LoJ: #531 (Pre-LiDAR #534) / 13,145' UN 13145 Formerly UN 13140 B
N 38° 57' 35.68", W 106° 31' 42.73"
(Not Field Checked)
Jenkins Mountain
Grizzly Peak [Grizzly Peak E]
Peak Summary
UN13,145 combines well with Jenkins Mountain by way of the connecting ridge between the two summits. The ridge just north of the UN13,145 summit has some minor pinnacles and some steeper rock near the summit that will require some brief scrambling approaching a 3rd class level, certainly Class 2+. This peak can also serve as a gateway for continuing on to Grizzly Peak. Lidar added five feet in elevation to this summit.
UN13,145 North Ridge Route
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Pieplant TH
From US Highway 50 in the middle of Gunnison, turn north onto SH 135 and drive to Almont. Turn right onto FR742 and follow to Taylor Park Reservoir. At an intersection by the SE corner of the reservoir, continue north on FR742 on the east side of the reservoir for 6.5 miles appx. to the "Pieplant Cow Camp." Turn right onto FR742.3D which heads in a northerly direction to the old Pieplant Mill site. The Gunnison NF map identifies the road to Pieplant as FR742.3H and another source says 742.8F, but the road is actually signed (as of 2015) as FR742.3D. It is 3.8 miles up this road to the old mill site. Along the way, there is one gate to pass through. The road starts out fairly good and never really requires 4WD, but good clearance is useful for getting through potholes, mudholes etc. The road does get a little rough toward the end.
If coming from Buena Vista via Cottonwood Pass, follow Gunnison CR209 down west from the top of the pass to its intersection with CR742. Turn right (north) at 742 and drive 4.35 miles to the Pieplant turnoff on FR742.3D as described above.
Camping
At the Pieplant Old Mill site, there is ample, primitive camping available in several spots, either in the trees or on the edge of the large meadow. There are also any number of primitive sites on the drive in as well. Most of the forest up to the mill is lodgepole. A number of deer graze in the meadow evening and morning and the old mill site offers some spare time diversion. This was quite an operation in its day.
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From Jenkins Mountain
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Open This Route in a New WindowFrom the Pieplant Mill site, walk up an old road to the mill site and continue following that road as it heads uphill to the north into the forest and toward the actual mine site at 10,800 ft. At about 11,000 foot level past the mine, leave the old roadbed and head NE up an intermittent drainage, then angle SE to a minor ridge and slope that joins the main south ridge of Jenkins. Nice tundra will slowly give way to more rock, but nothing too tedious or rugged. Follow the south ridge to where it intersects the east ridge. Turn left and walk NW to the summit of Jenkins over mostly small chiprock and talus. Time from Pieplant will be about 2.5 to 3 hours.
Return by the same route or continue on to UN13,140 and Grizzly for a much longer and more difficult day.
Route Description
Year Climbed: 2000This peak is sequenced with Jenkins Mountain before and Grizzly Peak following. If following that circuit, then the distance from Jenkins to UN13,145 is 1.25 miles with an additional 500 feet of elevation gain. To complete the circuit over Grizzly from UN13,145 will be an additional 4.7 miles and 1160 feet of elevation gain.
From the summit of Jenkins Mountain, walk SE along the ridge crest and keep following the ridge ESE to a saddle WNW of the 13,050 unranked point. From that point, keep following the main ridge as it turns more to the south losing about 100 feet in elevation before beginning to regain that and more to reach the summit of UN13,145. As you approach the summit, the ridge will break down into some minor pinnacles. You could attempt to clamber over these staying as high as possible, but we chose to lose some elevation by dropping down a steep, talus-filled gully and then regaining the ridge past the pinnacles by climbing up another gully. The last 100 feet in elevation to the summit will lead over some steep rock that will require some minor scrambling. This last stretch is where the difficulty level could reach 3rd class. For the most part, however, the ascent is Class 2+.
Additional BETA
Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful. -
