Mount Sneffels

Mount Sneffels, San Juan Range 14,150'
Southwest Ridge (descent South Slopes) II, Class 3
From Yankee Boy Basin Trailhead: 7 miles/3450'
July 2, 2000 topo map - 1:25000

I climbed the southwest ridge of Mount Sneffels on 7/2/00. I had a 4 day weekend for the holiday, and decided to go to the San Juans. After climbing Grays and Torreys last weekend, I was looking forward to some more difficult climbing, and decided to leave my dog Jake at home and seek out some 3rd class routes. I decided on the southwest ridge of Mount Sneffels and if I felt like more, I would climb the standard west ridge route on Wilson Peak. Since I don't have a 4X4, I thought I would rent a Jeep for at least part of this trip. I had never been to the western San Juans, and didn't know that almost every motel, gas station and gift shop in Ouray has Jeep rentals. I searched on the internet and reserved a Jeep for one day from a rental outfit in Silverton. The plan was to drive to Silverton on Saturday, pick up the Jeep, drive into Yankee Basin, camp, then climb Sneffels Sunday morning. Then I would do some 4-wheeling as time permitted, return the Jeep, and drive to the Silver Pick Basin trailhead near Telluride for Wilson Peak. I would either car camp or backpack in a couple miles for an attempt at Wilson Peak Monday morning, then drive back toward home, maybe camping one more time to break up the trip.

I took 285 to Poncha Springs, 50 to Montrose, and 550 to Ouray. It's always nice to see some new territory; I had driven through Gunnison once before from north to south, now I was going east to west. The views of Sneffels from Montrose and south to Ridgway were stupendous, but I didn't stop for photos since I planned to drive back up the next day. In Ouray I checked out Box Canyon Falls and took pictures for my Mom's waterfall page. I knew there was at least one more waterfall in town, Cascade Falls, but I forgot my Colorado waterfall book and didn't know how to find it. Driving a couple miles south of Ouray, I came across a waterfall just off the highway across from the Engineer Pass road. I didn't see a sign, but figured it might be Cascade Falls, so I stopped for pictures. It turns out this was Uncompahgre River Falls, and Cascade Falls is east of Ouray. Oh well.

I drove down the spectacular Million Dollar Highway to Silverton, and picked up my Jeep. When I told the guys of my plans to camp in Yankee Boy Basin and climb Sneffels, they warned me that the marmots were thick up there, and they can cause a lot of damage to vehicles. They advised me to get some cheap beer and pour some in a circle around the Jeep before I left it. I thought this was amusing, and picked up some Busch at the liquor store across the street. Maybe the Jeep guys get a kickback... The theory is that if a marmot happens along it'll be more attracted to the beer-soaked dirt than the vulnerable parts of the vehicle. I'm finishing off the last of the marmot bait now, and the mountain on the can does bear a resemblance to the north face of Sneffels, although Sneffels is much more impressive.

I love Jeeps! My ex-girlfriend Wendy in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan had an '85 CJ-7 with a hardtop. When most of the snow had melted in May, the top would come off for the summer, and the top would go back on in late September, just before the snow started falling again. Driving the Jeep up Yankee Boy Basin reminded me how much fun they are, and I am looking forward to getting one before next summer. The road up YBB goes under an overhang, and well above treeline, I think to about 12,400'.

Fotos ©2000 by John C. Maki

I drove up quite a ways to look around, then focused on finding a campsite. There were a group of tents clustered along a side road, and I found a spot to park and waded across a stream to set up camp. I was tired and got into my bag just as the first stars were appearing, and woke up around midnight to a sky full of stars.

I had my watch alarm set to 04:30, but I didn't hear it and woke up at about 05:00, and heard someone driving up the road. I quickly made some oatmeal and packed up camp, and stashed my backpack with gear in the crotch of a tree, since my Jeep only had a bikini top and I was paranoid of someone stealing (or marmots eating) my gear. I drove up to where a trail heads off to Wright's Lake and Blue Lakes Pass, which was my goal. I poured a ring of beer around the Jeep, wondering if the rental guys were just messing with me (has anyone heard of this??) and started up the trail at 06:00. I reached Wright's Lake and continued up the trail, which joined the jeep road until its end. There was nobody to be seen on the trail, though I knew there was at least one person somewhere on the mountain.

