MOUNT SNEFFELS – Colorado (July 28, 2023) – 14,155′

Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/9539113958

Brittany and I hit the road early to get to the Yankee Boy Basin 2WD trailhead early. After an iced-coffee powered drive on the winding Million Dollar Highway the drive got even more interesting as it left the pavement and wound up a rocky road and under an overhanging rock ledge. There were some serious dropoffs to our left, but we took it slow and made it to a fork in the roads where we parked. The road above that was only accessible to 4WD drive vehicles, so we had to add a couple miles to our round trip hike up Mount Sneffels, the 27th highest peak in Colorado at 14,155′ above sea level.

We wore our headlamps for the first bit, as it was still dark. In July, it’s wise to get a very early start since afternoon thunderstorms are commonplace in the mountains during the summer season. Fortunately, we had clear skies and a favorable forecast. Even the wind was very mild, making for a comfortable climb.

We could see the silhouettes of surrounding mountains, under the night stars. But within a mile the sky began to grow lighter and we put our headlamps away. There was a well-placed outhouse (with a unique pedal and conveyer-belt flush system) on the way up. The first few miles followed the 4WD road. The views of the mountains, waterfalls, and wildflowers on the hike up kept us entertained as we moved slow-and-steady up through the thinning air.

It was pretty quiet on the way up. One speedy hiker passed us, but at that point there were no vehicles or ORVs driving up the road. It was pretty peaceful! We sipped our water, snacked, and took lots of pictures on the way up. There was no rush, and climbing in the San Juans is breathtaking, in all senses of the word.

We crossed through some snow (although we could’ve gone around it) and saw a couple of alpine lakes on the way up to the top trailhead. From there, the route turned into a single track hiking trail over lots of loose rock. The jagged southwest ridge (photo below) looked pretty intimidating. It’s one of the possible routes to the summit (or down from it), but we opted to follow the standard South Slopes route up (and back down) the steep chute of loose sand, gravel, and rock.

The climb was exhausting. Our feet shifted under every step, so it cost more energy than it felt like it should have to make progress up the slope. We carefully picked our way up, but took breaks to admire the scenery behind us, which was lighting up vibrantly with the rising sun.

Finally, we reached the Lavendor Col, the saddle between Mount Sneffels and the neighboring peak. The views looking north and east, towards Teakettle Mountain, were worth the effort!

The next section was a gully of larger rock, which was more stable than the previous slope but which still had snow in parts of it (photos above and below). Brittany started up the gully with me, but decided she wasn’t comfortable continuing. She agreed to wait for me while I finished the ascent. I left my trekking poles behind for this part and cut left of the gully to scramble up the mountain pretty quickly. It was a fun scramble to the summit of Mount Sneffels.

I reached the summit and enjoyed the scenery for about five minutes before heading back down. Mount Sneffels was my 12th unique Colorado fourteener summit. The next three photos below were taken from the summit. There were three or four other hikers up there to assist with taking the picture of me.

What goes up must come down. The descent back down the South Slope route was arguably worse than the ascent. Even with trekking poles it was tough to keep our footing.

The alpine lakes were shining turquoise in the morning light. We hiked down to get a closer look of one of the lakes. By this time, there were some jeeps and ORVs parked at the upper Yankee Boy Basin trailhead. Many more ORVs were making their way up. It was like a parade, and actually kind of annoying as a hiker. But the wildflowers and mountain views continued to impress.

We continued down the gravel road to where we had parked. The clouds were starting to get darker. We noticed an overturned ORV in the ditch, highlighting the risk of driving on shelf roads in these mountains!

We drove into Ouray for burgers and fries and Maggies Kitchen. That was a good call. As we ate, a rain shower passed over the quaint mountain town. Mount Sneffels was a great adventure, and ranks as one of my favorite 14ers so far!

Click here to read the recap of the rest of my 2023 trip to Colorado.