San Juan Range · Colorado 13er · No. 200 of the 13ers
South Ridge via the Snow Mesa peaks
UN 13,505 (near Baldy Cinco), 13,505'
DifficultyClass 2
Round trip16.8 mi
Elevation gain4,563'
TrailheadSpring Creek Pass - Snow Mesa
Trailhead elevation10,900'
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 · South Ridge via the Snow Mesa peaks
Is it right for you?
UN 13,505 is the last of the four 13ers on Snow Mesa's northern rim, east of Spring Creek Pass. Older lists show it as UN 13,502 or UN 13,510.
Most people reach it after Baldy no es Cinco, Baldy Cinco and UN 13,166. From UN 13,166 you drop to a saddle on the Continental Divide Trail, then climb the south ridge, which gets rocky near the top. It's Class 2.
From UN 13,166 it's about 1.6 miles and 970 feet one way. Doing all four Snow Mesa 13ers (Baldy no es Cinco, Baldy Cinco, UN 13,166 and UN 13,505) is about 16.9 miles with 4,563 feet of gain. Plan on a full day of about nine hours. By this summit you've done about 9 miles and over 4,300 feet; the rest is the long walk out.
Plan of the day
Start by
By 6 a.m.
Turnaround
Be on UN 13,166 by 12:30 p.m.
Crux
The rocky final part of the south ridge.
Route-finding
Moderate. Use the trail briefly to bypass a rocky part of the ridge.
Water
None at the trailhead. A pond on Snow Mesa is the only source noted. Carry plenty and filter.
This week on the summit
Conditions on the summit
LoadingFetching the forecast for 13,505'…
—Summit temp now
—Sustained wind
—Gusting to
—Freezing level
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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.
From Creede, start at the main junction in town where Highway 149 turns after crossing the creek. Drive 33 miles southwest and then north to the top of Spring Creek Pass. From Lake City, take 149 south, stay on it past the Lake San Cristobal turnoff, climb over Slumgullion Pass and come down to Spring Creek Pass. That's 17.3 miles, a good half hour. Any car can make it.
On the west side of the highway, a short paved road leads to a small trail lot with a vault toilet. It goes on to a loop with picnic tables and a second toilet; this was a campground, but camping there is now closed. There's no water. The Snow Mesa trail starts on the east side of the highway.
Nearby Forest Service campgrounds include Slumgullion (at that pass) and North and South Clear Creek. Rito Hondo Reservoir and the Brown Lakes area are a little farther. Primitive sites are easiest to find south of Spring Creek Pass.
TundraTalus and screeRidgeExposed 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
Spring Creek Pass 10,900' · 0 mi
Cross the highway to Trail 787, shared by the Continental Divide and Colorado trails, and climb through open, beetle-killed forest. The last 400 feet or so to the mesa are steeper.
2
Snow Mesa 12,300' · 2.3 mi
Top out on Snow Mesa, a huge tundra plateau that stretches east and south. The trail comes and goes but is mostly marked with posts.
Watch for: No shelter from storms on the mesa.
3
Baldy no es Cinco 13,310' · 4.6 mi
North-northeast of the trail, leave it and head north, contouring around the Cebola Creek basin. Then walk up about 1,100 feet of grassy tundra to the top.
4
Baldy Cinco 13,389' · 5.5 mi
Follow the ridge northeast, turn right down to a 12,900-foot saddle, and take a game path east up to the top, past one short patch of talus.
5
UN 13,166 13,166' · 7.4 mi
Go down Baldy Cinco's gentle southeast ridge as it bends east and then northeast to a 12,669-foot saddle. Walk east up the grassy crest, with a little talus at the end, to the top.
6
Divide saddle 12,540' · 8 mi
Descend east-northeast on a steep but mostly grassy slope to a saddle at 12,540 feet, where you meet the Continental Divide Trail. Snow can linger here into July.
7
Back on the ridge 12,900' · 8.4 mi
To skip a rocky part of the ridge, follow the trail east a few hundred yards. Then leave it and climb north, then back northwest, up a flowery slope to the ridge above the rocks.
8
UN 13,505 13,505' · 9 mi
The south ridge eases for a while. The last part gets rockier before the plain summit. Look north into the wide valleys of the La Garita Wilderness.
Getting down
Return to the 12,540-foot saddle and follow the Continental Divide Trail south as it leaves the divide and contours down steep slopes to Snow Mesa. Near a pond, stay on Trail 787 west for the long, nearly level walk back to the highway. The trail is faint in places, but posts and cairns mark it.
If things go wrong
The divide saddle at 12,540 feet is on the trail back.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
The route leaves the Continental Divide Trail on Snow Mesa and crosses open tundra. 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 UN 13,505 (near Baldy Cinco) we list, with its class.