San Juan Range · Colorado 13er · No. 546 of the 13ers
Northwest Couloir from Crater Lake
West Needle Mountain, 13,060'
Long, loose couloir
The big northwest couloir is steep and full of rubble the whole way. Early in the season it holds snow and needs an ice axe and at least microspikes. This page is an outline, not a move-by-move guide.
DifficultyClass 2+
Round trip15.5 mi
Elevation gain5,080'
TrailheadAndrews Lake
Trailhead elevation10,815'
Less traffic, less margin
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.
Colorado 13er · Northwest Couloir from Crater Lake
Is it right for you?
West Needle Mountain is the high point of the West Needle Mountains, south of the Twilight Peaks, looking across the Animas River to the Ruby Creek 13ers. Few people climb it. The north summit, with the register, is treated as the high point, though a map spot on the south summit is close.
From a camp at Crater Lake you drop into upper Watertank Canyon, contour on a faint path to the stream below Twilight Peak, climb to the saddle with a tall gendarme south of South Twilight, and drop to a small lake at the head of Twilight Creek. Then you grind up the big rubble couloir on the northwest face. It is hard Class 2+, with no exposure but lots of loose rock.
The round trip from Andrews Lake is about 15.5 miles with 5,080 feet of gain; from Crater Lake it's about 5 miles and 3,830 feet. It fits well into a two-night trip with the Twilight peaks. UN 12,932, just north, is an easy Class 2 side trip from the gendarme saddle.
Plan of the day
Start by
Camp at Crater Lake; leave camp by 6:30 a.m.
Turnaround
Be at the gendarme saddle by 9:30 a.m.
Crux
The long, steep rubble couloir.
Route-finding
Moderate. Find the cairn and the contouring path in the meadow below Watertank Canyon's headwall.
Water
Crater Lake and the streams along the way. Filter it.
This week on the summit
Conditions on the summit
LoadingFetching the forecast for 13,060'…
—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.
Andrews Lake is just off US 550 between Silverton and Durango. From the north, skip Silverton itself and stay on US 550 as it switchbacks up to Molas Pass (10,899 feet, with a big pullout and vault toilets). Go 0.9 mile past the pass, heading south, to the signed Andrews Lake turnoff.
From Durango, drive north on US 550 over Coalbank Pass. The highway drops to a sharp bend near 9,800 feet and climbs again; the signed turnoff is 6.4 miles past Coalbank Pass. If you reach the top of Molas Pass, turn around and come back 0.9 mile.
A narrow paved road leads a little over 0.6 mile to the lake. The lower lot by the water is for day use only. A fork climbs to a much larger upper lot for backpackers, horse groups and other overnight users, with picnic tables and vault toilets. Any car can get here. Tents aren't allowed at the upper lot, though you can sleep in a vehicle. Little Molas Lake (Forest Service) and Molas Lake (run by Silverton, with pay showers) have campgrounds just north of the pass.
RidgeTrail in the treesTalus and screeExposed 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
Andrews Lake trailhead 10,815' · 0 mi
Walk the paved path along the west side of the lake. It turns to dirt and climbs a few switchbacks south on the Crater Lake Trail (Trail 623). This first climb, about 450 feet, is the steepest part of the hike in.
Watch for: Older maps show a different trail line around the lake.
2
Hill crest 11,300' · 2.5 mi
The trail flattens and heads southwest through meadows. Stay right where a smaller climbers' path splits off to the left toward Snowdon Peak. Then the trail dips to cross a small drainage, then climbs about 350 feet through mixed forest and meadow to a rise with big views west.
3
Crater Lake 11,620' · 5.25 mi
The trail curves south, then southeast, climbing gently. Pass through a stretch of cleared deadfall, skirt a marsh, and top one more hill to the lake. Most campsites are in open trees on the north and west shores.
Watch for: Follow Forest Service rules on how far to camp from the lake.
4
Watertank Canyon headwall 11,400' · 5.85 mi
Go around the north end of Crater Lake and take the path through willows to a small tarn (about 11,750 feet) southeast of the lake. From there head southeast down the middle of the drainage, partly on trail, through low willows. Where the canyon falls away steeply, about 400 feet down, go right above the drop through the forest into a sloping meadow of tall grass.
5
Stream below Twilight 11,600' · 6.4 mi
Low in the meadow, a path (marked by a cairn when last reported) contours southwest across the grass to the stream draining the small lake east of Twilight Peak. Stay on its west side through trees and willows to where the drainage splits.
6
Gendarme saddle 12,450' · 6.9 mi
Leave the stream and climb a dry, grassy gully on the left to the saddle south of South Twilight, marked by a tall pointed gendarme.
7
Lake below the face 11,750' · 7.2 mi
Go down the couloir on the far side, easiest on its left, to the small lake at the head of Twilight Creek.
8
West Needle Mountain 13,060' · 7.75 mi
Climb grass along the left edge of the talus cone below the big couloir to cliffs at its top, follow their base, and step into the couloir. Follow it all the way up. It is steep and rocky but never hard. It tops out between two flat summits; visit the north one, which has the register.
Watch for: Constant loose rubble; watch for rockfall from others.
Getting down
Go back down the couloir with care; there is no good scree for plunge-stepping. To regain the gendarme saddle, tundra slopes to the right of the couloir help, then keep to the couloir's right side. Retrace the morning's route to Crater Lake.
If things go wrong
The gendarme saddle and the contouring path lead back to Crater Lake.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
The route leaves the Crater Lake Trail at Crater Lake and is off trail 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 West Needle Mountain we list, with its class.