LoJ: #194 (Pre-LiDAR #204) / 13,591' Mount Evans B
N 39° 15' 23.00", W 106° 10' 53.43"
(Not Field Checked)
Dyer Mountain
Mount Arkansas
Mosquito Peak
Treasurevault Mountain
Mount Tweto [AKA: "Divide Benchmark"]
London Mountain
Pennsylvania Mountain
Peak Summary
With 4WD access on Mosquito Pass, this peak can be quickly dispatched with a minor amount of gentle ridge walking in at most an hour. If you want to make it more sporting, lengthen the approach from either the east or west sides of Mosquito Pass or combine with a fuller day of bagging other summits like London, Pennsylvania, Dyer, Mosquito Peak, Treasurevault, Tweto and Arkansas. Warning: The west side of the pass is now so rough, stock-type, utility 4WD vehicles may have difficulty in making it. The east side also has its challenges and is slow going. Pre-Lidar elevation was 13,577.
Mt. Evans B Mosquito Pass Route A Route
-
-
Mosquito Pass TH (East)
From Fairplay, (watch for speed traps) drive north on State highway 9 to a left (west) turn onto County Road 12. If coming from Breckenridge, drive south on State highway 9 across Hoosier Pass to Alma (watch for speed traps) and turn west onto either CR10 (which joins CR12 after a couple miles) or drive another mile south and turn west directly onto CR12. CR10 is passable for any passenger car, but is much slower, bumpier, and harder to find than CR12. The graded, gravel road up to the provided coordinates is suitable for passenger cars and can be driven all the way to where it crosses Mosquito Creek as the road begins a large turn to the south. If in a 2WD, low clearance vehicle, park in this vicinity and begin walking. There are several pullouts along this section. Beyond the creek crossing, the road becomes a rough, rocky 4WD trail; high clearance, 4WD required.
NOTE: If you're unfamiliar with Mosquito Pass, the road can be driven in many stock SUVs equipped with 4x4 & higher clearance. However, the road is continuously rocky and does present some degree of clearance challenges for stock SUVs. It's the type of road that will put a fair amount of stress on your vehicle's joints & seals. If you're undecided, immediately after the indicated TH coordinates is a long, steep climb as the road winds south which will give you an idea of the road condition above this point. Snow will likely block passage on this side of the pass higher up on the 4x4 road later into the summer than on the west (Leadville) side—often until July 4th or later.
Camping
Some limited, primitive sites can be found along CR12, but watch for and respect Private Property signs. The nearest Forest Service designated campgrounds are located on CR18, which leads to the main trailhead for Mt. Sherman. CR18 can be located about a mile and a half south of the Fairplay US285/SH 9 junction on US 285.
Route Description
Year Climbed: 1989From the trailhead, it makes the best sense to just walk along the Mosquito Pass road or follow nearby for most of the distance to the pass. Lower down, you could work off road but will have to contend with willows. Higher up, after the road passes the west ridge of London Mtn., you might as well stick with the road. Doing so will likely mean you'll have to deal with multiple vehicles passing by churning up dust and making noise, and you have to walk through all the loose rubble on the road.
From the summit of Mosquito Pass, Mount Evans B is a simple stroll along the ridge to the south for about 2.0 miles. You will pass some radio, broadcast facilities along the way. Most of the terrain will be tundra with embedded rocks and some scree and chiprock. Enjoy the expansive views both east and west. Overall, if you're going to use the Mosquito Pass road on either side to access Mt. Evans B, we consider the east side approach to be the least desirable. See the next paragraph for two other hiking suggestions.
A. Take the same driving approach for the east side of Mosquito Pass as described in the trailhead, but instead of driving the last couple miles, turn off to the west on CR 696 that goes SW up South Mosquito Creek to a mining operation. Before the mine, 696 veers off to the right, climbs a short switchback and then heads into "American Flats." Park where you will, beyond any private property, perhaps near a small pond at 12,140 ft. Identify the summit of Mt. Evans B and make a beeline for the summit SW across the mostly tundra terrain. You'll likely end up on a broad NE ridge of Mt. Evans that will bring you out north of the summit for the finale. One-way mileage would be reduced to about 2.0 with no more than 1,360 vertical gain. This route has not been field tested. There may be private property concerns.
B. The other suggestions combines Pennsylvania Mountain with Mt. Evans B by a ridge that connects those two summits. Follow driving directions for Pennsylvania. From the summit of that mountain, walk generally west along the ridge to a saddle between it and Evans B. The drop to the saddle will harbor the only rocky section to deal with. Then follow the east facing slope up to Evans B. You can make most of the ascent on basically tundra terrain. One way mileage would be 2.7 from the Pennsylvania summit with 1,280 feet of gain, plus you will need to calculate return mileage and elevation gain to the Pennsylvania trailhead which will be about 4.75 miles and an additional 540 feet of elevation gain if you retrace steps along the connecting ridge back over to Pennsylvania and then contour SE to regain the earlier path used to access Pennsylvania.
Additional BETA
Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful. -