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.:Getting to the trailhead:. There are many trails that take you to the summit of Mt. Elbert, which is one of the draws of climbing the peak. To get to the Mount Elbert trailhead from Denver, take I-70 west to the Copper Mountain exit (exit 191), then CO 91 over Freemont Pass into Leadville. As you enter Leadville, CO 91 becomes US 24 / Harrison Ave. Measuring from Third St, head out of town on US 24 for about 3.5 miles to CO 300 (also the turnoff to the Fish Hatchery). Turn right (west) on CO 300 and after 0.7 miles, turn left (south) onto Lake County 11. After another 1.1 miles, turn right (west) at the signs for Halfmoon Creek. From here, continue on the well-maintained dirt road for approximately another 5 miles to the well-signed Mount Elbert trailhead, on the left side of the road. If you pass the Mount Massive trailhead, on the right side of the road, you just missed it! .:The trail:. The Northest Ridge route is an excellent trail-hiking experience. It is well marked and easy for just about anyone to navigate. From the trailhead, strike out on the trail at the SW corner of the parking lot. At 0.3 miles, the trail merges with a section of the Colorado trail. The next mile is a moderate climb and gradual descent to a marked fork at 10,560. Bear right for Mount Elbert. For another mile, the trail climbs moderately to treeline, and then switchbacks up to the crest of the ridge. The prominent point dominating the view west is not the summit of Elbert, so don't let it fool you. The trail goes around this false summit to the right and finishes at the summit after a mild ridge-hike. .:Trip Report:. I headed out of Denver at an obscenely early hour to get to the Mount Elbert trailhead by daybreak. After a quick pit-stop in Leadville (outdoor toilets when it's 15 degrees outside? Not if I don't have to!), I headed out to the trailhead just as the sun rose over the Sawatch, bathing Massive and Elbert in a warm, reddish glow that lit up the recent snowfall above treeline. Didn't have any problem getting to the trailhead -- Lake County 11 is a well-kept dirt road, and there was only a dusting of fresh snow at this elevation, not enough to even need four-wheel-drive to deal with. The trailhead was completely empty of vehicles, which was kind of suprising. Even though we were out of the summer climbing season I still figured there'd be a few cold-weather fans out to climb today, but apparently not. The temperature read 11 degrees at 7:00 am. Brrrr! Donning several layers and my expedition pack, I set out on the trail at a brisk pace, hiking quick enough to warm up, but making sure I didn't work up too much of a sweat in the chill morning. I wasn't sure how long the ~4.5 mile trek to the summit would take, but I set a turnaround time of 11:00, as I had some prior obligations in Denver that afternoon to attend to. Whether I hit the summit or not, it promised to be a great fall day in the mountains! The trail crosses a small creek and then joins up with the Colorado trail for about a mile before forking right towards Elbert's NE ridge. Hiking this route is quite enjoyable -- the wide, easy-to-follow trail rolls across the NE ridge and then steadily climbs to treeline, giving you a fantastic view of Elberts false north summit. From treeline, the dusting of snow on the ground gradually became several inches of the white stuff, turning slightly slushy as the morning sun warmed things up. Even though it was untracked, the trail above treeline was still completely obvious, the wide trail resolving as an unbroken streak of white snaking up to the crest of the ridge. Up near the false summit, just under 14,000' the trail became a little more difficult to navigate thanks to a layer of ice underneath the new snow. I was forced off the trail for a short time and onto the exposed rocks to get around some of the icier patches. Once on the west side of the false summit, the views opened up to the Elk range off on the western horizon,the twin points of the Maroon Bells obvious among the jumble of ragged peaks. The summit of Elbert lay less than a quarter mile and ~250 feet from this point, but it was also a few minutes past 11:00 -- my turnaround time. Looking wistfully southwards to the summit, I reluctantly turned around and began trekking back down to the trailhead, conscious of the dinner with friends awaiting me back in Denver. Having summited Elbert a couple times already, I wasn't too disappointed to miss the summit this time, even though it was by such a narrow margin. Still, I figured I'd keep this route in mind and finish it sometime soon. |
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