LoJ: Not Ranked / 13,473' Miranda Peak

Quadrangle › El Valle Creek
Summit Location › Peak Route Icon N 37° 09' 06.65", W 105° 09' 57.97" (Not Field Checked)

Peak Summary

Though now an unranked/previously soft-rank summit, Miranda Peak is likely to be crossed if accessing the ranked summits in this area such as UN13,569, Lomo Liso or UN13,229. At Class 2+ from its north ridge, it certainly merits an effort. Located in the Cielo Vista Ranch, this summit on private property will require permission from the owner/manager to visit. 4WD or higher clearance vehicle required. Pre-Lidar elevation for Miranda was 13,468.

Miranda Peak North & South Ridge Route

Class 2+
X-Long Day // Dinner Will Be Late!
RT From Culebra/Whiskey Pass Accesses - Cielo Vista: 2.4mi / 1,000'
  • Trailhead
    • Culebra/Whiskey Pass Accesses - Cielo Vista TH

      The Cielo Vista Ranch (translation - "View of Heaven") was previously known as the Taylor Ranch. Total acreage of the property now exceeds 83,000. Be advised that as of August 2017, the ranch property changed hands again and is now under the ownership of William B. Harrison, of William Harrison Cathexis Holdings. Any information provided here may change dramatically depending on any future new ownership. The eastern boundary of the property is the central ridge of the Sangre de Cristo range from De Anza Peak in the north all the way to State Line Peak on the New Mexico border to the south. All of the land on either side of that central ridge is privately owned from Maxwell Mountain on south. Trespassers have been and will be prosecuted. As of the date of this writing, the only property owner allowing access is/was the Cielo Vista Ranch. One newspaper report indicated that the new owner did not plan to change the access policies previously held by the Cielo Vista ranch owners, but there have been some changes that do impact climbers. The property is a virtual wildlife preserve, rich in its diversity, and provides needed resources to the local community.

      The main, current website for the ranch is https://www.cielo-vista-ranch.info/product/hiking/. The current site shows a 2024 update. Norton antivirus software wants to block this site as "dangerous." From our personal experience, there appears to be no danger in visiting the site. This is as of 01/2024. Mailing address is: Cielo Vista Ranch; County Road M.5; San Luis, CO 81152. Email contact: [email protected]. Phone: 719-680-0092. (Carlos)

      Some items to know up front. Again, these were verified 01/2024:

      • There is no climbing allowed from August 1 through the end of December.
      • The current fee to climb Culebra/Red Mtn. is $150. For any other summits, it has been reported this season that the fee has increased to $500.
      • Winter climbs begin in January with reservations being taken in December.
      • Hiking/climbing is allowed only on Friday-Saturday-Sunday.
      • A waiver and credit card form must be submitted in advance.
      • The gate opens at 6:00 AM and closes at 6:15 AM!
      • Sign out is 6:00 PM. Beyond that time, ranch officials will consider your tardiness to warrant a search & rescue situation. You will be instructed to "donate" $100 to the Costilla County SAR.
      • Dogs & non-climbers are not allowed.
      • Climbing reservations for the 2024 are currently being accepted.

      Since all climbers must report to the main ranch headquarters, that location will serve as the main trailhead, however, Whiskey Pass can also serve as a trailhead, after you have registered at ranch headquarters and current policy ALLOWS access from that location. We will divide access as follows: Use the main ranch entrance and the 4WD road up to "four-way" as the TH for Purgatoire, UN13,466, Vermejo, Red Mtn., Culebra, UN13,565, UN13,229 and Miranda. Use Whiskey Pass as the TH for Lomo Liso, Francisco, Beaubien, De Anza and Mariquita. (Note that Mariquita is not actually on CV Ranch property.) We also have a report that indicates some climbers were allowed access up Carneros Creek to climb UN13,229 and UN 13,565. We have no specific information however in regards to that access. Also, for peaks other than Culebra and Red Mountain, Cielo Vista has required climbers to have a hand radio which the ranch supplied. DO NOT ASSUME that current policy allows access to summits other than Culebra and Red. Call or email ahead to obtain additional information.

      Driving Directions: From the small town of Ft. Garland, located on HWY 160 east of Alamosa and west of Walsenburg, drive south on HWY159 to San Luis - about 15.5 miles.

      Turn left on the P.6 Road (4th street) and drive 4.0 miles to Chama.
      In Chama, turn left on L.7 Road.
      Drive 3.5 miles on L.7, across a bridge and immediately turn right on dirt Road 25.5. To access Whiskey Pass, you would continue east on L.7.
      Go 1/2 mile on 25.5 Road, stop, and turn left on M.5 Road.
      Drive another 0.9 miles to reach the North Gate of the Cielo Vista Ranch.
      The gates are usually closed and ranch representatives will meet you for an escort to the ranch headquarters.
      Once through the north HQ gate, continue 2 miles to the ranch headquarters for check-in.
      After check-in, reset your odometer and drive on an easy 4WD road to the upper trailhead. Stay right at about .1 mile and continue driving up the steepening road.
      You will reach "Four Way" at 3.4 miles with ample parking, 11,220 ft. N 37° 08' 32.23" W 105° 13' 57.08"
      You may be allowed to continue on to the highest point of the road at 4.4 miles. This is the upper trailhead and you may park near a stream. 11,670 ft. N 37° 08' 20.38" W 105° 12' 56.72"

      The following directions are provided by the Cielo Vista Ranch on their website:

      Find San Luis, Colorado. Begin in San Luis, at the Conoco station on main street. You will be driving southbound from Ft. Garland. At the Conoco Station, turn east (left). Drive 3 miles to stop sign. Right turn onto County Road 21. Traveling southbound on CR 21, proceed to County Road L.7. Left turn on L.7, you will be driving eastbound. Continue on CR L.7 to one of several county roads which go south from L.7. (Note that CR L.7 is also the "Whiskey Pass Road.") Each of these short roads will take you to County Road M.5, which parallels L.7, about 200 yards to 500 yards south. Take one is these roads (CR 22.5, 23.5, etc.) south to CR M.5. Left turn on M.5 sends you east. Continue east on M.5 until you reach the large heavy green steel gate, which is the entrance to the North headquarters of Cielo Vista Ranch. Watch for local dogs which are roaming the streets and county roads in the area, at will!

