Sawatch Range · Colorado 13er · No. 231 of the 13ers
North Face and East Ridge
Pear Peak, 13,459'
Technical climb: Class 3 to Class 4 with exposure
Pear Peak's north face route has exposed Class 4 moves to reach the east ridge, and the ridge itself is narrow and exposed in places. The easier line is a loose Class 3 couloir. This page is an outline, not a move-by-move guide.
DifficultyClass 4
Round trip7.5 mi
Elevation gain2,800'
TrailheadClohesy Lake
Trailhead elevation10,880'
Conditions on the summit
LoadingFetching the forecast for 13,459'…
—Summit temp now
—Sustained wind
—Gusting to
—Freezing level
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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 · North Face and East Ridge
Overview
Pear Peak is a rocky Sawatch summit at the head of the Lake Fork valley, with a rugged north face you'll stare at all the way up the trail.
The line we describe climbs snow or rubble below the north face, follows a narrow bench to the east ridge with some exposed Class 4, then takes the slow, narrow east ridge to the top. The easier way is to reverse the descent: a loose Class 3 couloir near Point 12,818.
The round trip from the Clohesy Lake trailhead is about 7.5 miles with 2,800 feet of gain. Magdalene Mountain can be added by way of Pear Lake.
Plan of the day
Start by
By 6:30 a.m.
Turnaround
Be on the east ridge by 11 a.m.
Crux
Exposed Class 4 reaching the east ridge.
Route-finding
Moderate to hard. Decide at the rock bench whether to take the north face or the Class 3 couloir.
Take County Road 390 west from US 24 (about 2 miles south of Granite). About 9.8 miles in, 2.3 miles past the Missouri Gulch trailhead, turn left at the Rockdale turnoff and drive down past a few cabins. Cars park near 9,940 feet.
With a high-clearance 4WD you can ford Clear Creek; there is no bridge, and the ford can be risky or impossible until mid-July. The climb out of the creek is the roughest part. It's then a slow 2.5 miles to the Clohesy Lake trailhead at 10,880 feet, a meadow with room to camp, about 0.4 mile north of the lake. Without 4WD, add about 3 miles each way and the cold wade.
Trail in the treesTundraTalus and screeRidgeExposed 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
Clohesy Lake trailhead 10,880' · 0 mi
Take the signed trail to the left (east) that skirts the lake and private land.
2
Missouri trail junction 11,080' · 0.7 mi
The trail climbs about 200 to 400 feet above the lake to the Missouri Mountain turnoff; keep straight and drop back to creek level.
3
Tundra basin 12,000' · 3 mi
Continue south on the often wet trail for a little over 2 miles to a tundra basin.
4
Rock bench 12,300' · 3.2 mi
Leave the trail and walk to a rocky bench under the east (left) part of the north face.
5
Upper face 12,700' · 3.4 mi
Climb south-southeast about 400 feet on snow or rubble, looking for a narrow bench rising left toward the east ridge.
6
East ridge 13,150' · 3.6 mi
Follow the bench, or clamber over rock ribs, to the ridge.
Watch for: Exposed Class 4.
7
Summit 13,462' · 3.75 mi
Follow the narrow ridge west, slow and exposed in spots.
Watch for: Class 2+.
Getting down
Head down the east ridge. Near Point 12,818 there are two notches; the second needs a steep downclimb. You can instead drop right into a steep couloir, leave it about 200 feet down, contour around the base of Point 12,818, cross the ridge and take a broader gully down to the basin and the trail.
If things go wrong
The rock bench is the place to reconsider.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
Past the Lake Fork trail the route is trailless. 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 Pear Peak we list, with its class.
Pear Pk North Face/E Ridgethis routeClass 4 13.5 mi
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.