Ranking the Sawatch

[JROSKA]

I just hiked Tabeguache (West Ridge) from Jennings Creek TH. Not quite my Sawatch finisher (I still need Oxford) but it’s 14/15. I keep a spreadsheet of my 14er rankings, in terms of how much I enjoyed the mountain, and I’ve actually got Tabeguache (West Ridge) now ranked as my favorite Sawatch 14er. For trivia purposes, Huron is 2nd and Missouri is third.

The Sawatch aren’t the most exciting or dramatic 14ers, but I’m curious what people’s top ranked Sawatch 14ers are and why. I just enjoyed Tabeguache because it seemed unique, different from the other ones. Huron was just a beautiful hike and I suppose I ranked Missouri high because I liked the variety on the ridge.

Maybe not the most interesting discussion to have but in terms of numbers (26%) the Sawatch do take up the most space of any range on the 14er checklist. It hit me descending Tabeguache yesterday that I probably haven’t appreciated the Sawatch hikes as much as I should.

[greenonion]

GREAT job Jeff!! The Sawatch is a sweet range. I’ve struggled with a couple peaks to completion, and I’ve had very sweet memories there too.

Huron and Holy Cross resonate and remember best for me in the Sawatch

[Gulf_Coast_Hiker]

While I have not hiked many 14ers, I would vote for the Lulu Gulch route to Huron. You get a real remote feeling and some fun ridge travel, but not too technical for the average hiker.

[ECF55]

Thanks for starting this thread! I’m four Sawatch in and am unsure where to go next. All of the peaks appear to be big days and relatively non-technical, but I’m not sure what differentiates the remaining peaks. Harvard (standard), Missouri (standard), Antero (Little Browns) and Shav/Tab (standard) are definitely on my short list if I can make it back to Colorado.

In terms of my rankings:
- Elbert Black Cloud (Highest Rank). Big day. Very few people on the trail. Incredible views of LaPlata.
- Huron Lulu Gulch (Highest Rank). Very few people on the trail. Great views of multiple 14ers and Huron's rugged East Face.
- Yale Standard (High Quality Trail). Great trail and nice Class 2 finish.
- [EDIT] Shavano Standard (Below Average). Great new CFI trail work, but the views on the hike are underwhelming. Nice summit views of Tab.
- Princeton Standard (Well below Average). Long approach and excessive talus hoping. Memorable views only on the last mile, but that view of Antero makes the hike.

I’m interested in your thoughts.

[LURE]

i've always liked harvard

[madmattd]

Agreed, the Sawatch aren't the most exciting, but there's some nice hikes in there. If one gets off the standard routes things can really open up too.

Some honorable mentions in no particular order:

La Plata - I really liked this one via the standard route, even though the upper 1.5 miles is a little tedious. The views in the gulch in the early morning were pretty awesome. As one of the first 14ers I did however, I might need to revisit it and see if I feel the same way now.
Huron - Up standard, down Middle Mountain/Lulu Gulch was pretty cool, though I know most do the loop in the other direction - views to Huron are going to be better that way, but either direction is a nice day.
Missouri/Belford/Oxford - I camped 2 nights in upper Pine Creek and hit these 3 plus Emerald & Iowa. Pretty fun and quiet way to do them.
Harvard - I went via the standard route with some out of state friends; this was a really nice, low-key hike. We spent ~45 minutes at Bear Lake on the way out too.
Antero - Little Brown's Creek as a short overnight was far superior to walking the road for how ever many miles.

I didn't really dislike any of the Sawatch 14ers though. Princeton is probably at the bottom of the list but I'd still hike it again and likely will some day.

[Benito_Esposti]

Just did nearly the whole range in the past month (except Antero and Holy cross but hoping to do those this weekend) and here are my thoughts:

Rank highest to lowest in terms of enjoyment (views, trail quality, 'wow' factor)
Tabeguache via the West Ridge - Absolutely beautiful hike with some fun class 2 scrambling
La Plata Southwest ridge - Very similar to the above route, the view of the Three Apostles and Sayers Benchmark were amazing
Massive, Tour de le sub summits - Awesome day with plenty of elevation loss and gain, the class 3 getting up North Massive is some of the best I've ever experienced
Belford, Oxford, and Missouri - Long day, but views of the surrounding peaks is great and the ridge on Missouri is fun
Harvard and Columbia Traverse - Super great scrambling and the entire traverse was just perfect; only down side to this route is Columbia's steep and loose ascent
Elbert + South Elbert - Much more mellow hike compared to some of the others, going over to S. Elbert was a fun addition; we were very fortunate to have a sick cloud layer inversion during sunrise on the summit which is probably the best view I have ever had, however since this is a rare occurrence and weather dependent, I didn't factor it for the ranking
Princeton - This poor peak gets way more hate than it deserves, I really enjoyed it and thought the view of Antero's North side was spectacular, having to hike on a road for some distance is bringing the rank down though (4WD to/past the antennas highly reccomended)
Yale - Beautiful peak and a little bit of fun class 2 near the summit, I wish it went on for longer, below treeline was gorgeous as well
Huron - Views were amazing, especially of La PLata and the Three Apostles, however, I just didn't enjoy the hike as much; it felt like it was lacking variety
Shavano - Nothing wrong with this hike, it was pretty but nothing really stood out to me