      To get to the Whiskey Pass road, once you have reported to ranch headquarters, reverse these directions back to CR L.7 which is the Whiskey Pass Road and head east. The road is drivable by 4WD to about 11,500 feet as reported by Dave Hahn. Once you are back onto this road, the distance to the end of the road will be over 10.5 miles. An overnight camp was allowed. Dave also reported that when he drove to Whiskey Pass in his own vehicle, he was accompanied by ranch personnel driving another vehicle. When you are done climbing peaks off Whiskey Pass, you will need to return to ranch headquarters to report out. This is all PRIVATE PROPERTY. Do not go without permission.

      The following link has some interesting history regarding this overall area:

      http://www.trincheraranch.com/the-ranch/


      Camping

      Unless the ranch owners grant permission to camp on their property somewhere (which is unlikely), there is no close camping available, however, they do state on their website that climbers may camp just outside the main gate if needed.

    Peak Icon Route Map Photos

    Route Info Miranda Peak North & South Ridge

    Route Description

    Miranda Peak, 13,473 ft., previously considered a "soft-rank" and now demoted to "unranked" by LIDAR, is part of the vast Cielo Vista Ranch which is all private property. It's pre-Lidar elevation was 13,468. The ranch property line extends down the west side of the central ridge of summits that stretch all the way from De Anza Peak in the north to State Line Peak in the south. You can download a Google Earth map of the property by going to this link and scrolling on the right down to the GE map link: https://www.mirrranchgroup.com/ranches/cielo-vista-ranch/. Permission must be obtained to access any of these peaks. For several decades now, the owners of this ranch property have been the only ones to allow access to these high peaks. CF&I Steel owns some of the land on the east side and has never agreed to any access and will prosecute trespassers. Policies by the ranch owners have varied in the past regarding access to which summits and routes to them. Before attempting any peaks, make sure you have a clear arrangement with the Cielo Vista Ranch owners/managers. See the "trailhead" description for more details.

    As with any mountain, there can be numerous "routes." In this description, we will provide detail regarding one specific route that would be the shortest and most likely to obtain permission to do. We'll also provide a hint regarding another approach. The detail route begins with the 4WD vehicle park at 11,670 where the trail for Culebra takes off from. See the "Trailhead" section for driving directions to that parking area. See route descriptions for UN 13,229 and UN 13,569. We have not sequenced in Miranda with the statistics for the two unnamed summits because Miranda is not a ranked summit, however, we will provide some useful stats below so you can make your own calculations. We think this is the shortest and best route for reaching Miranda but it's not easy.

    From the summit of UN13,569, you can proceed NE along the snaking ridge crest toward Miranda. Along the way, you'll encounter one false, unranked summit of 13,396 ft. and you'll need to gain another 430 ft. overall in elevation. The ridge is never any more difficult than Class 2. The terrain varies from tundra to embedded rocks to rocky talus. It's never difficult. Generally speaking, the east side of the ridge crest is always the easiest with more severe drops and cliffs on the west side at points. Once you reach the summit, the most logical way back is as you came, along the ridge crest to UN13,569 and then back down to Carneros Lake for the final 800 foot ascent back out to your vehicle park. Leave some extra energy and time for that last climb out. The return elevation gain will add another 565 feet, for nearly 1,000 feet in total round-trip gain from UN 13,569. If combined with UN 13,229 and UN 13,565, round-trip mileage and elevation gain will be 10.2 miles and 4,810 feet.

    If coming from Lomo Liso to the north, you'll have an easy 1.25 mile of mostly tundra walking until you get to Pt. 13,247, with one minor section of boulders near Pt. 12,952. This last stretch of ridge to the summit of Miranda poses perhaps the most difficult stretch of the entire central ridge from Maxwell to Purgatoire. At Class 2+, a section of ridge directly north of the Miranda summit is composed of rocks, boulders, and stacked boulders, many of which seem ready to roll with only the slightest assist. Watch your step. The one factor that makes this stretch easier is that the local game have created something of a trail through this mess. Make full use of their trail and you should get through without injury. Total one-way mileage from Lomo Liso is 2.1 with 1,145 feet of elevation gain. If you return to Lomo Liso, add another 670 feet of elevation gain.

    Final hint: It may be possible to access Lomo Liso and Miranda from the Bernadino Creek area, which joins Carneros Creek down lower near the Whiskey Pass road. Google Earth does show old roads/trails heading up Bernadino as well as Carneros Creek. Climbers may want to check with the ranch manager and see if access from this direction is allowed. As with any of the peaks on the Cielo Vista Ranch, do not attempt any of these routes without permission.

    The following link to a trip report on LoJ by "Furthermore" provides some more useful details and another possible way to clean out the peaks located on the northern section of the Cielo Vista Ranch. It is our hope that the ranch owner and manager continue to cooperate with climbers in this fashion. http://www.listsofjohn.com/tr?Id=1830&pkid=687


    Additional BETA

    Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful.
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