ridge is narrow and exposed, but not difficult.

I don't think it compares to the Needle or Maroon.

[Marmot72]

By the standard route, I don't think a case can be made for it to be as hard as Wetterhorn, let alone the Crestones. Traversing from Golden Horn, it gets interesting.

[12ersRule]

Yeah, I have to back off from my original ranking of 6-10. Dealing with the snowfield, and the V-Golden Horn ridge probably skewed my thinking.

I'd probably say that Lindsey was harder too. I'd say Vermilion was harder than any other 2+ 14er though, including Windom and Challenger.

Probably on the same level as Snowmass. Harder than Longs (because of route finding and exposure), Kit Carson. So maybe around 10-15th.

[JosephG]

I basically agree with the four wisemen above: Class 2+. The hardest part on my trip was gaining the saddle by way of snow (June 2013), but that was situational. Beyond that, it was pretty straightforward. The rock was loose, sure, but that's not enough to bump the class rating by itself, and I don't recall any Class 3 moves. That's not to say you shouldn't have found the route challenging or that your experience is somehow invalid--not at all. But compared to two of the "classic" 14er routes that include class 2+ scrambling with rotten rock (standard Sneffels and Lindsey gully), it was not really any different or worse. Challenger was a nuisance and Windom was straightforward, albeit the latter came on the tail end of Eolus and Sunlight so that's probably perspective-skewing. Vermillion somehow feels more rugged, and the last-minute nature of your decision may have impacted your assessment. The Elks (sans C&C), Crestones, and Wilsons are all significantly tougher. El Diente particularly has much looser and more precarious rock from any side.

Dave, I can't believe you caved to the pressure. And still over-rate it at 10-15!

[SnowAlien]

Yeah, I have to back off from my original ranking of 6-10. Dealing with the snowfield, and the V-Golden Horn ridge probably skewed my thinking.

I'd probably say that Lindsey was harder too. I'd say Vermilion was harder than any other 2+ 14er though, including Windom and Challenger.

Probably on the same level as Snowmass. Harder than Longs (because of route finding and exposure), Kit Carson. So maybe around 10-15th.

Not even close. One tiny section of Class 3 (we had to bypass the icy snowfield near the summit and scramble up some rocks) + some exposure + loose rock. Maybe similar to Castle? 8 hrs RT vs 2day trip for Snowmass, KC. Longs is definitely harder than Vermillion. Maybe 7+ hour drive one way skewes the perspective

[12ersRule]

Maybe you've just improved a ton since you've done the standard route on Longs?

I think there are 2 areas on Vermilion where the "no fall" zone is immediate. You'd have to make a few wrong steps on Longs to have the same issues, even on the narrows.

[SnowAlien]

Maybe you've just improved a ton since you've done the standard route on Longs?.

ha-ha, I wish! I was there just 2 weeks ago for the 4th time and the fastest Longs took me is 11 hrs RT vs 8 hrs+ for Vermillion-Fuller. So 3 hours savings is a huge difference. Same with mileage/vertical for RT between those two.

I think there are 2 areas on Vermilion where the "no fall" zone is immediate. You'd have to make a few wrong steps on Longs to have the same issues, even on the narrows.

I just recall that tiny section by the summit, where I believe the standard route was covered by snow/ice which we had to bypass. Of course, I had an ice ax for snowfields, not sure if that made the difference in the comfort level

[WarDamnPanic]

I am hiking this Labor day weekend, either Saturday or Sunday. The photos of the last summit pitch look exposed, how long does it take to summit from Lake Hope?

[Rainier_Wolfcastle]

Wow, between Toddw42 (from condition report), sheller, Jon, and myself that makes 4 forum members all summiting Vermillion this past Saturday.

Its class 2+, but as I've discussed many times with my friends, I would take exposed solid class 3 over exposed class 2+ anytime.