LoJ: #124 (Pre-LiDAR #128) / 13,757' Mount Sheridan
N 39° 12' 33.39", W 106° 11' 06.05"
(Not Field Checked)
Dyer Mountain
Gemini Peak
Horseshoe Mountain
Mount Sherman
Peak Summary
Mount Sheridan is an easy, family-friendly, barely Class 2 walk-up summit just south of the 14er, Mt. Sherman. The trailhead up Fourmile Creek is accessible to most passenger vehicles. Sheridan can be easily combined with either Mt. Sherman of Horseshoe Mountain. With close proximity to the Front Range, this peak offers a great family climb with impressive mountain-top views. Lidar measurements changed the elevation to 13,757 ft. and a new rank of #124.
Mt. Sheridan East Slope Route
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Fourmile-Leavick TH
From the intersection of US 285 and SH 9 at Fairplay, drive south on US 285 for one mile to CR 18. Turn west onto the county road. In about four miles, you'll come to National Forest land. Drive west past the Horseshoe CG , then the Fourmile CG. Both are rather small and have limited number of sites. 2.5 miles past the turnoff for the Fourmile CG you'll arrive at the old mining townsite of Leavick where there are still some old buildings. Park in this vicinity for passenger vehicles. 4WD may be able to continue up the road as much as another two miles. Much of the land around here is privately held, mostly old mining claims. Respect any private property postings. Mt. Sheridan is on privately held land. Much of the route up to Mt. Sherman is also on privately held land. Fortunately, at this point, there have been no attempts to block access to these peaks.
Camping
As mentioned above, there are two National Forest Campgrounds on the drive in - the Horseshoe and the Fourmile. It appears that the Fourmile CG is always first-come, first-served while the Horseshoe has sites that can be reserved on Recreation.gov during the "reservation season." Other than these two campgrounds, you may find a primitive site on the north side of CR 18 at Horseshoe and some other primitive sites on the south side of the road, a short distance back east from Horseshoe CG.
Click thumbnail to view full-size photo + captionRoute Description
Year Climbed: 1995Mt. Sheridan can be easily sequenced with either Mt. Sherman or Horseshoe Mountain or even combined for a triple-header. The connecting ridges pose no difficult or serious problem, however, the route presented here is for Sheridan alone. For us, Mt. Sheridan was our final Top 200 summit, completed on Sept. 2, 1995. We were accompanied by several family members and friends, then returned to the Fourmile Campground to celebrate. For Tim, this was actually his second visit to the Sheridan summit, having accompanied Bob Alden in 1987 in a traverse from Mt. Sherman to Sheridan, while Carrie stayed back with the kids on a rainy day, huddled at the Sherman-Sheridan saddle trying to avoid lightening bolts. The 1994-1995 winter was one of heavy snows across Colorado. On this Labor Day trip, we were still able to find snow patches to glissade down!
The terrain on the east slopes of Mt. Sheridan is so gentle, you can pretty much determine your own route, but for those who want a little help try the following: From Leavick, walk up the main road as though heading for Mt. Sherman, going all the way to the Dauntless Mine. A left fork of this road continues through rubble, becoming more of a trail at 12,800 ft. Follow the sketchy trail as it heads out more onto the east flank of Sheridan all the way to the summit.
The actual route we followed kept us more on the east flank of the mountain and on more tundra terrain for longer. Before reaching the Dauntless Mine, turn off the main road at about 12,000 ft. and head south to cross the creek/drainage. Then follow a side-drainage WSW for a couple hundred feet before simply turning more to the west and heading directly for the Sheridan Summit. Along the way you'll pass through countless exploratory mining digs, etc. You can find more tundra going this way, however, the last few hundred feet to the summit will put you on mostly chiprock and smaller rubble.
A third option would be to follow the road to the Dauntless Mine, then continue on the Mt. Sherman route up to the saddle between Sherman and Sheridan. From there, follow the ridge south to Sheridan with a trail to guide you through the mostly chiprock and small rubble terrain.
From the summit you can enjoy expansive views of South Park to the east and of the Sawatch Range to the west. Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert can be easily spotted. For the descent, return as you came or find some snow for an easy glissade.
Additional BETA
Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful. -
