South Face from Mount Silex

Overview

The Guardian sits at the far east end of the Grenadier Range and looks straight down the Vallecito Creek valley. Its north face is sheer, but the south side is a Class 2+ climb, usually done together with Mount Silex on a multi-day backpack.

From the trailhead, the Continental Divide Trail climbs about 900 feet in under a mile to Hunchback Pass. The Vallecito Trail then drops south through wet willows past a big camp near the Nebo Creek junction (about 11,400 feet), fords swift Nebo Creek near the top of a waterfall, and switchbacks down to a meadow camp beside Vallecito Creek just below Trinity Creek, about 4 miles in. From there you wade the creek, follow an unmaintained trail up Trinity Creek, climb into the Lake Silex basin, go up a loose couloir to Silex's southwest ridge, climb Silex by its south face, and traverse ledges east to The Guardian.

The round trip from the trailhead is about 18.35 miles with 8,880 feet of gain, including Silex. From the Trinity Creek camp, Silex is about 3.25 miles and 3,130 feet one way, and The Guardian adds about 0.8 mile and 550 feet. Higher camps along Trinity Creek near 11,400 feet, near Trinity Lake, or at two small tarns west of the pass above Balsam Lake shorten the day.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

This trailhead needs a high-clearance 4WD, and plan on as much as 2.5 hours of driving from Silverton. From the northeast end of Silverton, take County Road 2 up the Animas about 4.2 miles to Howardsville. Turn right up Cunningham Gulch, then take the left fork onto the Stony Pass road. It climbs steeply over the pass and down the far side. You will ford Pole Creek, then turn right at a fork and ford the Rio Grande. Both fords are harder early in the summer. Then follow the Beartown road about 4 slow, rough miles past the old Beartown site and up a rocky, rutted stretch. The Hunchback Pass trailhead is about half a mile below Kite Lake, at roughly 11,800 feet, with limited parking.

You can also reach this area from Creede or Lake City by driving to Rio Grande Reservoir, but the road west of the reservoir has very rough sections. There is some camping near the trailhead and near the old Beartown site.

This is the start of a multi-day backpack. Park so you don't block the road; space is tight.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 1

   Trinity Creek camp 10,560' · 0 mi

   Wade across Vallecito Creek at the obvious spot; it is cold early in the day. Follow the unmaintained trail up the south side of Trinity Creek through conifers.

   Watch for: Cold, swift wade.

2. 2

   Cross Trinity Creek 11,000' · 1 mi

   Near 11,000 feet the trail moves to the north bank and climbs through open forest and meadows.

3. 3

   Turn toward Lake Silex 11,400' · 1.5 mi

   Near 11,400 feet, turn south toward the Lake Silex basin. Keep west of a tongue of rock glacier and look for a faint path up the steep tundra ramps on the northwest side of the lake's outlet. It reaches a rocky bench near 11,860 feet, then climbs rubble and scree to a bench about 300 feet above the lake.

4. 4

   Traverse above the lake 12,400' · 2.2 mi

   Leave the route toward the pass at the head of the valley. Contour south and east around the lake at about 12,400 feet on a sloping, rocky bench. You must drop below some cliffs to reach it, then climb back on poor scree. The sidehill is tiring.

5. 5

   Saddle at 12,820 feet 12,820' · 2.75 mi

   Climb the obvious couloir to the saddle on Silex's southwest ridge, where Peak Nine's southeast ridge joins. Without snow it is loose rock and scree; keep right of the center for a few firmer outcrops.

   Watch for: Snow early in summer; ice axe and traction.

6. 6

   Mount Silex 13,636' · 3.25 mi

   Skip the southwest ridge; it is reported to have Class 4 and short Class 5 sections. Instead drop down the far side of the saddle about 100 feet (some parties go as much as 400), traverse left over small boulders to a break in a cliff band, and mark it. Above, a long Class 2 climb on talus and scree leads to the top.

7. 7

   Silex-Guardian saddle 13,060' · 3.6 mi

   Go back down your ascent line at least 400 feet, then work east on natural ledges below the cliff bands over mostly stable rock; there may be cairns. Pass the middle bump between the two saddles on its south side, gaining about 25 feet on ledges.

8. 8

   The Guardian 13,624' · 4.05 mi

   From the second saddle, angle up onto the south face along small cairns. Near 13,350 feet, pass the first steep couloir. About 50 yards farther, climb the second, easier couloir on rubble and loose small rock to the summit ridge, then walk to the top.

   Watch for: The first couloir is exposed Class 4.

Getting down

Go back down the easier couloir, exit where you came in, and return to the two saddles. From the one nearest Silex, traverse the south face of Silex to the break in the cliff band, climb back to the 12,820-foot saddle, and descend to Lake Silex and on to camp.

Hiking out, the climb from the Trinity Creek meadow back to the Nebo Creek camp, about 1,000 feet, is the steepest part of the return.

If things go wrong

The 12,820-foot saddle and its couloir lead back to Lake Silex.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up The Guardian we list, with its class.

• The Guardian South Face this routeClass 2+ 18.35 mi