The other route approaches the summit from the north. 13: At the third lump in the ridge, proceed to the northwest (left) side. For the summer season I chose the Southwest Ridge trailhead of La Plata Peak, making for a beautiful hike. A number of friends had described La Plata as being a challenging peak. by mlz2000 | Jun 23, 2018 | 14er's, Difficult Hikes, Rocky Mountains, Sawatch Range, Trip Reports | 2 comments. Southwest Ridge | Saturday & Sunday, August 5-6, 2017. You can find remnants of old mines along the trail. Did you find accessing the trailhead difficult? It offers tremendous views of the Ellingwood Ridge as you climb toward the summit of this huge peak. 16: Looking southwest from the summit. There were remnants of old mining tracks on the hike, and Huron Peak … Wildlife, Create Recommended Route or Above 11,000', hike along La Plata Gulch ( 6 ) before the trail begins to climb left, away from the gulch. This county road is just north of the Clear Creek Reservoir. The distance from trailhead to summit is listed as 3.5 miles in Roach's book, but according to my GPS the distance was 4.09 miles. © 2006-2020 SummitPost.org. Ellingwood Ridge to La Plata Peak: Sensational! [4], The elevation of 14,361 feet marked on the USGS Mount Elbert Quadrangle is incorrect, and should read 14,336 feet (in the NGVD 29 vertical datum).[5]. Be careful here because of the loose rock and lack of traction, especially on the way down. It rises 350 feet from Kennebec Pass, visible at lower left. 4) Traverse: Southwest and Northwest Ridges (Everett to Winfield trailheads), The loop on our map is Ellingwood - NW Ridge. Narrative. On the way down the snow was already too warm, so we did the boulders. Resist the urge to cut that switchback. Definitely adds color to the surrounding gray mountains. 3) Ellingwood Ridge (Class 3-4, from Highway 82) La Plata Peak is the 5th highest 14er in Colorado at 14,336 feet, a mere 97 shorter than the tallest, Mt... La Plata Peak Southwest Ridge, CO • Hike Exposure: Moderate Another much more challenging route is the northeast arm of the peak known as Ellingwood Ridge, a very tough Class 4 climb with 6,000 feet of elevation gain. The trail that goes through the gate to the right of the start of the Southwest Ridge leads to the Tasmania Mine, one of the more prolific mines of the Winfield District. This county road is just north of the Clear Creek Reservoir. The trail steepens considerably again and gains 1,000′ in a very short distance, boulder hopping all the way to the top of the ridge. La Plata is Colorado’s fifth highest fourteener. Trailhead: La Plata Peak at 10,000’, Climbers: Rick Crandall, Laura Welch                August 2, 2009, After a long walk thru trees, at 11,100′, the trail begins to climb steeply from the gulch up a gully with a long series of switchbacks –, The blue line shows the most confusing part of the hike because the large talus makes route finding difficult. For the first mile the trail follows a small creek, climbing steadily through a pine forest. There is additional parking further up the road, but very limited so this is generally the best place to park. The trail starts from Highway 82 and follows the northern ridge that divides the La Plata basin from La Plata Gulch. 15: Soon the summit is in view once more and the remainder is obvious. Hundreds of volunteers work really hard to stabilize our beloved mountain environment (read here); please support our community and environment. Up down up down up and down on Ellingwood. It offers tremendous views of the Ellingwood Ridge as you climb toward the summit of this huge peak. Expect to get your boots muddy here. Images Roundtrip: 9.5 miles Between 10,400' and 10,700', the trail has log and stone steps ( 5 ) that make the steep climb through the forest a bit easier. There are two commonly used routes to climb the mountain. The elevation of La Plata Peak includes an adjustment of +1.983 m (+6.51 ft) from, List of mountain peaks of the United States, Iron Mountain (Costilla/Huerfano Counties), The 124 highest major summits of greater North America, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Plata_Peak&oldid=941973735, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Northwest Ridge or Southwest Ridge: Hike (, This page was last edited on 21 February 2020, at 19:55. To get to the trailhead for the Southwest Ridge route up La Plata Peak, head south out of Leadville on U.S 24 for about 20 miles, or north about 4.5 miles on U.S 24 from Buena Vista, and then turn west onto Chaffee County road 390. ESN:0-7477447 “La Plata” is Spanish for “The Silver”, a reference to the many silver deposits in the area. Here the elevation levels out and you navigate through a large bog overgrown with willows. Getting close to the section of the trail that heads up the headwall. Note: The West Winfield trailhead is small and very hard to reach, even during dry conditions due to the rough 4X4 road. Clear as mud….this is one of those trail-heads that is sketchy to get too. During my hike up to the summit of the 14,433 foot Mt. