Northwest Ridge from Lavender Peak

Overview

Mount Moss is the rubble summit southeast of Hesperus and Lavender in the La Plata Mountains. It used to be the ranked summit of the pair; Lavender has since taken that spot, but Moss is so close you may as well climb both. 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, traverse to Lavender, then go down to the saddle and up to Moss. Each leg past Lavender takes about 20 minutes, with nothing but talus. You come back by a steep gully to the north and bushwhack down to the trail.

The loop is about 5.55 miles with 3,172 feet of gain. From Lavender it is about 0.3 mile and 292 feet one way. Plan on around 8 hours for all three.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

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.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 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. 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. 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. 4

   South-side traverse 12,900' · 2.65 mi

   Go down southeast past the notch below Hesperus, drop about 200 feet, and traverse east across rubble on the south side of the ridge, crossing three gullies, then climb a steep chute.

   Watch for: Loose rock. Snow can linger.

5. 5

   Lavender Peak 13,237' · 2.95 mi

   Scramble up a narrow gully of big blocks to the split summit.

   Watch for: Class 3, maybe a Class 4 move.

6. 6

   Lavender-Moss saddle 12,900' · 3.1 mi

   Scramble down Lavender's southeast slope on loose rock.

7. 7

   Mount Moss 13,194' · 3.25 mi

   Walk up talus and loose rock to the top. From here you can study routes on Babcock Peak across Tomahawk Basin.

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

The saddles west of Lavender lead down into the basin to the north.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up Mount Moss we list, with its class.

• Mt. Moss NW Ridge this routeClass 2 5.55 mi