San Juan Range · Colorado 13er · No. 80 of the 13ers
Southwest Ridges over Campbell Peak
T 0, 13,739'
DifficultyClass 2
Round trip9.5 mi
Elevation gain5,065'
TrailheadEider Creek
Trailhead elevation9,140'
Conditions on the summit
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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.
Colorado 13er · Southwest Ridges over Campbell Peak
Overview
T 0 is a high summit on the Sneffels Range north of Telluride, west of Dallas Peak. The name goes back to an early San Juan climbing guide. The views of Dallas Peak, the Wilson group and the Telluride valley are among the best around, and elk often use these slopes.
You hike the Eider Creek and Deep Creek trails, then leave the trail for a short bushwhack and climb grassy, then rocky gullies on the south face of Campbell Peak. Loose chip rock leads through a cliff band to Campbell's ridge and summit, then you drop to a saddle and follow a talus ridge to T 0. It is Class 2, but the footing is poor much of the way.
The round trip is about 9.5 miles with 5,065 feet of gain.
Plan of the day
Start by
By 6 a.m.
Turnaround
Be on Campbell Peak by 11 a.m.
Crux
The loose chip rock and cliff band near 12,800 feet.
Route-finding
Moderate. Leave the trail at the right ridge, then stay in the gullies on Campbell's south face.
From Society Turn (the junction of CO 145 west of Telluride), take the branch of CO 145 that heads into Telluride. After 2.0 miles, turn left (north) on Forest Road 637, a graded dirt road.
Drive 0.75 mile to a switchback with room for a few cars. That is the trailhead. Better ground clearance helps. The road above used to be drivable but is now closed, so start walking here.
The land around the trailhead is mostly private and there is no camping there. Camping is scarce near Telluride. The nearest campgrounds are Sunshine, a Forest Service fee site on CO 145 about 5 miles south of Society Turn, and the town park campground at the east end of Telluride, first come, first served.
Trail in the treesOff-trail, no set pathTundraTalus 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
Eider Creek trailhead 9,140' · 0 mi
Hike north on Trail 417 through aspens on the east side of Eider Creek. After about 0.3 mile it turns east up switchbacks, then heads north again.
2
Deep Creek trail 9,900' · 1.65 mi
At the Deep Creek trail (418), turn left (west). It is a well-used trail, popular with mountain bikers.
3
Leave the trail 10,200' · 2.5 mi
Cross Eider Creek (logs may help early in the season), climb switchbacks to a ridge, dip into a shallow drainage, and reach a second ridge. Leave the trail here and push north through the trees for about ten minutes to a clearing.
4
Rock outcrop 11,100' · 3 mi
Climb the grassy gully, one of several on Campbell's south face, to a rock outcrop that makes a good rest stop. Keep going up on less grass and more small rock. You may want to cross a rib or two to the left to find a gully that keeps going.
5
Cliff band 12,800' · 3.6 mi
The last few hundred feet below the cliffs are on small, sliding chip rock. Pick the easiest break through the cliff band.
Watch for: Very loose footing.
6
Campbell Peak 13,213' · 4 mi
Join Campbell's south-southeast ridge and walk thin, plate-like talus to its summit.
7
Summit 13,739' · 4.75 mi
Follow the ridge north-northeast, losing about 235 feet to the saddle, then climb about 755 feet of broken talus to T 0. A path often helps on this part.
Getting down
Return the same way, back over Campbell Peak. Another option starts east along the ridge toward Dallas Peak and drops into the basin south of T 0, but it is loose.
If things go wrong
Head back down the gullies to the Deep Creek trail.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
The route leaves the Deep Creek trail for a bushwhack and open 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.
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.