LoJ: #156 (Pre-LiDAR #158) / 13,682' Peak Seven
N 37° 40' 03.78", W 107° 34' 25.55"
(Not Field Checked)
Storm King Peak
Peak Nine
Peak Summary
Peak Seven North Ridge Route
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Bear Creek/Hunchback Pass/Kite Lake TH
WARNING: This trail head approach REQUIRES 4WD with good ground clearance. The drive as described below from Silverton may take up to 2.5 hours.
From the Town of Silverton, and where the main road splits at the NE end of town, drive 4.2 miles NE up along the Animas River on blue-signed County Road 2 to Howardsville. Turn right onto FR589 up Cunningham Gulch and stay right at the turn for the "Old Mine Tour" (4.4 miles) but do take the left fork toward Stony Pass (FR737) at 5.9miles. Once on the Stony Pass Road, expect 4W conditions. The road climbs steeply to the pass. Abundant wildflowers as you approach the pass may delay you. Once across the pass, the road becomes FR520 and eventually leads to Rio Grande Reservoir, but you will not drive that far. The road eventually descends down the valley to a low water crossing of Pole Creek. There are several primitive campsites on both sides of the Pole Creek crossing. Watch out for the steep embankment climb out on the east side if the road is wet from rains. You could easily slip off the edge. After the crossing, continue south for under a mile to another fork where you'll turn right (west). Another long, low water crossing is found here across the Rio Grande River. This crossing is usually more shallow than the Pole Creek, but the closer you are to runoff season, the more difficult these crossings will be.
It is also possible to come into this area from either Creede or Lake City over Slumgullion and Spring Pass to Rio Grande Reservoir. From state highway 149 either about 20.5 miles from Creede or 32 miles from Lake City, turn west onto FS520 and drive all the way to the reservoir on the well-signed, graded dirt road. Passenger cars can make it all the way to the "Lost Trail Campground" at the far west end of the reservoir. Beyond that point, FR520 continues west and crosses some rugged sections before connecting with the other section of FR520 coming down from Stony Pass and the low-water crossing of the Rio Grande. We have never driven in all the way on this section and from those we know who have, they have complained about one particularly difficult stretch.
From the Rio Grande crossing, continue up what is now, the Beartown Road for a slow 4 miles (mainly because of potholes) to the former location of Beartown. (There's really nothing left to see there, but just before the road crosses Bear Creek, beyond the old townsite, there is some good camping. The road goes all the way to Kite Lake at about 12,100 ft., but the Hunchback Pass trailhead is about 1/2 mile below the lake. There's a trail sign there and some very limited parking is available. Road Notes as of 2018: About half the distance toward Beartown, the road crosses an unnamed creek and at that spot, there are some difficult mud/potholes that have really been dug out. Longer bed vehicles may have some difficulty getting through. Take it slow. Closer to Beartown, the road passes through a fence line. At that point, the road conditions will begin to deteriorate and become more rocky as it begins to gain some elevation.
As the road begins climbing more steeply toward Kite Lake and the Hunchback trailhead, after crossing Bear Creek, it becomes quite a bit more rocky in that stretch as well. For a long section, the road is deeply entrenched in the middle because of runoff and the trench tends to fill with loose rocks. If you have driven in here to do the Ute Ridge group of summits, camp in the vicinity of where the road crosses Bear Creek just past the old Beartown site. See coordinates below. From that creek crossing, it's not quite .3 mile to the trailhead for Ute Ridge, which is a jeep track that turns off to the left and drops down to cross another lesser fork of Bear Creek. Park somewhere along this track if heading for Ute Ridge. On the Caltopo map, this trail is called the "Bear Town Trail" and designated FR869. On trails Illustrated Map #140, it does not appear to have a designation. Coordinates for this road & trailhead are: N 37° 42' 54.53" W 107° 30' 35.00". You can find a good camp spot here as well. You can also find some additional camp spots within a few hundred yards of the Hunchback Pass trailhead. One of those spots goes off to the south to an old mining area.
Camping
You can find some very limited camping spots in the immediate vicinity of the Hunchback trailhead. There's one particularly good spot back down the road a fairly short distance on the south side. There's also some good camping back toward the Beartown site. See coordinates provided.
Campsite Locations
Beartown Campsite › N 37° 43' 05.02", W 107° 30' 35.47"
Route Description
Year Climbed: 1994The route description provided measures the distance and elevation gain from the suggested camp location at the two small lakes a mile north of Peak Seven and above Balsam Lake, in the headwaters of Tenmile Creek. If climbed from the Storm King/Peak Nine saddle, the mileage is 1.25 and the elevation gain is reduced to 1,200 feet. We are using the Vallecito and Trinity Creek trails as the primary approach for Peak Seven, but you can also access Peak Seven and this northern group of the Needles by the High Traverse approach that comes in from the basin north of Jagged Mountain. That approach will be noted as a secondary access.
From the two lakes at the suggested campsite, SE and south to the pass just west of Peak Eight with the small tarn located near the top of the pass. (12,740 ft.) This will be a reverse of the final section of "The High Traverse" approach. The lower half of the hike is through a lushly vegetated basin full of wildflowers in the summer. This will give way to a steeper tundra slope and then a series of tundra ledges broken by solid rock walls as you finish the last few hundred feet to the pass. You may find a path leading through here.
If approaching from the Storm King/Peak Nine saddle, descend west down through the rock pile on a trail of sorts that eventually reaches tundra coverage. You will likely want to descend to about 12,500 feet before beginning the contour over to the pass west of Peak Eight. If you try to stay higher, you'll waste a lot of time trying to route find through rock and tundra ledges and other obstacles. There may be a faint trail to help, perhaps created by the goats that roam this area.
Once at the 12,740 ft. saddle, the real ascent of Peak Seven begins. Turn west and begin a steep 300 foot ascent to a saddle between the summit of Peak Seven and a prominent pinnacle on the ridge north of the summit. The saddle is directly west of the tarn at the top of the pass. This will be the easiest part of your ascent with a tundra and rock mix of fairly secure footing. As you near the saddle, you encounter more scree and the angle steepens.
Once at the saddle, turn south and head for the summit along the ridge crest. At times you may want to veer briefly off the ridge crest to either side to avoid problems. In 1994 we found something of a path, but no cairns. The path may have been established by goats. The ridgeline will lead to a notch that is best negotiated on the west side. From below, the notch appears it may present a problem, but it actually only required about a 10 foot downclimb with no real exposure and the rock here was secure. After the notch, the ascending becomes much more difficult. You will find yourself struggling for footing on loose, small, broken rock that slides easily off the underlying rock layers. To make the last 250 feet in elevation to the summit, you'll find yourself fighting for secure footing. This factor, combined with the overall steepness, made the ascent a little more intimidating, though the exposure factor was not that bad. You will likely cut loose a lot of rocks, so bring a helmet.
The summit is the high point of a long, narrow ridge and feels a little exposed. You have an excellent view of the Trinity Peaks and Arrow and Vestal. You can also study the route up Storm King Peak. Back to the south, the north faces of Leviathan and Vallecito present sheer, vertical, impressive cliffs. Also visible is a trail that comes in from the Vestal Creek drainage that crosses a saddle located between Vestal Peak and Trinity West. This trail drops down to the upper Tenmile drainage near the two lakes where our suggested camp location is. For the return, go back down the north ridge as you came and at the saddle, drop east back down to the pass with the small tarn at 12,740 ft. Peak Seven can easily be combined with Storm King Peak for a day climb.
Additional BETA
Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful. -
