LoJ: #390 (Pre-LiDAR #401) / 13,311' Tellurium Peak Formerly UN 13300 A

Range › Sawatch Range
Quadrangle › New York Peak
Summit Location › Peak Route Icon N 39° 02' 39.71", W 106° 39' 19.70" (Not Field Checked)

Peak Summary

Note: LoJ and Roach use the unofficial name of "Tellurium Peak." G&M uses UN13300 A.

UN 13,300 A (Tellurium Peak - named after the creek of the same name in this area) is a Class 2+ ascent by a route that begins from some beaver ponds at about 11,440 ft., well up Tellurium Creek. This access requires 4WD with good clearance. The 4WD road section is about 5 miles long. Main access to this road is from the Taylor Park Reservoir at the west end of the Cottonwood Pass Road. If looking for an easier access that does not require 4WD, there is none. The only other way into this summit and it's sister summit (West Tellurium) would be by the Lincoln Gulch Road that goes up to Grizzly Reservoir. That road is 4WD as well. Tellurium Peak along with the nearby UN 13,074 (West Tellurium) are sequenced together for a half day hike from our suggested camp spot. Lidar added 11 feet to the previously interpolated elevation of 13,300.

Tellurium Peak South Face Route

Class 2+
Medium Day // Take a Lunch
Climbed with "West Tellurium"
RT From Tellurium Creek: 4.4mi / 1,900'
  • Trailhead
    • Tellurium Creek TH

      From Gunnison: Drive north out of Gunnison on CO135 for 17.4 miles to Almont. Turn right onto CR/FR742 for Taylor Park Reservoir. Drive 16.7 miles to the Taylor Park Trading Post on pavement. Head north (left), continuing on CO/FR742 along the east side of the reservoir and continue for 14.9 miles to the turnoff on the right for FR584. This section of the drive is all on graded, gravel road, passable to passenger vehicles. This is the 4WD road that heads north up Tellurium Creek. Passenger vehicles will want to park here. If you have come to the Dorchester Campground, you have passed the turnoff. Go back appx. a mile.

      From Buena Vista, drive west on CR306 to Cottonwood Pass. Continue west from the summit of the pass on the same road, but now signed CR209all the way down to the Taylor Park Reservoir. Turn right onto FR742 and drive to the same turnoff for Telluriium Creek as described above.

      The first mile and a half of FR584 up Tellurium Creek is the roughest part. The road climbs steadily and is almost all rubble. Once the road begins to level off farther up, there will be flatter stretches that won't be so rocky and you can drive a little faster. It's about a five mile drive up this road to our suggested camp location which also becomes the "trailhead." The campsite is on the south side of the road and next to a group of tall conifers, a little south of the beaver ponds. See coordinates below. Overall, it took us about 45 minutes to drive this five mile stretch in a Toyota T-100.


      Camping

      There are several Forest Service campgrounds on the way to the Tellurium Creek road. These include: Dorchester (closest), Dinner Station, River's End and Lakeview. There are also numerous primitive sites in the area. The coordinates we provide for the "trailhead" are at a primitive site location. There's also a primitive site about 3.0 miles up the Tellurium. See coordinates.


      Campsite Locations

      Tellurium Peaks TH › N 39° 01' 22.62", W 106° 40' 07.72"
      Elevation 11,400 ft.
      Tellurium Creek › N 38° 59' 50.73", W 106° 39' 37.72"
      Elevation 10,725 ft.
    Peak Icon Route Map Photos

    Route Info Tellurium Peak South Face

    Route Description

    Year Climbed: 2003

    From the trailhead/campsite, walk north up the road and stay east (right) where it forks at 11,600 ft. We found a small group of elk grazing in this area. This road leads nearly to the crest of a saddle along the southeast ridge of Tellurium Peak. It apparently plays out near an old mine up there. Getting to the saddle looked relatively easy, but following the ridge beyond there appeared to offer significant difficulties. The western ridge looked like it could pose some hidden problems as well. This we later discovered was not true. We also eyed one steep couloir that led up to the southwest ridge by first climbing up moderately grassy slopes that would give way to more difficult rock. Without any beta from other climbers we had no idea which of several routes would be best. So, we headed almost straight to the rugged south face of the peak and began ascending a steep, very rocky slope. Then we contoured into a similar couloir that plummeted down from just east of the summit. After laboring up this rock-filled gully, we then turned off to the left, working our way up a gray colored ramp of different rock that we had spotted from the bottom. This ramp brought us out on the summit ridge, just west of the summit. From here, it was a brief scramble to the top where we enjoyed a very fine view. More than likely, this way up was probably one of the most difficult ways to obtain the summit being a rugged Class 2+. Use your own judgement, but as mentioned before, we did find that the western ridge of the peak that connects over to West Tellurium did not pose any major difficulties.


    Additional BETA

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