West Ridge over Dolly Varden Mountain

Overview

UN 13,094 (once listed as UN 13,093) sits east of Dolly Varden Mountain, above the upper end of Henson Creek near Engineer Pass. It's a short, steep climb that pairs well with Sunshine Mountain.

You climb grass and open trees beside a ravine, then talus to the dome of Dolly Varden, cross a saddle, and go up about 500 feet of steep broken rock. It is Class 2 with no real exposure.

The round trip is about 4 miles with 2,000 feet of gain. Sunshine Mountain is about 2 more miles east.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

From Gunnison or Montrose, take US 50 to the Highway 149 junction at the east end of Blue Mesa Reservoir and follow 149 south about 45 miles to Lake City. In town, go west on 2nd Street (3rd Street also works and passes a park with restrooms), then turn left on Bluff Street onto County Road 20, the Henson Creek road and part of the Alpine Loop.

County Road 20 is good gravel that cars can drive for 9.1 miles to Capitol City. You pass the Nellie Creek road at about 5.2 miles. At Capitol City, keep left on the Alpine Loop toward Engineer Pass. Past the old Rose Cabin site there's a vault toilet on the left, roughly 1,500 feet short of the cabin site. Drive about 1.7 more miles west and park in a pullout on the right (north) at about 11,410 feet. It's just short of a log cabin on a bluff with a footbridge over the creek; if you reach that cabin, you've overshot a little. A high-clearance vehicle is fine from Lake City.

From Silverton, the other way in is County Road 2 (the Alpine Loop) up the Animas River: about 4.2 miles to Howardsville, 4.3 more to the old Eureka site, then a steeper, narrower shelf road. Follow the signs to Engineer Pass. This side needs 4WD, and conditions change from year to year. Drop east from the pass, past the first trees and a couple of bends, to the log cabin; the pullout is just past it. There are no Forest Service campgrounds on this road, but there are plenty of primitive spots along it. Capitol City has some, mixed in with private cabins, so be careful where you set up. A side road (County Road 20X) near the creek just past Rose Cabin has more sites, but watch for private mining claims. The only toilet is the vault toilet near Rose Cabin. Weekends get busy.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 1

   Henson Creek West pullout 11,410' · 0 mi

   Walk back down the road to the east side of Henson Creek. Go a short way north, then turn east and cross below a deep ravine.

2. 2

   Ravine 11,700' · 0.4 mi

   Climb grass and open trees along the east side of the ravine onto a broad ridge.

3. 3

   Treeline 12,200' · 1 mi

   Cross a short flat stretch of tundra, then work up through about 400 feet of talus, keeping out of the worst of the rubble on the south and southwest sides.

4. 4

   Dolly Varden Mountain 12,750' · 1.5 mi

   Above 12,600 feet the slope eases onto a big dome of tundra and chip rock. The high point of this high 12er is near the ridge to UN 13,094.

5. 5

   Saddle 12,600' · 1.75 mi

   Go east down to the saddle.

6. 6

   UN 13,094 13,094' · 2 mi

   Climb about 500 feet of big, steep, broken rock. It looks worse than it is. The summit is small.

   Watch for: Steep broken rock.

Getting down

Go back over Dolly Varden the way you came. An old roadbed near the saddle on the far side of UN 13,094 can also be used to get back down to the road.

If things go wrong

Back over Dolly Varden to the road.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up UN 13,094 we list, with its class.

• UN 13,094 Via Dolly Varden Mtn. this routeClass 2 4 mi