West Ridge from Burns Gulch

Overview

American Peak rises at the head of American Basin and Burns Gulch, west of Handies Peak. You can reach it from the Cinnamon Pass road side or from the Animas River above Silverton; this route uses Burns Gulch on the Animas side, which most crossover SUVs can reach.

You walk the Burns Gulch road to a fork, climb grassy slopes past a rock glacier and a tiny lake, then grind up loose talus and scree to the saddle between Jones Mountain and American's west ridge. From there you follow the ridge east, staying on its south side to avoid cliffs on the north. It is a rough Class 2 with lots of unstable rock.

The round trip from the bridge is about 8.2 miles with 3,015 feet of gain. Driving to the fork with a high-clearance 4WD saves about 2 miles each way and more than 900 feet of gain. Jones Mountain and Niagara Peak are close by and are often climbed on the same day.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

From Silverton, drive east through town and take County Road 2 toward Howardsville. The pavement ends after about 2 miles, and the road becomes well-graded dirt. From Howardsville, continue north past the old site of Eureka, where the road crosses the Animas River and climbs a steeper shelf. Continue about 3.5 miles past Eureka to the turnoff for Burns and Grouse Gulches. Most crossover SUVs can reach this point in dry weather.

Park near the bridge where the main road recrosses the Animas to its east bank. From there, a spur road heads south along the river's east bank to meet the Burns Gulch road. The Burns Gulch road is a narrow, rocky single-lane 4WD track. Low on the road it runs along a shelf where passing another vehicle is hard. Only drive it with a high-clearance 4WD vehicle.

There are no Forest Service campgrounds along the Animas road, but there are many dispersed sites, and a couple of spots up in Burns Gulch. Respect private land postings.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 1

   Burns Gulch trailhead 10,790' · 0 mi

   From the parking near the bridge, follow a spur road south about 0.2 mile, staying east of the Animas, to meet the Burns Gulch road.

2. 2

   Shelf road 11,100' · 0.8 mi

   The road climbs southeast across the gulch side on a narrow shelf. Old switchbacks shown on the USGS map are now bypassed.

   Watch for: Step well aside for vehicles on the shelf.

3. 3

   Road fork 11,680' · 2 mi

   Reach the main fork. 4WD drivers park here. Climb grassy tundra into the northeast fork of Burns Gulch, keeping left (west) of a large rock glacier. An old roadbed helps for the first half mile.

4. 4

   Small lake 12,520' · 2.8 mi

   Pass a very small lake and walk east on tundra a little farther.

5. 5

   Jones-American saddle 13,340' · 3.4 mi

   Climb the talus toward the saddle between Jones and American's west ridge. It gets much steeper, and the rock turns to loose scree and dirt. A rough path may help.

   Watch for: Very loose. Keep your group close together or spread out sideways.

6. 6

   Summit 13,814' · 4.1 mi

   Follow the ridge toward American, which takes you to the third point west of the summit. Then stay on the south side of the crest, contouring near 13,600 feet past three bumps on braided paths to the top.

   Watch for: Cliffs drop off the north side of the ridge.

Getting down

Go back the same way, or continue to Jones Mountain from the saddle and on to Niagara Peak.

If things go wrong

Return to the saddle and down the scree to the basin.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up American Peak we list, with its class.

• American Pk West Ridge this routeClass 2 8.2 mi