Best Summit Hikes Denver to Vail: Hikes and Scrambles Along the I-70 Corridor
192
Best Summit Hikes Denver to Vail: Hikes and Scrambles Along the I-70 Corridor
192eBook
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Overview
Other Colorado guidebooks focus on specific ranges or peaks grouped by elevation, but Best Summit Hikes Denver to Vail focuses on the most heavily traveled part of Colorado and is as useful for tourists as it is for locals. The wealth of great adventures close to home is a bit of a secret, even for veteran outdoors explorers.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780899978123 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wilderness Press |
| Publication date: | 07/05/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 192 |
| File size: | 28 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
James lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his two Border Collies, Mystic and Fremont, and his home-office cat, Xanadu--all rescues.
Read an Excerpt
South Slopes of Mount Bancroft (13,250') to Parry Peak (13,391')
- Round-Trip Distance: 5.3 miles
- Class: 2
- Difficulty: 4/10
- Hiking Time: 5–6 hours
- Total Elevation Gain: 2,760'
- Terrain: Hike a brief four-wheel-drive road to open, rolling terrain with excellent footing and modest grades. There are no official trails after the four-wheel-drive road ends, but navigation is straightforward.
- Best Time to Climb: June–September
Overview For those who love pure hiking, it’s tough to beat this route for sheer scenery, welcoming terrain, and the chance to grab two lesser-visited thirteeners. It’s also an excellent dog adventure. It’s not a huge stretch to tack on Mount Eva (0.8 mile from Parry Peak) as an out-and-back. Hikers are somewhat rare here—most of the visitors to this area are four-wheel-drive enthusiasts who come to enjoy the fishing and knock back a few cold ones.
Mile/Route
0.0 From the parking area, head south (away from Loch Lomond) and hike along the steep four-wheel-drive road. This initial push is a good warm-up and won’t last long.
0.3 The four-wheel-drive road will switchback west and head up toward Bancroft’s broad south slopes. Stay on it for now.
0.6 It’s possible to gain the ridge here if you stick to the four-wheel-drive road up to a saddle, though the rocky part of the lower ridge is somewhat annoying to walk. Leave the four-wheel-drive road before ascending to the saddle, opting for the better route in the basin. There are faint trails in the basin, along with a trail north to Lake Caroline (a side trip of about 0.2 mile each way from the basin). Navigation will be easy despite no formal trail, as the south slopes will be on your left.
1.2 After walking northwest in the open basin, you’ll approach the easiest slope to gain the south ridge at around 12,120 feet. It’s about 400 vertical feet to get on the “ridge” (more of a rounded slope) that leads to Bancroft’s summit.
1.4 Gain the ridge and carry on northwest to the top.
1.9 The summit! Depending on how much wandering you did in the basin, you will top out on Bancroft between 1.8 and 2.0 miles. Turn around now for a quick half-day outing (sometimes that’s all we have time for). To continue to Parry, it’s 0.8 mile along an easy ridge connecting the two.
2.7 After dipping down to 12,980 feet in the Bancroft–Parry saddle, a spirited push brings you to Parry’s summit. All told at this point, 2,400 feet of elevation gain has occurred. You’ll tack on another 300 on the return up and over Bancroft. Or continue to Eva, 0.8 mile from Parry. Going to Eva as an out-and-back is 7.1 miles with a burly 3,500+ feet of total elevation gain.
5.3 Return the way you came, over Bancroft. It can save a little time if you stay on the south slope ridgeline on the descent, connecting with the four-wheel-drive road in the low saddle at 11,900 feet. Finish mileage may vary depending on the off-trail path you choose, but expect between 5.3 and 5.5 miles round-trip.
