LoJ: #200 (Pre-LiDAR #206) / 13,579' Rosalie Peak
N 39° 33' 21.76", W 105° 36' 23.91"
(Not Field Checked)
"Epaulie" [Epaulet Mtn.]
Peak Summary
The easy way: Drive up the Mt. Evans Road to Summit Lake and park. Then take a leisurely stroll along the road over to "Epaulie" and then on to Rosalie over mostly easy tundra/rock terrain.
The harder & longer but more sporting way: Drive HWY 285 and turn north on the Deer Creek Road past Harris Park to the end of the road and hike over steeper but still relatively easy terrain to Rosalie. Pre-Lidar elevation was 13,575.
Rosalie Peak via Epaulet/"Epaulie" Route
-
-
Mt. Evans Road - Summit Lake TH
From either Idaho Springs (Exit 240 on I-70) or Bergen Park, (Exit #252 to Evergreen Parkway from westbound I-70, then turn west onto the Squaw Pass Road), drive to Echo Lake on HWY 103 (aka: Squaw Pass Road in Bergen Park), then take the Mt. Evans Road (entrance fee required) and drive to Summit Lake where you can park. Use this parking for Grey Wolf, Spalding, Warren and Rogers. When driven from Bergen Park, this road does a lot of winding around and receives a lot of bicycle traffic in the summer, especially on weekends. A nice bike lane has been added to the older, more narrow portion of the road that has helped to alleviate some of the dangers posed by such a multiple use road.
For hiking to Epaulet/Epaulie and Rosalie, you can drive on up from Summit Lake, continuing on the Mt. Evans road for another 1.6 miles to a set of two switchbacks. From the first switchback, continue driving another .8 mile to the coordinates below where there's enough of a pullout on the south side of the road to park. If unable to park here, continue another few tenths of a mile to another switchback and park there where the road widens. Coordinates for the first pullout are N 39° 34' 46.00 W 105° 37' 54.00" 13,205 ft. elevation. If you can park here, it will save almost 2.5 miles of walking along the road or nearly 5 miles round-trip.
Camping
Designated National Forest campground at Echo Lake. Fee required.
Campsite Locations
Echo Lake › N 39° 39' 22.85", W 105° 35' 39.54"Elevation 10,650 ft. 18 sites available
-
From "Epaulie"
Click thumbnail to view full-size photo + caption
Open This Route in a New WindowNote: "Epaulie" is an unofficial name given to a point a half mile SE of the Epaulet Mountain summit that measures 13,530 ft., which is 7 feet higher than Epaulet, making Epaulie the official high point.
If parking at Summit Lake: From the parking area at Summit Lake, walk south parallel to the road and follow it as it turns SW, then W, after a couple switchbacks. Continue west along the road until you've reached the section of road above the broad saddle north of the Epaulet summit. There's a small turnout on the south side of the road where a car may be parked and the hike can begin here instead of Summit Lake. Coordinates for this spot are: N 39° 34' 46.00" W 105°37' 54.00". Mileage and elevation gain are measured from here. Begin hiking directly south over large, granite boulder-strewn, tundra terrain to the summit of Epaulet Mountain, gaining about 340 feet in the process. From the summit, walk SE a little over one half mile toward the "Epaulie" summit by losing about 150 feet, then gain the "Epaulie" summit which is about 7 feet higher than Epaulet, over similar terrain.
If doing Epaulie by this route, it would make good sense to go ahead and continue another 1.25 mile SE to the Rosalie summit. Then return as you came. See the Rosalie route description for further details. This would be a longer, but still very friendly "family" hike.
Alternate route from the west: For a more "sporting" climb of these two peaks, consider heading out of Denver on HWY285, through Bailey and turning north at Grant on CR62. Drive about 5 miles north to the "Abyss Lake" trailhead. Walk up that trail along Scott Gomer Creek to an elevation of 12,200 ft., where the trail for Abyss Lake turns abruptly from NE to NW. Depart the trail and hike toward the imposing cliffs that ring the east side of this valley. In those cliffs, there's actually a steep couloir that allows passage up to the saddle just north of Epaulet Mountain. From there, finish off the two summits as described in our route descriptions. This would be a very long day hike. It might work best as an overnight backpack. This area around Abyss Lake, Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Evans sees few visitors, comparatively speaking.
Click thumbnail to view full-size photo + captionRoute Description
Year Climbed: 1996Rosalie is sequenced with Epaulet/Epaulie. Mileage and elevation gain are measured from the summit of "Epaulie." Round-trip mileage and elevation gain assume completion of the sequence. Measurements are calculated from the coordinates for a car park at 13,200 feet along the Mt. Evans Road. If starting from Summit Lake, add an additional 4.8 miles round-trip with another 365 feet in elevation gain.
From "Epaulie," continue walking SE along the broad ridgeline over similar terrain toward the Rosalie summit. You will lose 630 feet to a saddle, then have to regain 675 feet to the Rosalie summit. You'll also encounter some more rocky sections (nothing difficult) as well as some easy gravel.
Return by the same route. Note: The total elevation gain listed includes the return back across "Epaulie" and contouring around Epaulet.
Additional BETA
Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful. -
