San Juan Range · Colorado 13er · No. 401 of the 13ers
Traverse from Hesperus Mountain
Lavender Peak, 13,237'
Class 3 scramble
The summit blocks are Class 3, maybe with a Class 4 move, and the traverse crosses lots of loose rock. This page is an outline, not a move-by-move guide.
DifficultyClass 3
Round trip5.0 mi
Elevation gain2,880'
TrailheadSharkstooth
Trailhead elevation10,935'
Conditions on the summit
LoadingFetching the forecast for 13,237'…
—Summit temp now
—Sustained wind
—Gusting to
—Freezing level
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Tomorrow
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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.
Colorado 13er · Traverse from Hesperus Mountain
Overview
Lavender Peak sits on the ridge east of Hesperus Mountain in the La Plata Mountains. Newer maps count it as the ranked summit of the pair, with Mount Moss now unranked. Since the route goes over Hesperus: Hesperus Mountain is a sacred mountain to the Navajo (Diné) people. If you go, please treat it with respect: stay quiet, stay on durable rock, and leave nothing behind.
You climb Hesperus by its west ridge, then traverse loose rubble on the south side of the ridge, crossing three gullies, to a scramble up big blocks to the split summit. The traverse is rough but not technical, and goes faster than it looks. The summit is Class 3.
From Hesperus it is about 0.75 mile and 400 feet one way. A loop that comes down the gully west of Lavender is about 5 miles with 2,880 feet of gain. Mount Moss is an easy add-on. Mileage and gain are our estimates.
Plan of the day
Start by
By 6:30 a.m.
Turnaround
Leave Hesperus by 11 a.m.
Crux
The block scramble to the split summit.
Route-finding
Moderate. Stay on the south side of the ridge for the traverse.
Water
The North Fork of the West Mancos low on the route. Filter it. None higher up.
From Durango, drive west on US 160 to Mancos. At the main signed junction in town, turn right, go about 0.4 mile north, and bear right onto County Road 42. It becomes Forest Road 561 at the national forest line. About 10 miles from town (paved for roughly the first 4) is the junction for Transfer Campground. Go straight 1 mile to the next junction and bear right. In 0.9 mile you pass the Aspen Guard Station turnoff; 0.5 mile beyond it, turn right onto Forest Road 350.
Follow Forest Road 350 about 7 miles east to the Twin Lakes junction and turn right onto Forest Road 346. The last 1.6 miles to the trailhead get rough and slow. Good clearance helps, but 4WD is not needed. Passenger cars can get within about a mile and walk the rest.
Transfer Campground, about halfway in, has around 12 sites, drinking water, a vault toilet and a group site you can reserve. There are primitive spots near Twin Lakes and past them, and you can car camp at the trailhead, though there's little privacy when it's busy.
Talus and screeTundraScramblingExposed 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
Sharkstooth trailhead 10,935' · 0 mi
Follow the trail southeast, losing some height, to the river (the North Fork of the West Mancos).
2
West ridge saddle 12,150' · 1.5 mi
Cross the river, find the cairns on the left soon after the trail re-enters the forest, and follow a faint path, then rubble, a little west of south to a flat part of the west ridge.
Watch for: The cairns are easy to miss.
3
Hesperus summit 13,238' · 2.2 mi
Climb east up the loose ridge, using the climbers' trail below the crest where you can, over a few short cliff bands.
4
Notch below Hesperus 13,050' · 2.35 mi
Head down southeast from the summit on loose talus. Pass the first big notch south of the top easily, then drop about 200 feet.
Watch for: Loose talus.
5
Gullies 12,900' · 2.65 mi
Swing east across the rubble on the south side of the ridge. A few cairns may show the way. Cross three gullies. Pass the first two on the south side. Cross the third a bit to the north (snow can linger there) or drop about 100 feet to the south to go around it.
Watch for: Snow patch early in the season.
6
Steep chute 13,000' · 2.8 mi
Climb a steep chute, then contour below Lavender's summit.
7
Lavender Peak 13,237' · 2.95 mi
From below the split summit, scramble up a narrowing gully of solid rock and big blocks to the west summit. Cross to the east (middle) summit, which is about the same height. A third, lower summit lies farther east.
Watch for: Class 3, maybe a Class 4 move.
Getting down
Contour west at saddle height below Lavender to the first main saddle west of it. Go down the steep gully to the north. The first 400 feet are steep and loose, then it gets easier, with a few cairns and some tundra. Work north, then northwest, then west through the trees until you meet the morning's trail near the river, and hike back up to the trailhead.
If things go wrong
From the traverse you can descend south into the basin below Hesperus, then traverse west to regain the west ridge.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
The route leaves the trail after the river crossing and is trailless above. 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 Lavender Peak we list, with its class.
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.