Table of Contents
Trailhead Locator MapList of Trailheads
Acknowledgements
Introduction
- Loch Lomond Trailhead
- South Slopes of Mount Bancroft to Parry Peak
- James Peak–Mount Bancroft Loop
- Northeast Ridge Slopes of Mount Eva to Witter Peak
- Parrys Rib to Parry Peak–Mount Bancroft–Mount Eva Loop
- The Witter Slam: Witter, Eva, Parry, Bancroft, and James Peak Point-to-Point Ending at Loch Lomond
- Fall River Reservoir–Berthoud Pass Point-to-Point
- Alpine Peak to Sugarloaf Peak Loop
- Republican Mountain and Sherman Mountain
- Bard Peak via Bard Creek Trail
- Engelmann Peak Southeast Ridge via Bard Creek Trailhead
- Republican Mountain to Herman Gulch Traverse
- Silver Plume Mountain via the 7:30 Mine Trail
- Mount Edwards to McClellan Mountain Loop
- Argentine Peak to Mount Wilcox Loop
- Edwards–Grays–Torreys Point-to-Point from Loveland Pass
- Argentine Pass to Guenella Pass
- McClellan–Wilcox Grand Slam
- Grays Peak and Torreys Peak
- Kelso Ridge
- Kelso Mountain via “Torreys Ridge”
- Grays–Edwards–McClellan Mountain
- The Stevens Slam: Kelso to Edwards
- Baker Mountain via Grizzly Gulch
- Mount Parnassus and Bard Peak
- Pettingell Peak–East Ridge
- Woods Mountain–UN 12,805 Double Gulch Tour
- UN 12,671, UN 12,438, and Mount Bethel
- Mount Bethel and Plane Wreck Detour
- Tour of the Unnamed Peaks
- Mount Trelease–“Golden Bear Peak” Traverse
- The Citadel–Hagar Mountain Traverse
- Mount Sniktau to Grizzly Peak
- Continental Divide Point-to-Point Tour–Highest Point
- Loveland Pass–Stevens Gulch Point-to-Point
- “Cupid” Peak to Baker Mountain Point-to-Point
- Lenawee Peak (from Arapahoe Basin)
- Coon Hill Direct
- Variation: East Ridge
- “Golden Bear Peak”
- Hagar Mountain via “Golden Bear Peak”
- Ptarmigan Peak Loop
- Ptarmigan Peak via Laskey Gulch
- Tenderfoot Mountain
- Buffalo Mountain via Ryan Gulch
- Red Peak via Meadow Creek
- Deming Mountain and Eccles Peak via Meadow Creek
- Meadow Creek to Ryan Gulch Buffalo-Style Traverse
- Chief Mountain
- Extra Credit: North Tenmile Creek Trailhead
- Peak 1 to Peak 6 Point-to-Point
- Miners Creek Peak 4, Peak 5, and Peak 6 Direct
- Peak 6 and Peak 6.5 Tour
- Atlantic–Pacific–Crystal Traverse
- Pacific Peak–West Ridge
- Drift Peak
- Crystal Peak Direct
- Jacque Peak via Spaulding Gulch
- Uneva Peak Direct
- Shrine Mountain and Wingle Ridge
- Deluge Lake Summits Tour
- Gore Lake to Snow Peak
- Mount Solitude and Climbers Point Tour
- Vista Peak Options
Fall River Reservoir Trailhead
West Chicago Creek Trailhead
Empire–Republican Mountain Trailhead and Bard Creek Trailhead
Silver Plume–7:30 Mine Trailhead
Waldorf Mine Trailhead
Stevens Gulch Trailhead
Herman Gulch Trailhead
Dry Gulch Trailhead
Loveland Pass Trailhead
Loveland Tunnel West Trailhead
Ptarmigan Peak Trailhead and Laskey Gulch Trailhead
Tenderfoot Mountain Trailhead
Meadow Creek Trailhead and Ryan Gulch Trailhead
Peak 1 Trailhead and Miners Creek Trailhead
Far East Trailhead
Mayflower Gulch Trailhead
Copper Mountain/Spaulding Gulch Trailhead
Vail Pass Trailhead and Gore Range Copper Trailhead
Deluge Lake Trailhead
Pitkin Creek Trailhead
Afterword
Appendix 1: Peaks by Elevation
Appendix 2: Contact Information
Appendix 3: Additional Resources
Appendix 4: Online Resources
Index