San Juan Range · Colorado 13er · No. 48 of the 13ers
Southeast Ridge via Coffee Pot and the Black Gully
Teakettle Mountain, 13,815'
Class 5 summit block
The last 10 feet need one committing low Class 5 move, and the gullies below are very loose. Many people bring a short rope. This page is an outline, not a move-by-move guide.
DifficultyClass 5
Round trip3.6 mi
Elevation gain3,200'
TrailheadYankee Boy Basin - Mt. Sneffels
Trailhead elevation11,380'
Less traffic, less margin
This describes the route on a dry summer day. Most 13ers see few people, so there may be no one along behind you. Check recent conditions the week you go, carry a map, tell someone your plan, and turn around when the day tells you to.
Colorado 13er · Southeast Ridge via Coffee Pot and the Black Gully
Is it right for you?
Teakettle Mountain rises above Yankee Boy Basin west-southwest of Ouray, named for the round arch (the handle) on its summit block. It is a Class 5 peak, but only for the last 20 feet or so. The rest is Class 2+ with a little Class 3.
From the upper Yankee Boy trailhead you climb loose slopes to Coffee Pot, a big rock outcrop between Teakettle and Potosi Peak, drop across a basin to the dark Black Gully, and work up through two cliff bands to the summit block. Climbers with some rock skill often go up without a rope, but a short one is comforting; a helmet is the most useful item.
The round trip is about 3.6 miles with 3,200 feet of gain. Potosi Peak is easy to combine via the Teakettle-Potosi saddle.
Plan of the day
Start by
By 6:30 a.m.
Turnaround
Be at the base of the Black Gully by 10:30 a.m.
Crux
The 30-foot summit block, ending in a low Class 5 crack.
Route-finding
Moderate. Find the break in the band below Coffee Pot, the Black Gully, and the sandy gully above it.
Water
None above the trailhead. Bring it all.
This week on the summit
Conditions on the summit
LoadingFetching the forecast for 13,815'…
—Summit temp now
—Sustained wind
—Gusting to
—Freezing level
Today
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Tomorrow
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Day three
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Afternoon storm risk is the line that matters. Everything else is comfort. In summer, plan to be off the ridge before the build-up starts, not as it starts. Forecast for the summit point, adjusted for its elevation · data from Open-Meteo.
Take U.S. 550 to Ouray. About a quarter mile south of town, turn west onto County Road 361 toward Yankee Boy Basin. This is a dirt road. Keep right at the 4.6-mile mark. Around 5.2 miles the road runs along a shelf cut into the cliff, with rock hanging overhead. Stay right at the Imogene Pass turnoff near 5.9 miles.
At about 6.7 miles you reach the Governor Basin junction. Two-wheel-drive cars should park here; this adds about 1.75 miles round trip. High-clearance vehicles continue to the lower trailhead with an outhouse at about 7.5 miles and 11,350 feet. The figures on these pages start there. The last mile of road above the outhouse is very rough and only for high-clearance, short-wheelbase 4WD vehicles.
Camping inside Yankee Boy Basin is only allowed at the Thistledown and Angel Creek campgrounds lower on the road; check that they're open. Don't camp at the trailhead. Some flat spots near the toilet sit on old mining claims, and whether you can camp there is unclear.
RidgeScramblingTalus and screeExposed to lightning
The line is elevation, the band underneath is the ground, and the numbered dots match the steps below. Mileage and elevations are approximate.
1
Yankee Boy toilet trailhead 11,380' · 0 mi
Look across the road for a use trail starting by a no-camping sign, and follow it into the first pines. Head for the ridge that runs down from Coffee Pot.
2
Ridge flat 12,600' · 0.6 mi
Above the trees, climb tundra to a fairly level spot on the ridge.
3
Small cliff band 12,900' · 0.8 mi
A cliff band blocks the crest. Angle right (east) through rubble, using any tundra left, toward a small break where the band gets smaller. Two small ribs of firmer rock help. Scramble through (Class 2+).
Watch for: Loose, small, broken volcanic rock.
4
Near Coffee Pot 13,300' · 1 mi
Climb toward Coffee Pot; you don't need to reach its base. From here, look north across the basin to a rubble gully with dark rocks breaking the cliffs. That is the Black Gully, and it is the route.
5
Base of the Black Gully 13,050' · 1.2 mi
Go 200 to 300 feet down Coffee Pot's south ridge to a break in the cliffs, then follow a faint climbers' trail across the rocky upper basin to the gully. It's Class 2 to easy 2+.
Watch for: This slope holds snow late; an ice axe may be needed.
6
Sandy gully 13,550' · 1.5 mi
Climb the loose Black Gully (Class 2+) and exit left (Class 3) to a small level spot. Follow cairns west along a bench to a wide, sandy gully through the last big cliff band.
Watch for: Loose rock; watch for rockfall from others.
7
Summit block 13,785' · 1.75 mi
Follow cairns and the easiest lines below the spiky crest to the summit block with its round arch.
8
Summit 13,815' · 1.8 mi
The last 30 feet is the crux. The better line goes to a small notch right of the summit tower (a good place to gear up), up a first block, around a small nose of rock, and into the final 10-foot crack. The top fits two or three people.
Watch for: One committing low Class 5 move with modest exposure.
Getting down
Downclimb or rappel the summit block and go back to the bottom of the Black Gully. Then either climb back to Coffee Pot and descend the ridge to the saddle with Potosi, or drop straight down the basin below, which is extremely loose. Neither is pleasant.
If things go wrong
Below the Black Gully, retrace your steps over Coffee Pot.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
The route leaves the road at once and climbs loose, trailless slopes and gullies. A flyover only works when there is a set trail to trace. Without one, the line would be a guess, and a guess could send you the wrong way on the mountain. Use the step-by-step route with a good map and GPS track instead.
See the trail on video
No video yet
We haven’t found a good video of this route that matches the way we describe it. The route strip, junctions and 3D flyover show the way in the meantime.
Other routes
Every way up Teakettle Mountain we list, with its class.