San Juan Sufferfest, Aug. 2025

[evanc]

Hello all!

I am planning a 9-10 day road trip out to the San Juan's at the beginning of August. The goal is to bag all the San Juan 14ers in one fell swoop. I've got a couple of logistical questions that hopefully some locals or those who've been before can answer.

Our main operations bases will be Telluride and Ouray, as a buddy's got family with a roof to crash under there.

Day 1: Wilson group. Planning to do Rock of the Ages TH -> Wilson Peak -> Mt. Wilson -> El Diente -> Mt. Wilson -> Rock of Ages TH. This simplifies things car-wise, as I would only need to park one car at the TH. However, this makes the day involve 7,300' vert according to OnX maps and crossing the El Diente ridge traverse twice, which is maybe less than desirable. The other option would be to bring two cars and park one at the Kilpacker TH and one at Rock of Ages and thru-hike the Wilson group, meaning we would only have to cross the El Diente ridge once (still a 7,100' vert day according to OnX maps). Opinions on which is better for kicking off our sufferfest? Driving logistics info? How long is the drive between the two THs (is it worth it for the thru-hike)?

Day 2: Sneffels and explore Ouray. Much easier day than day 1, should be kind of a recovery day after the suffering of day 1. Online says the road to get to the TH is pretty difficult for most cars. Any beta? I have a Volvo XC70. Wagon with 8.3" of clearance, AWD, AT tires.

Day 3: Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre. Big day for mileage (16mi) and vert (6,100'). Main question is about the access road. Google maps says it will take 2hrs to drive 22 miles from Ouray to the Matterhorn Creek 4WD TH. Is this true??? That seems rather extreme for just 22 miles, some of which is on paved road out of Ouray... Beta on this drive?

Day 4: Redcloud, Sunshine, and Handies. Two trailheads, one day. Handies looks pretty short from the American Basin TH, so I figured we could tack it on after Sunshine and Redcloud to make a ~15mi, 6,800' vert day. Same logistical question about the access road as with day 3. Does it really take 2 hours to drive 20 miles from Ouray? There seem to be two THs for Handies. Is one hard to access? Would this make our hiking longer than we're expecting?

Day 5-7ish: The train question: Backpack in from Purgatory or drive all the way to Durango to take the train into Chicago Basin? It seems to me that the train shortens the trip by one day, while making those days busier whereas backpacking from Purgatory adds a day, but we don't have to operate on a tight train schedule (or drive farther out of the way to Durango and back). Opinions on this? Also wondering if hitting all 4 of the Chicago Basin 14ers in one day is viable? Early, early start and a strong pace good enough?

Day 8/9/10ish: Drive to Eddiesville South TH night before San Luis Peak climb, camp somewhere (any recommendations, info?). Climb it the next day and drive home to the front range the same day.

Any other general advice on the San Juan 14ers?
We've been training hard this summer to make these long days happen (Sawatch 14er linkups, etc), so we should be good on fitness to make this happen (I am thinking of adding a rest day somewhere in there). We're also all climbers, so the class 3+ stuff shouldn't be too much of an issue for us.

Thank you for reading and for whatever advice you can provide!!!!

[Wentzl]

A roof that covers Ouray and Telluride is a big roof. If you have that covered, can't imagine any questions left unanswered.

Day 1. Descend the North Butt or North slope of El D, not repeat Mt. Wilson. Distance between trailheads, 2 hours minimum.

Day 2. Volvo XC 70 will get to the standard outhouse trailhead without any issues.

Day 3. It will take much longer than 2 hours to drive the 22 miles from Ouray to Matterhorn Creek. Much much longer, so much to learn. Take the paved 3 hour alternative, especially with your inadequate vehicle.

Day 4. your itinerary suggests you plan to go back to Ouray after day 3 and return to American basin for day 4. This is where I figured you were a bot troll.

Day 5. Train question? Take the train from Silverton. Shorter and more scenic route. Do bots enjoy scenery?

[ncxhjhgvbi]

Day 4. your itinerary suggests you plan to go back to Ouray after day 3 and return to American basin for day 4. This is where I figured you were a bot troll.

Ha I was thinking the same. OP, spend a night in Lake City or just camp. Don’t take the passes. Your car should be fine getting to the turnoff for American Basin (park there) from Lake City but it has been a few years since I’ve been there. Pretty sure you won’t make it from Ouray even close to Cinnamon or Engineer passes…and it would take half a day each direction!

[sherby]

We're also planning a trip in the San Juans end of July/start of August, working on the 14ers/Centennials: https://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=800976

[frankster]

Totally respect your budget on the Sufferfest (sounds like an understatement if I've ever heard one). However....
A jeep from Ouray to Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre--then back home to Ouray for the night would be nice? Last time I went over Engineer Pass from highway 550, I was glad I was in my beat up old Wrangler. Love the Volvo but not over Engineer or Cinnamon or even from American Basin to Grizzly. Coming around from the Lake CIty side is fine, but it IS a long haul.