Rank highest to lowest in term of difficulty
Belford, Oxford, Missouri - As mentioned before, very long day with tons of elevation gain and loss. Could make it much easier by backpacking in to some point the night before or doing Missouri separate
Harvard and Columbia Traverse - The traverse, as fun as it is, is very slow going and requires more route finding than expected
Massive, Tour de le Sub Summits - Again, a lot of elevation loss and gain. The class 3 on North Massive definitively makes this a more technical day than most others in the Sawatch
----- This line marks the separation between the really hard days and the mellow days, the rankings below here are a bit more subjective to weather, how I was feeling that day, etc
Shavano - May have just been an off day for me, but I struggled quite a bit from treeline to summit, it got steep and loose for a while
Yale - Got caught in some sketchy weather on our way up that we waited out, but made for a long day; if weather is good, this would probably be lower on the list
La Plata Southwest Ridge - Not terribly difficult but ascending the saddle between La Plata and Sayers Benchmark was super super loose
Elbert + S. Elbert - Mellow day, just made a little longer by adding on S. Elbert
Tabeguache via West Ridge - Steep in sections but otherwise not too bad
Huron - Not too bad, just a few steep-ish sections
Princeton - Very short, albeit steep nearing the summit; plenty of rock hopping which I enjoyed and didn't find difficult but I could see how other's might, the road was fine to hike on

This was all just my experience with the peaks and much of it is probably down to personal preference but I hope this gives some good insight into the Sawatch!

[Wimyers]

Surprised Holy Cross isn't mentioned more, it was my fav Sawatch 14er by far.

[12ersRule]

Holy Cross is pretty awesome - I have yet to do the entire Halo Route (just to Holy Cross Ridge and then back down the standard), but that's gotta be one of the classic Sawatch routes.
Elbert - really liked coming from the south, much better than from the east.
LaPlata - standard route was great, Ellingwood Ridge definitely interested in doing someday.
Huron - views of Apostles are amazing, of course, when I was back there for N Apostle and Ice, the Huron route was ridiculously overcrowded, so that'd have to be a weekday one for a re-attempt.
Shav and Tab - my first 2 Colorado 14ers, still consider them some of the best.

[JQDivide]

Interesting concept...
All the Sawatch peaks are better when you hike them from the west side, if possible, or an alternate route.

I love the Jennings Creek Route up Tab.
The SW routes up Massive, Huron and La Plata are some of the best routes in the Sawatch.

[cardgenius]

I agree, the non-standards are where it’s at in the Sawatch. Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Grouse Canyon on Princeton, Tabeguache west ridge, Tour de Huron, Yale/Columbia east ridge, Elbert/Massive/La Plata south approaches are some of my favorite routes yet. Great views and terrain with very few people compared to the standard routes.

[MaryinColorado]

Interesting! I still have Holy Cross left. This was a fun deviation from work. My list is based mainly on aesthetics first, experience second.

1. Huron. Did as a sunrise summit and during wildflower season. Best of all worlds!
2. Missouri. YES. Love the basin, love the ridge, love the whole thing. Also did it during wildflower season.
3. Columbia. After the new trail was completed. Thought the views were super great, and new trail is phenomenal.
4. Antero. A day combining off-roading with hiking was killer! Two of my favorite things. I drove up to 12K. Just appreciated the sheer uniqueness of the peak, honestly, and the miners were very kind and interactive.
5. Yale. Pretty! Fun scramble at the top.
6. Tabeguache via west ridge. Route is beautiful and unique. I'd rank this higher, but that steep push from saddle on up was slightly soul-crushing.
7. La Plata standard route. Beautiful during wildflower season! And I like the ebb and flow of the route. Level, up, level, up, level, etc. Downside: 10 false summits. Hahaha.
8. Massive standard route. Seems underrated and underloved. I enjoyed it! Did it during fall. The colors were magnificent, and that final scramble section is fun.
9. Oxford. I think Gerry Roach wrote something along the lines of appreciating leaving others behind for the solitude Oxford offers. He wasn't wrong. I also thought the views from the summit area were spectacular.
10. Princeton. I enjoyed the rocks. Loved the views of Antero. It's nothing spectacular, but it's not the worst.
11. Belford. Beautiful but steep.
12. Harvard. It was a long, hot day, and my overall experience was probably tainted by having done a 13er the day before, so following that with Harvard was a big push for me at the time.
13. Elbert. Just no. Not super interesting. And very crowded for obvious reasons.
14. Shavano. Even more no. Hated the trail, just such a tiresome slog. SUPER excited that CFI is working on it! I look forward to giving this peak a chance at redemption eventually. Haha.
15. Holy Cross TBD and planning on doing it Halo up, standard down. Will I regret? Possibly. But it looks like it stands a chance at being the most beautiful of all.