Northeast Slope from Hancock

Overview

Hancock Peak is a Class 2 summit south of St. Elmo, above Hancock Lake. The marked elevation on the USGS map is 13,102 feet, but a nearby point is higher, so 13,111 is used. Like much of the southern Sawatch, it has plenty of rubble.

You walk the rough Hancock Lake road, cut southwest through the last trees to a bench, and climb a steady northeast slope of grass and rock to a rubbly summit ridge. It is Class 2 and fine for older kids.

The round trip is about 4.4 miles with 2,070 feet of gain. Monumental Peak is about 2.2 miles south along the ridge, over Van Wirt Mountain.

Plan of the day

Getting to the trailhead

Starting where US 285 and US 24 meet near Johnson Village, go about 5.6 miles south, then turn west on Chaffee County Road 162. From the US 285/US 50 junction at Poncha Springs, it's 15.4 miles north, then left. Follow 162 west about 16.4 miles toward St. Elmo. Just before the St. Elmo turnoff there's a big pullout with a toilet on the south side.

Where the road into St. Elmo branches right, stay left. The road becomes County Road 295, the Hancock Road. After 5.8 more miles you reach the old Hancock townsite, where there's a little parking at a bend to the west. It's 2WD gravel but has many potholes and one rough detour; careful drivers in cars make it, but an SUV is safer. The 4WD road to Hancock Lake is a rubble-filled streambed, fit only for short, high-clearance 4WDs or ATVs.

Fee campgrounds line County Road 162 (Bootleg, Mount Princeton, Chalk Lake and Cascade), plus Iron City on the road into St. Elmo; they fill on summer weekends. Near Hancock, you can camp at a pullout west of the road just before the parking area. 4WD rigs can reach open camping a short way up the Alpine Tunnel road.

Next: the route, step by step →

The route

1. 1

   Hancock trailhead 11,060' · 0 mi

   Walk south up the rough road toward Hancock Lake.

2. 2

   Leave the road 11,600' · 1 mi

   About half a mile before the lake, near 11,600 feet, head southwest through the last trees toward Hancock's northeast slopes.

3. 3

   Bench 11,900' · 1.3 mi

   Aim for a flat bench just past the trees, then start climbing.

4. 4

   Summit ridge 13,000' · 2 mi

   Climb the northeast slope on a mix of grass, tundra and rock. It's steady but not very steep. Expect about 1.5 hours.

5. 5

   Hancock Peak 13,111' · 2.2 mi

   The ridge is almost all rubble. Two bumps can each look like the top; the true one has a big cairn.

   Watch for: Wet rubble is slick.

Getting down

Return the same way, or keep going south to Monumental Peak.

If things go wrong

Head back down the northeast slope to the road.

3D flyover

See the trail on video

Other routes

Every way up Hancock Peak we list, with its class.

• Hancock Peak NE Slope this routeClass 2 4.4 mi