Then jeep from Ouray to Grizzly for Handies, Sunshine and Redcloud--and maybe back to Ouray for the night? The road from American Basin to Grizzly is somewhat ugly (as of last September). If you parked at American Basin and did Handies, R&S, you'd have a few miles of road to hike back to your jeep in American Basin. (I've picked up hitchhikers along the stretch before, but can't guarantee you'd catch a ride back to American Basin.).

I'm heading up to Chicago basin in August for the 4 peaks. My research shows that one MAY NOT BE ABLE to hop off the southbound train from Silverton at Needleton. One must actually call the train office to get a Needleton ticket--per the website. Maybe the conductor will make an exception????

Irrespective, you are planning an epic trip. Looking forward to your trip report. Might even see you in Chicago Basin?

[evanc]

Totally respect your budget on the Sufferfest (sounds like an understatement if I've ever heard one). However....
A jeep from Ouray to Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre--then back home to Ouray for the night would be nice? Last time I went over Engineer Pass from highway 550, I was glad I was in my beat up old Wrangler. Love the Volvo but not over Engineer or Cinnamon or even from American Basin to Grizzly. Coming around from the Lake CIty side is fine, but it IS a long haul.

Then jeep from Ouray to Grizzly for Handies, Sunshine and Redcloud--and maybe back to Ouray for the night? The road from American Basin to Grizzly is somewhat ugly (as of last September). If you parked at American Basin and did Handies, R&S, you'd have a few miles of road to hike back to your jeep in American Basin. (I've picked up hitchhikers along the stretch before, but can't guarantee you'd catch a ride back to American Basin.).

I'm heading up to Chicago basin in August for the 4 peaks. My research shows that one MAY NOT BE ABLE to hop off the southbound train from Silverton at Needleton. One must actually call the train office to get a Needleton ticket--per the website. Maybe the conductor will make an exception????

Irrespective, you are planning an epic trip. Looking forward to your trip report. Might even see you in Chicago Basin?

We’ve secured access to a Tacoma for the trip, so that might make these drives doable from Ouray? Even then, are these passes still pretty brutal? It sounds like the consensus is that most people want to do these passes only once?

And yes, the Needleton train stop only is accessible from the northbound train from Durango. That’s why we’re debating the backpack from Purgatory vs the extra drive to Durango for the train.

[frankster]

I’m thinking a 4x4 Tacoma can get over Engineer pass from Ouray. Even in my Jeep it was slow going.

No problems with Cinnamon Pass.

[Scott P]

A few years ago I did the route down to Ouray in a stock Pathfinder. It made it (barely), but it was very slow. It would have saved time just to go through Silverton.

[two lunches]

Day 1: ROA to Kilpacker would be a really fun day, but probably not worth the car shuttle, given your 7-10 day itinerary. i'd go back to Wilson via the low traverse, and then down the former standard route instead of descending El D N. Buttress.

Day 2: not sure where you'll find the time to do much "exploring" between all the hiking and driving... see next point

Day 3: Ouray to Matterhorn Creek via Engineer Pass is a stunning route, but that's probably a 4-hour drive. i did something similar one summer when i thought i knew better than google and no, i don't regret it, but no, i also wouldn't do it again. the 3-1/2 hours to go back up to Montrose and through Lake City is a way better option.

Day 4: do the whole group from Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch. American Basin is pretty, but it's also a pretty big waste of time if you're already at Silver Creek for RC & SS. forget Ouray and go back to Lake City.

Day 8/9/10: plenty of camping around Stewart Creek

[matsaball]

And yes, the Needleton train stop only is accessible from the northbound train from Durango. That’s why we’re debating the backpack from Purgatory vs the extra drive to Durango for the train.


this can't be because we know the train stops to pick up people to bring them back to Durango

[evanc]

And yes, the Needleton train stop only is accessible from the northbound train from Durango. That’s why we’re debating the backpack from Purgatory vs the extra drive to Durango for the train.


this can't be because we know the train stops to pick up people to bring them back to Durango

Called them today. The southbound train passes the Needleton stop, but at 3pm. They had too many people getting off and not making it to proper camping sites and the forest service told them to stop dropping people off late. So they only drop off at Needleton from the early trains, which are all from Durango.

[climbingyogi]

Hey! Just got back from a few days in Chicago Basin. Took the train in Sunday - we had an interesting experience I didn't expect to happen though. The train had engine trouble about 30 minutes in that delayed us about 1.5 hours getting to Needleton. We were dropped off around 12:10pm. Keep in mind, s**t can happen with the train.

Second: It seems totally doable to do all four mountains in a day with a super early start and a great weather window. I had no intention of even attempting all four in a day but I started thinking about it on my first peak day (Monday). I started from camp (10,700) at 430am. Summited Windom around 7:45 (hung out on top for ~30 min chatting with some guys). Did crossover to Sunlight around 9am. Summited Sunlight around 10:30. Back down to Twin Lakes around 12. Really debated going up to the Eoluses but then weather started to roll in and I high tailed it back to camp.

I definitely did not get an early enough start though to avoid afternoon thunderstorms. If you have a similar pace to me, then I think you could do all four with a 2:00 am start.