West Ridge from Beartown

Overview

UN 13,351 sits on Ute Ridge above the old Beartown site, between UN 13,318 and Ute Ridge. It's a remote drive but an easy Class 1 to 2 climb, and a good family hike for older kids.

You follow an old trail to Indian Ridge and south to the saddle with UN 13,318. The west ridge goes directly but gets rocky halfway up; it's easier to swing onto the southeast side and climb mixed tundra, rock and gravel to big blocks at the top. It is easy Class 2.

The round trip is about 5 miles with 1,950 feet of gain. Adding UN 13,318 first adds about 0.8 mile and 600 feet each way across the saddle, and Ute Ridge is an easy 1.5 miles farther east. Mileage and gain are our estimates.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

This trip needs a high-clearance 4WD, and the drive from Silverton can take over two hours. From the northeast end of Silverton, take County Road 2 about 4.2 miles to Howardsville, turn right up Cunningham Gulch, and take the left fork onto the Stony Pass road. Over the pass, the road drops down the valley to a ford of Pole Creek. In under a mile, turn right (west) at a fork and ford the Rio Grande. Both fords run higher early in summer.

Follow the Beartown road about 4 slow, pothole-filled miles past the old Beartown site to where it crosses Bear Creek. There's good camping near this crossing. Less than 0.3 mile farther, a jeep track (the Bear Town Trail, Forest Road 869) branches left and drops to cross a smaller fork of Bear Creek. Park along that track. You can also come in from Creede or Lake City by way of Rio Grande Reservoir, but the road west of the reservoir has rough stretches.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 1

   Bear Town Trail 11,400' · 0 mi

   Hike the old track east toward Indian Ridge. A couple of switchbacks not shown on maps climb through forest; the first 400 feet are the steepest.

2. 2

   Indian Ridge 12,000' · 0.8 mi

   Come out onto a broad ridge of grass and tundra. Elk are common here.

3. 3

   East flank 12,400' · 1.6 mi

   The trail turns nearly south and runs along the east side of UN 13,318, well below its north ridge.

4. 4

   Saddle 12,710' · 2.1 mi

   Stay on the trail to the pass between UN 13,318 and UN 13,351. Don't cut up the gullies through the cliffs to the right; they're loose gravel and save no time.

   Watch for: Loose gullies to the right.

5. 5

   Southeast flank 13,000' · 2.3 mi

   From the saddle, either follow the west ridge through some rock or swing out onto the south side and climb a rising traverse across the southeast flank.

6. 6

   Summit 13,351' · 2.5 mi

   Head up mixed tundra and gravel to large blocks near the top.

Getting down

Return to the saddle and the trail, or continue an easy mile and a half to Ute Ridge.

If things go wrong

The saddle trail is close below.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up UN 13,351 we list, with its class.

• UN13,351 West Ridge this routeClass 2 4.1 mi