Route Description

Take Colorado 9 to Alma. In the middle of town and on the west side of the road, look for a small sign for the road to Kite Lake. Turn here and drive a bit through a residential area. Continue 6 miles to Kite Lake. The last mile of this road can be a bit more rough, but a good-clearance 2WD should still be able to make it when the road is dry. There are restrooms and some camping spots at the trailhead. You must pay a small fee to park/camp at Kite Lake. If you park below (no fee), walk up the road to Kite Lake.

Details:

Photo #1 is a view of Mt. Democrat during the drive up the Kite Lake road. From the parking area, follow the blocked road north near the lake and past a few camping spots. After the lake, begin the ascent out of the basin - Photo #2 and Photo #3. Continue north and ascend to the Kentucky Belle Mine at 12,400’ - Photo #4 and Photo #5. The collapsed mine shack is just a few feet from the trail. Photo #6 looks back on the hike up from Kite Lake, and Photo #7 is a different view of the mine area. Hike above 12,500’ to the base of a rugged slope - Photo #8. Follow the trail up the slope (Photo #9) to reach the base of Democrat’s East Slope - Photo #10. Cross a small stream and turn left (west) near 12,800' - Photo #11. Ascend a few switchbacks to 13,000’ where the trail turns right and heads north across the East Slope. Photo #12 looks down on the terrain below this point. Hike north across the slope (Photo #13) to reach the Democrat-Cameron saddle at 13,400’ - Photo #14.

From the saddle, turn left and follow the trail west up the ridge. Photo #15 and Photo #16 show the ridge and remaining route up the East Slope. After climbing about 200’ along the ridge, the trail turns left and traverses southwest across the slope - Photo #17 and Photo #18. Photo #19 looks back to the saddle from approximately 13,700’. After a long stretch of trail that spans much of the slope, the terrain becomes steeper and there are few small switchbacks that lead to the top of the slope - Photo #20. Continue to the top of the slope and past a few mine prospect holes to reach the summit ridge near 13,900’ - Photo #21.

From the top of the East Slope, the summit is directly west. Walk over to the final pitch (Photo #22 and Photo #23) and follow the trail up to the summit - Photo #24 and Photo #25. Taken from Mt. Bross, Photo #26 is a view of the upper route with snow coverage.

Skiing?:

A spring ski of the East Slope route is possible in most years. This is the easiest ski descent on Democrat and one of the easiest on a CO 14er, but the slope often has spotty snow conditions in spring. Ski back to the false summit, drop down the East Slope, and return to Kite Lake using any snow you can find - Photo #27.
The summit area with snow: Photo #28, Photo #29
Leaving the top: Photo #30, Photo #31
Descending the East Slope: Photo #32, Photo #33, Photo #34, Photo #35, Photo #36
Snow below Mt. Cameron: Photo #37, Photo #38, Photo #39, Photo #40
Near Kite Lake, looking back: Photo #41