Route Description

From Breckenridge, drive 8 miles south on Colorado 9. Turn right (west) on the Blue Lakes 850 Road. Drive a few hundred yards and turn right on the McCullough Gulch 851 Road. There is a sign for the Quandary Peak Trail at this junction. Drive 0.1 mile to a small parking area on the right side of the road. This is the trailhead. The U.S. Forest Service has installed a sign/kiosk that faces away from the road. Walk up the road to the next corner and the trail starts on the left. This is a new trailhead and replaces the previous trailhead 1 mile up the road.

Details:

Photo #1 shows the East Ridge route from the southeast and Photo #2 is a closer look from the east. From the trailhead, walk up the road a short distance and climb left (west) up the start of the trail - Photo #3. Hike up through the forest and soon the trail will turn left. Continue south for a bit to a large rock on the right side of trail - Photo #4. Turn right after the rock and follow the great trail through the trees - Photo #5. As you weave through the forest, the trail crosses several old mining roads that may cause some confusion in snowy months. Look for trail signs (Photo #6) and stay on the main trail. Near 11,300’, cross a small clearing (Photo #7) before hiking up a hill where the trees start to thin out. Cross a flat, open area near 11,600 - Photo #8 and Photo #9 and continue to the base of a slope near 11,700'.

Here there have been some recent CFI trail modifications and you may see an old trail that zigzags up the slope ahead. Do not take that trail - it's blocked off and under restoration. Stay left and take the new CFI trail - Photo #10. Taken from the east, Photo #11 is a high-angle of the area. Follow the trail as it gradually climbs the left side of the East Ridge - Photo #12. As you leave the trees, you can see the summit far ahead. The Blue Lakes are down to your left. With long sections of rock stairs, this is a superb trail. Photo #13 shows the view from approximately 12,400'. At 12,800', the trail climbs up to the ridge and continues west toward a flat point on the ridge - Photo #14. Reach a high point at 13,150' on the ridge.

The summit is a mile away and you can see most of the route from here - Photo #15. Continue west along a flat section of the ridge. Photo #16 is a high-angle view from the east. When you reach the base of Quandary's upper East Slope (Photo #17), the trail begins to weave through rocks along the ridge. Hike up along the left side of ridge. There are multiple trail sections between 13,400' and 14,000' but the route is clear - stay on the ridge where you should be able to see across Quandary's upper East Slope to your right - Photo #18. Photo #19 shows the route above 13,700', and Photo #20 looks back down the ridge. Above 14,100', the slope begins to ease - Photo #21. In June and early July, you may encounter some small snow fields near the summit. Walk up to the top - Photo #22, Photo #23, Photo #24 and Photo #25.

Skiing?:

The East Slopes hold good snow in the spring. Through May, the upper east slope (14,265' down to 13,100') and the lower east slope (13,050' down to 11,700') should have continuous snow. Check out the highlighted areas on the topo map. Here's a ski trip report with more photos.