San Juan Range · Colorado 13er · No. 192 of the 13ers
East Saddle and Ridge from Porphyry Basin
Bridal Peak, 13,514'
Steep, loose descent
Getting into the East Basin means going down very steep, loose talus through a cliff band, and early-season snow may need an ice axe. This page is an outline, not a move-by-move guide.
DifficultyClass 2+
Round trip10 mi
Elevation gain3,300'
TrailheadRed Mountain Pass
Trailhead elevation11,075'
Conditions on the summit
LoadingFetching the forecast for 13,514'…
—Summit temp now
—Sustained wind
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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 · East Saddle and Ridge from Porphyry Basin
Overview
Bridal Peak (once called T 11) stands above Bridal Veil Basin near Telluride, west of Red Mountain Pass. It looks harder than it is, but the approach has one nasty stretch.
You walk old roads into Porphyry Basin, past Bullion King and Porphyry lakes, and climb a loose slope to a notch on the south ridge of Three Needles. From there you drop at least 600 feet down steep, loose talus through a cliff band to a bench in the East Basin, then cross easy benches to the low point of Bridal's east ridge and scramble west over boulders. It is Class 2+, with some short exposure.
The loop is about 10 miles with 3,300 feet of gain from the highway; 4WD can cut that down. Mileage and gain are our estimates. Many climbers add Three Needles (Class 3) before Bridal and UN 13,145 after.
Plan of the day
Start by
By 6 a.m.
Turnaround
Be at the south-ridge notch by 10 a.m.
Crux
The loose descent from the notch into the East Basin.
Route-finding
Hard. Finding the one good break in the cliff band takes care.
Drive US 550 to the top of Red Mountain Pass, about 20 to 25 minutes from Ouray, or north from Durango through Silverton. Park in the pullout on the highway's west side, a bit south of the top, at the start of Forest Road 823 (the Black Bear Pass road). Any car can reach this spot.
With high-clearance 4WD you can drive farther. About a mile up the Black Bear road, a left fork leads toward Porphyry Basin. A knoll with trees about 0.3 mile up that fork (around 11,600 feet) is a good primitive camp. Just past it the road climbs a very steep, loose stretch that only skilled drivers should try; others should park at the knoll. Forest Road 822, which leaves US 550 less than a mile south of the pass, skips that stretch and joins near 11,750 feet. Washouts higher up may stop vehicles anyway. Black Bear Pass is a hard-core 4WD road, and conditions change.
There are no campgrounds right at the pass. Besides the knoll, there are primitive sites at the south end of Ironton Park near the Corkscrew Pass road (from Ouray), or up the South Mineral Creek road (from Silverton).
RoadTundraTalus and screeScramblingExposed 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
Red Mountain Pass 11,075' · 0 mi
Walk up the Black Bear Pass road about a mile and turn left toward Porphyry Basin.
2
Road junction 11,750' · 1.5 mi
The two roads into Porphyry Basin meet at a switchback. Keep climbing the old road into the basin.
3
Bullion King Lake 12,400' · 2.6 mi
Follow the old roadbed to the lake and pass it on the northeast side, below a cliff with a waterfall.
4
Porphyry Lake 12,600' · 3 mi
Head west across tundra to Porphyry Lake, with Three Needles in full view.
5
South-ridge notch 13,300' · 3.4 mi
Left of the Three Needles summit block, climb a steep, loose rocky slope into a narrowing couloir that tops out at a notch on the south ridge.
Watch for: Very loose. Spread out and wear helmets.
6
East Basin bench 12,700' · 3.8 mi
Drop west down a shallow gully, then work south to find a way through a sloping cliff band. Below it, keep going down very steep, loose talus to a rocky bench near 12,700 feet.
Watch for: Cliff band; there may be only one safe way through.
7
East saddle 13,100' · 4.4 mi
Go south over big boulders, then tundra (maybe snow early). Cross the bench, climb one steeper step near 12,800 feet, cross a higher bench, and go up to the low point of the ridge between Bridal and Point 13,434.
8
Summit 13,514' · 4.8 mi
Turn west. The ridge has no problems except boulders to scramble over. (East of the low point the ridge has big rock towers.)
Getting down
Go down Bridal's south ridge and drop part way into the huge Mill Creek Basin. Contour east around Point 13,228, north into the basin below Point 13,375, and east again at about 12,600 to 12,800 feet around another ridge into Porphyry Basin, crossing one rock glacier. This return is all Class 2. Then follow the morning's road out.
If things go wrong
From the East Basin, the Class 2 contour route via Mill Creek Basin leads back to Porphyry Basin.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
Past the old road in Porphyry Basin the route is off-trail, over a notch and down into the East Basin. 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 Bridal Peak we list, with its class.
Bridal Peak East Saddle & Ridgethis routeClass 2+ 10.5 mi
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.