LoJ: #365 (Pre-LiDAR: NR) / 13,337' Mount Maxwell

Quadrangle › El Valle Creek
Summit Location › Peak Route Icon N 37° 14' 57.56", W 105° 09' 12.34" (Not Field Checked)

Peak Summary

Mt. Maxwell (previously unranked prior to Lidar) is an easy Class 2 summit along the central spine of peaks in the extreme southern Sangre de Cristo Range. The summit lies on the dividing line between San Isabel National Forest land and private holdings. The next summit south, Mariquita Pk., is entirely on private land. Mt. Maxwell is most easily reached by it's east ridge. The road access is FR 437, and is classified on the San Isabel NF map as 4WD. Our visit here in 2004 found the road not too bad and passable for other vehicles that simply have some better ground clearance. If you can drive to above 11,000 feet, Maxwell can be completed in just a few hours. It also can be combined easily with Cuatro Peak. Pre-Lidar elevation was 13,335 ft.

Mt. Maxwell East Ridge Route

Class 2
Short Day // A Wee Little Climb
Climbed with Mariquita Peak + De Anza Peak
RT From Mt. Maxwell Trailhead: 2.6mi / 1,735'
  • Trailhead
    • Mt. Maxwell Trailhead

      This trailhead could be primarily used for access to Trinchera and Cuatro summits along with Mt. Maxwell and possibly Mariquita Peak and De Anza B. From Walsenburg, drive west on US 160 and take the turnoff for La Veta, on SH12. Drive through the quaint, small town and continue south toward Cucharas Pass. This very pleasant road takes you through gambel oak terrain, into ponderosa forest and eventually more typical higher elevation aspen and conifers. If you do road bicycling, this is a great ride! Drive on through the little townsite of Cuchara, past the turnoff for the old Cuchara Valley Ski area and continue over Cucharas Pass. About 6 miles south of the pass, the highway makes a sharp turn back to the NW to get around North Lake. It then turns back south. After that turn to the south, watch for the turnoff for FR34 to the Purgatoire Campground on your right (west). There are actually two possible turns to this road in case you miss the first. Drive west and NW up the improved, graded dirt road. About .6 mile before the campground, or 3.75 miles from the highway, watch for the turnoff for FR437 to the left. Head up this 4WD road which will become increasingly rocky, but not too difficult. (Last time we were on it was 2004.) The road switchbacks relentlessly for most of its 3 mile length to gain elevation. There's a good campsite at about 11,500 feet we estimated and then towards the end of the road, it flattens out some for some other camping possibilities. FR34 ends at the Purgatoire campground.


      Camping

      As mentioned above, there's a good at-large spot on the side of FR437 at about 11,500 ft. or higher and then further up where the road levels out around treeline, there's some other possibilities. You can also camp at the Purgatoire Campground, which is a National Forest fee area. There are about two dozen campsites, some in forest and some in open meadow. The sites have tables & fire rings. There are vault toilets and a hand pump for water. This used to be called "The Potato Patch" campground. Campground elevation is 9,800 ft.


      Campsite Locations

      Purgatoire Campground › N 37° 15' 16.58", W 105° 06' 33.85"
      9,750 elevation
    Peak Icon Route Map Photos

    Route Info Mt. Maxwell East Ridge

    Route Description

    Year Climbed: 2004

    The mileage and elevation gain estimates are based on assuming a start from 11,600 ft. With 4WD, you can actually drive a little farther than that. From wherever you manage to park, continue up the road until it ends, then work your way up west to a bench of dwarf trees that will then open to the broad, lower, east ridge of Maxwell. Follow the ridge upward. It will progressively narrow. Much of the hiking will be over grassy tundra, but that will give way to more of an embedded rock - tundra mix and finally chiprock as you near the summit. A couple hundred feet below the summit, there will be some rocky outcrops that can be easily avoided on the south side of the ridge. Nothing need exceed Class 2. Time from car park to summit was well under two hours. In 2004, there was a small summit cairn and the remnants of a forest service sign, probably intended to mark the terminus of Federal land. Hiking north from here will keep you within San Isabel NF. If you turn south from Maxwell, you will immediately be off national forest land and will be entering private property. Do so at your own risk. Provision of the following information is not to be construed as an endorsement to violate the private property rights of the landowners.

    On the west side of the main ridge, that property is part of the Forbes - Trinchera Blanca Ranch which is held as a "conservation easement" and managed by Colorado Parks & Wildlife. We do not know who owns the land on the east side of the ridge. It appears to us that the only people welcome on the Trinchera Blanca Ranch are paying guests, such as hunters. No mention is made of hiking/climbing. If you wish to inquire about access try the following: [email protected] or 719-379-3263. (There is also a "north" unit of the Trinchera Ranch which apparently includes Blanca, Little Bear and Mt. Lindsey, or the border of this property reaches the summits of these peaks on the south and east sides.)

    From Maxwell, it's .75 mile north on a connecting ridge to Cuatro. We have not done that ridge section so are unable to offer definitive information about the traverse. On GE, it appears that a descent to the connecting saddle will go easily and the first part of the upclimb to Cuatro will go at Class 2 on some tundra. But the upper part of the ridge is interrupted by a number of gullies and ribs that appear to offer some potential problems.

    From Maxwell to Mariquita, it is a fairly rocky traverse, but it's still Class 2 and takes under an hour. De Anza is yet another 1.4 mile south on mostly rocky rubble down to the saddle and then changing over to sparse tundra and embedded small rocks to the summit. Still Class 2. De Anza may lie within the boundary of the Cielo Vista Ranch and as such, it may be possible to make arrangements with them to visit this area since at one time they were allowing climbers access to the west side of Whiskey Pass and the peaks along the central ridge located near the pass.


    Additional BETA

    Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful.
"The meaning of earthly existence lies not as we have grown use to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul." Solzhenitsyn
Warning! Climbing peaks can be dangerous! By using this site and the information contained herein, you're agreeing to use common sense, good judgement, and to not hold us liable nor sue us for any reason. Legal Notice & Terms of Use.
x
Donate to Climb13ers.com ›