Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
Gladstone Ridge sits unassuming and alone between its fourteener neighbors Mount Yale and Mount Princeton. Surrounded by roads it nonetheless is a very overlooked peak, which is too bad because it's both easy and gorgeous.
After yesterday's big day nabbing the unnamed thirteeners west of Mount Princeton, and with afternoon snow rolling in, we were looking for something we could get up and down quickly in the morning. Gladstone Ridge nearby provided just such an easy day. We didn't want to ascend its north side, which most other reports describe, since we figured it'd be very snowy, so we pulled a route from Peakbagger done by Paul Stratmoen up Jonesy Gulch. Thanks for the inspiration, Paul. We drove up the road and passed a small parking area at the bottom of Jonesy Gulch (38.761483, -106.350717) but it was full. We drove a bit further and grabbed two small pulloffs on the side of the road, then just jumped into the forest heading north. (I forgot my phone in my car so all photos were taken by Whiley and Marisa.)
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: trees.Marisa and I on Gladstone's lower slopes.
The lower portion of the route up Jonesy Gulch is a massive aspen glade. There's copious amounts of deadfall but because they're mostly small aspen instead of larger pine or spruce the going is easy.
Endless aspen.Lil' baby aspen.Looking towards Mount Princeton.
The entire route from the road all the way to the summit is relatively steep - approximately 1,000 feet of gain per mile. The route can generally be described as "go up." That's part of the beauty of this thing, is the utter simplicity of it. It's almost impossible to go wrong or get lost. Numerous small streams bubble down the slopes of Jonesy Gulch, so many that they were impossible to keep track of as we wound our way up.
One of infinite.Twins.Such a pretty area.
With things being consistently steep it sometimes made sense to use the trees as uphill assistance. Only in one short section of maybe 100 vertical feet did the route feel very steep, and this was obviously short lived. As we hiked the trees slowly changed from aspen to evergreen.
Our first goal was simply to reach an unnamed lake nestled high in the gulch. From this obvious waypoint we would continue generally northeast to the summit. There was a little snow to contend with, and a few postholes, but nothing beyond a mild annoyance. The lake was easy to find, we just followed the streams to their source. This would be quite a pleasant picnic spot, and you'd be almost guaranteed to have it all to yourself!
Thin, cobwebby ice on the lake.Looking northwest up the gulch to its end.
At the lake we discussed whether we wanted to continue all the way up the gulch and contour along the ridge for a longer, more scenic route or just go in as straight a line as possible.
Up Jonesy.
We debated for only half a minute or so and decided to take the direct route since we'd been getting drizzled and snowed on intermittently all morning and dark clouds were building up to the west over Taylor Park.
Leaving the lake. This early in the season the willows weren't much of a problem.
We had a few hundred feet of semi-open trees/willows/tundra to hike before reaching treeline, where everything gave way to expansive tundra.
Mount Princeton on the far left with its unnamed thirteeners stretching along the ridge.Typical above treeline terrain (nine times out of ten you'll find me there).We even saw a small herd of elk! A few are visible here just below skyline on the left.
The summit wasn't visible from here and wouldn't be until we were almost on top of it, but the direction of travel was obvious. By now it was cold, windy, and blasting snow. The surrounding peaks kept oscillating between visible or not as the clouds swirled through the sky.
Who needs jackets when it snows?Tundra sidewalk into the sky.Looks messy but it's actually super pretty with a bit of snow flying about.Princeton in its hidey hole.
The summit came quickly today as we powered up the hill - less than two hours to the summit! There aren't many 13ers that can be climbed that quickly, so this would be a good one to do as an early morning/late afternoon ascent on an otherwise busy day.
Some of the only talus en route to the summit. It was stable but the snow made it wet and a bit slick.That right there's a summit.Small stack of rocks on the summit, looking southwest. The summit register tube was broken and the register itself missing.
With the mini-blizzard whipping around us we didn't spend long on top of Gladstone Ridge, just long enough to take some pictures and exchange fist bumps for another nice climb.
Looking back down towards Jonesy Gulch, which is roughly formed by the snowy wall and the grassy rollover.Nuking just a bit on the way down. There was a small amount of accumulation, not much to worry about though.Clouds doing their cloud things.
We flew down the upper mountain back to treeline, then slowed down a bit as we took a more direct route down, avoiding the lake. The initial section at treeline was quite steep and the snow had made the ground slick.
Back at treeline.
As we descended we'd pick a stream and follow it for a bit, then latch onto another and follow it, and then another, and another.
Stream number ∞.Splish splash, taking a bath.
Pretty much all day we couldn't stop remarking about how beautiful this climb was. It's easily one of the more scenic climbs I've done in a while, and the level of effort required to get that scenery fix is next to nothing compared to many others.
Back to blue skies. The weather was totally schizophrenic.Aspen on aspen on aspen.
We entered the aspen grove and just absorbed it as we descended. It was sunny and warm again, and the light filtering through onto the baby aspen buds was quite handsome. We reached the road barely an hour and ten minutes after leaving the summit, an overall lightning fast round trip climb. Gladstone's one of those easy peaks I'd probably do again and again, with or without partners or with or without a plan, just because. It struck a great balance of beauty and effort, and I think Jonesy Gulch to be a truly fine route and one that more people should climb.
Statistics
Climbers: Ben Feinstein (myself), Whiley H., Marisa W. Trailhead: Chaffee County Road 344 (parking at 38.761483, -106.350717) Total distance: 4.44 miles Total elevation gain: 2,629 feet Total time: 3:00:32 Peaks: One ranked thirteener
Gladstone Ridge, 13,209'
Splits:
Starting Location
Ending Location
Via Time (h:mm:ss)
Cumulative Time (h:mm:ss)
Rest Time (m:ss)
Chaffee County Road 344
Gladstone Ridge
1:48:38
1:48:38
0:00
Gladstone Ridge
Chaffee County Road 344
1:11:54
3:00:32
Trip End
My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):
Jay, I saw you had done Gladstone a few days earlier via Denny Creek and encountered lots of snow. I thought to myself more than a couple of times how much nicer Jones would have been for ya!
Yeah - it was a couple weeks earlier... in 2017 LOL! But yeah - even then, Jonesy might have been better. And I think your scenery was better given the lake and all the streams.
I assumed you were referring to the TR I did on it - https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=17739 And yeah, there certainly was snow!
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.