Telluride Rock Climbing- Rock climbing in Telluride and the San Juan Mountains

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The San Juan Mountains are comprised of fourteen (14) counties that share portions of the mountain region.

Within the San Juans, there are half a dozen mining towns that have transitioned from traditional industries in

resource extraction, specifically mining, to recreation and tourism. The region is known for its geological,

ecological, hydrological and climatological diversity.

The San Juans have several unique attributes when compared with mountain ranges world-wide. They are

accessible, yet not close to population centers. Their geologic history, ranging from mid-Proterozoic

metamorphic rock complexes to the extensive Phanerozoic sedimentary sequences (16,000 ft. section), to the

geologically relatively recent San Juan volcanism (40-20 Ma), and finally to Pleistocene localized glacial

activites, is as varied as that of any mountain range in the world.

They exhibit a wide diversity of ecological characteristics due to their mid-latitude location, wide range of

elevations, and widely varying surficial geologic conditions (soils, slopes, rock types, etc.).This mountain range

includes habitats and sensitive species found nowhere else in the world. The region is currently the last known

location of certain arctic mosses, relics of the last ice age, and rare alpine fens. The range contains subalpine

parks, grasslands and wetlands; nine stratified ecosystems including alpine, sprucefir, mixed conifer,

ponderosa pine, oak and douglas fir; aspen forests; parks and meadowlands; mountain shrub communities;

pinon-juniper woodlands; and shrub-steppe communities.

These ecological characteristics combined with their millennial history of human involvement (ancestral

Puebloan populations, early explorations, extensive mining activties) means that they provde a wealth of

opportunity for scientific investigation of questions related to their physical, biological and human environments.

It also means there are a host of challenges to land managers and communities, related to resource use,

recreation, remediation of past resource extraction, and other ongoing activities in close proximity to hazardous

physical environments (rock slides, avalanches, forest fires). The San Juan Mountains contain six wilderness

areas and are the headwaters for the Rio Grande, San Juan, Dolores and Animas Rivers.

The San Juan Mountains and margins are characterized by seven wilderness areas

encompassing more than 800,000 acres (12 percent of the range)including Weminuche, South

San Juan, La Garita, Mount Sneffels, Uncompahgre,Powderhorn and Lizard Head, including the

most active avalanche control and snow physics study areas in the United States and is one of

the most geologically diverse mountain regions in the world

one of the worlds largest Tertiary-age volcanic eruptions (La Garita ash-flow eruption, ~

4,000 km3 circa 27 million years ago)

some of the "cleanest" air found in the United States (U.S. Forest Service, 1999),

active research in acid-mine drainage and water quality (Animas River watershed,

Rio Grande watershed, Summitville)

mineral resources that include uranium, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and molybdenum

energy resources that include, geothermal, coal, natural gas, and methane

Hesperus Peak that is one of the four Navajo peoples sacred mountains and adjacent Sleeping

Ute Mountains,a sacred range of the Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes

abundant archeological sites at Mesa Verde National Park and proximal areas to the southwest

the first major mountain range for storm tracts moving from the southwest

on-going study area for more than a dozen university and college field camps.

six ski areas, and home to people whose identities are strongly rooted in mountain history,

culture and ways of living.

Most of the San Juan Mountains are under the authority of the San Juan, Rio Grande, Grand

Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison National Forests managed by the the US Forest Service and

the Bureau of Land Management. The remaining lands are owned by private landowners, mining

interests, cities, counties and the state of Colorado. This blend of diverse stakeholder interests

lends itself to studies of land use conflict and how humans must resolve difficult issues

associated with natural resource such as water, timber and minerals.

Colorado has more mountain peaks above 14,000 ft. than any other state!

Climbers and mountaineers in the Uncompahgre National Forest (Telluride) face many challenges, and not

all of them come from the mountains. Home to no less than four fourteeners and many more peaks in the

13,000- to 14,000-foot range, the Forest offers an endless number of demanding technical climbs in often harsh

conditions. Along with loose rocks, lightning, and snow, though, the crowds that sometimes clog the paths to a

few of the summits here create an additional obstacle that frustrates climbers every year. 

Uncompahgre Peak, for instance, which at a height of 14,309 feet is the highest peak in the San Juans, is a

strenuous but doable hike in the Uncompahgre Wilderness that doesn't require an extensive knowledge of

technical climbing. As a result, the trail to the top is one of the most heavily used in the Forest, which puts the

delicate ecosystem above the timberline at considerable risk. If you're looking for the solitude that comes with

leaving the rest of the world down below, you won't usually find it here.

Neighboring Matterhorn Peak (13,590 feet) is another easy summit that sees frequent use. For more technical

but less crowded climbs in this region, experienced cragsmen go for Coxcomb (13,656 feet), whose rooster-

crest summit ridge requires ropes, or the Wetterhorn (14,015 feet), where the easiest summit approach is a

Class 3.

Perhaps the most well-known peak in the Forest, along with Uncompahgre, is majestic Mount Sneffels

(14,150 feet), crown of the Mount Sneffels Wilderness Area. Perhaps because it is visible from miles around,

ount Sneffels is one of the Uncompahgre's most popular destinations, attracting weekend crowds all intent on

scrambling up the scree to an unspeakably awe-inspiring panorama of the San Juans and the Uncompahgre

Plateau. Other summits in the same section of range include Dallas Peak (13,809 feet) and Teakettle

Mountain (13,819 feet), considered by many to be some of the most difficult climbs in Colorado.

One ascent that's daunted Grizzly Adams types for years is Lizard Head (13,113 feet), which maxes out at a

5.8 before you reach the top. Lying in the Lizard Head Wilderness at the southern edge of the Forest, the peak

can claim two fourteeners as neighbors. Both Mount Wilson (14,246) and El Diente Peak (14,159) lie outside

the official boundaries of the Uncompahgre National Forest but, like Lizard Head, are a part of the San Miguel

section of the San Juans. Rugged and high, these two bad boys are connected by a nearly mile-long ridge that

makes it possible to summit both in the same trip.

The peaks in the Forest's wilderness areas, while undoubtedly scraping the most sky, are not the only climbing

opportunities in the Uncompahgre. South along Colorado 145, several Class 5 rock-climbing venues around

Telluride have been scouted, among them Crooked Canyon, Ames Wall, and Ophir Wall. Just outside the

southeast border of the Forest, a cluster of five thirteeners offer a variety of climbing possibilities around the Ice

Lake Basin. Fuller Peak (13,761 feet), Vermillion Peak (13,894 feet), and Golden Horn (13,780 feet) are all

day-hike summits that aren't too difficult. Pilot Knob (13,738 feet) and U.S. Grant Peak (13,767 feet) are

major technical climbs for experienced summiteers only.

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