I reached the summit of Blue Lakes Pass just after 7:00, put away my trek poles and took out fleece gloves to protect my hands from the coarse rock. The ridge indeed looked impossible from here:

Fotos ©2000 by John C. Maki

I was trying to determine my route while hiking up the pass, and thought the "south-facing gully" Roach mentions must be the big one full of snow. The route bypassed the nasty-looking pinnacles to the west side and headed up toward a notch, through which you pass to the east side to enter the gully. I had no trouble finding the route, but it is not obvious in many places. I was thankful for the small cairns along the way, the footprints in the dirt, and the advice of Brian Rachford, who pointed out that after the notch you need to make your way down and around a little to reach the gully. When I say I had no trouble finding the route, I mean that I didn't have to backtrack - I didn't always know I was going the right way until my route went through, and I saw another cairn or footprint. I would say some of the climbing was class 4, but I think you could find class 3 if you looked harder. The worst part of the climb was heading up to the notch, where I had to negotiate some loose rock on steep dirt. I was having a lot of fun on this route, and took my time, testing all my handholds and footholds. The weather was perfect, no clouds or wind. Somewhere on the ridge I peeked over to the east side and saw the first climber on Lavender Col.

Once through the notch, I skirted around on some ledges and entered the gully, which was filled with snow. Since it was early and the sun hadn't hit the snow, it was a little hard to kick steps in and I hugged the rock along the west edge of the snow, using my ice axe mostly for balance. Near the top of the couloir I crossed over to the other side, and left the snowy area. I could see the ridge straight above me, and climbed up a little to the east to reach the upper ridge crest. Here I stopped to rest and grab some food, and enjoyed the views on both sides. Dallas Peak to the southwest looked particularly mean.

Foto ©2000 by John C. Maki

The rest of the climb was a lot of fun, some talus hiking at first, then 3rd class right on the ridge crest. The rock was nice and solid here, and though the ridge was only a couple feet wide with steep drops to the west, I stayed on it most of the way. I did a few 4th class moves, but easier terrain was nearby if I wanted it. The upper ridge was by far the best part of the climb.

I reached the summit at 8:40 - still no clouds, no wind, no people, and 73 degrees. If I was ever going to hang out a long time on a summit this would have been it, but then I thought of the crowds that would surely be climbing up soon, this being the 4th of July weekend. I decided to head down at about 9:00, and started descending the standard route. I entered the large couloir through a V-shaped notch, and made my way down the snow. The snow was still frozen, but there were good steps and I stuck my axe in existing holes for balance. When I cleared the snow, I saw a few groups heading up the talus from Lavender, or Scree, Col. The talus I was walking down was loose and I moved over to the west side so I wouldn't be above the other climbers. Soon I saw there were climbers all over the lower couloir and I sat on a rock and waited for them to get above me, talking to a few as they passed by. I reached the Col and looked down in the basin upon the crowds heading up the trail like ants. Scree Col was not very pleasant, and I crossed from one side to another to avoid the climbers and find some good talus to hike on. I saw that one guy was carrying a large revolver in a holster, at least a .357, which was a first for me on a 14er hike. I'm an avid shooter myself and have no problem with responsible people carrying guns in the wilderness, but I had to wonder why he would want to haul a 2 lb gun up a mountain. Protection against rabid marmots? Mean dogs? Whatever... Maybe he had a rental Jeep like mine with no top, and wasn't able to lock it up. In that case carrying it would be the responsible thing to do. I finally reached the bottom, and reached the Jeep at about 10:30, I think. The marmots had left it alone, thanks to the sacrifice to the beer gods I had made earlier.

I drove down to the campsite and grabbed my pack, and it was nice to wade the cold stream again. My Makalus are getting broken in nicely, I only had one small blister on my little toe. Polypropylene sock liners helped out a great deal. At some point along the hike, I decided I would skip Wilson Peak. I must have slept funny and I wrenched my upper back while backing the Jeep earlier that morning, and although it didn't bother me much during the climb I didn't want to push it. I was also not sure how far my car could make it on the road to Silver Pick Basin, and I didn't feel like a big hike. Sneffels felt like a nice accomplishment for this trip, especially climbing the ridge instead of the standard route.

On the way back to Silverton, I drove up Ophir Pass to get my money's worth from the Jeep rental.

Foto ©2000 by John C. Maki

I returned the Jeep after driving 120 miles, which is the limit I had before having to pay extra. Perfect! The day before I was halfway from Silverton to Ouray before I realized I forgot some important gear in my car, and had to turn back which added to my mileage... I decided to head back through Durango, since I'd never been there. I wasn't nearly as impressed with the scenery in Durango as I was in Ouray and Silverton. I wasn't all that tired and instead of hunting around for a place to camp, I drove straight home, making it in just under 6 hours from Durango to Aurora. I'm looking forward to a return trip to the San Juans!

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