East Ridge from US 550

Overview

Sultan Mountain rises just southwest of Silverton. From the top you look down on town, across to Kendall Mountain, west to Bear Mountain and out to the Ice Lake Basin peaks.

You follow a jeep track north from US 550, climb an avalanche path to a bench, then go steeply up the forest edge beside Deadwood Gulch to a game trail and the east ridge. Expect thick deadfall and a little scree scrambling low down. The ridge is tundra and rock. It is Class 2, with some route finding in the trees.

The round trip is about 6.6 miles with 2,880 feet of gain. Grand Turk is a half-hour walk south along the ridge.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

From the junction of US 550 and the road into Silverton, drive south on US 550 toward Molas Pass, past the gas station. The highway first runs northwest to a switchback, then mostly south. About 4.5 miles from the junction, just after the cliffs on the right end and the land opens up, turn right (west) onto an unmarked dirt road. Skip a different 4WD track that turns off just before it. If you reach the Molas Lake turnoff, you've gone 1.3 miles too far. From Durango, cross Coal Bank and Molas passes and look for the road on the left 1.3 miles past the Molas Lake turnoff.

Any car can make it. The dirt road has a few primitive camp spots and goes on north as a jeep track. Older approaches that crossed the highway farther north are now posted as private property; watch for signs and respect them.

Little Molas Lake has a Forest Service fee campground (vault toilets, no water), and the town of Silverton runs a large campground with showers at Molas Lake. There are also primitive spots near Molas Lake and on South Mineral Creek.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 1

   Trailhead 10,470' · 0 mi

   Walk north on the jeep track along the edge of the trees, with a power line to your left. The track passes under the line where it jogs east.

2. 2

   Avalanche path 10,600' · 0.8 mi

   Soon a wide avalanche path comes in from the left. Turn west and climb about 325 feet up the open slope to a bench.

3. 3

   Deadwood Gulch 11,000' · 1.3 mi

   Walk north along the open bench, then into the trees to a spot overlooking Deadwood Gulch. Don't cross it and don't hike up the gulch itself. Turn west and climb steeply along the forest edge above it.

   Watch for: Heavy deadfall and a short scree scramble.

4. 4

   Game trail 11,550' · 1.9 mi

   Just below 11,600 feet, where the gulch flattens a little, find a clear game trail heading north.

5. 5

   East ridge 12,300' · 2.4 mi

   Follow it, then climb steeply to Sultan's east ridge.

6. 6

   Sultan Mountain 13,375' · 3.3 mi

   Walk up the ridge on tundra that gets rockier near the top.

Getting down

Return the same way, or continue to Grand Turk and descend its southeast ridge (see that page).

If things go wrong

Retrace the game trail and the forest edge.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up Sultan Mountain we list, with its class.

• Sultan Mountain East Ridge this routeClass 2 6.6 mi