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/la-plata-peak-southern-approach The prominent 14,343-foot (4,372 m) fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 22.7 miles (36.5 km) northwest by west (bearing 308°) of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. Looking west from near the summit of La Plata at a iron rich ridge. We stayed in a cabin in Buena Vista Friday night then headed north on U.S. 24 from Buena Vista toward Leadville for about 14 miles, then took the dirt Chaffee County 390 road west. 14: The tread becomes more ambiguous, but the route is clear as the last false summit is approached, tending slightly left again. La Plata Peak (14,336 ft.) is another big and bulky Sawatch mountain, similar in configuration to Colorado's highest two mountains Mt. The Sawatch Mountain Range is home to fourteen other 14,000′ peaks, such as Huron Peak, Mt Antero, Missouri Mountain, and the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains, Mt Elbert. Aconcagua mountain itself has many routes, photos, and trip reports as children. Topographic Map of La Plata Peak Elevation Map of La Plata Peak. Elevation Gain: 4,500 feet A close up view of some of the forest along side the trail. The summit is visible momentarily, but steep hiking remains. Difficulty: Class 2 There are three major routes on La Plata (14,336'):  La Plata Peak is the 5th highest summit in the Rocky Mountains and is known for it’s distinctive Ellingwood Ridge . La Plata Peak is the fifth-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado.The prominent 14,343-foot (4,372 m) fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 22.7 miles (36.5 km) northwest by west (bearing 308°) of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. A view of Sayres Peak (13,738) at sunrise as I hiked to the summit of La Plata Peak. The highest peak just to the right of the center of the picture is Granite Mountain (12,848 feet). Summit: 14,336 feet Where possible on the way up we climbed in the snowfields which was actually easier than hopping the large boulders. The biggest variable is going to be moisture. For example, the Elbert via its Southeast Ridge I had some great views of the fellow 14er La Plata Peak which rises adjacent to Mt. Summit La Plata Peak from the trail less traveled. Looking back across the basin towards the southeast and Huron Peak. There are numerous places to camp along the way up from U.S. 24. Background: La Plata in Spanish means silver. There were remnants of old mining tracks on the hike, and Huron Peak and the three Apostles provided a beautiful backdrop. The Northwest Ridge is the standard route up the mountain, and the most popular, with scenery just as beautiful. It took me about 3 hours to get up, but what is interesting is my GPS gives actual travel time (when I was actually moving) as only about one and a half hours, which was the same time it took to come down. The nearby ghost towns of Winfield and Hamilton were prominent silver mining towns in the early part of the 20th century. Traverse: Southwest RIdge - Northwest Ridge, http://fastestknowntime.proboards.com/thread/390/la-plata-peak. Head up the road, which follows Clear Creek, for about 12 miles, until you get to the town of Winfield. Past the bog, you can see the steep trail which climbs to the ridge. It is a mellow hike on a mostly class 1 trail with some scree and loose rock in the last 1,000 feet. All Rights Reserved. To get to the summit, it was a simple traverse up a boulder covered ridge, trying to avoid the two false summits. This climb was over small boulders and while there was a bit of a path at times, I basically looked for the next cairn to know which way to go. Peak 12,101, seen from the east ridge of Cumberland Mountain, is the easiest climb in the La Plata range. Once on the ridge, the trail turns northeast and traverses the cliffs you viewed all morning. Once on the ridge, continue climbing over two false summits. Elbert and Mt Massive. No sooner had I got to the summit I signed the register, took a few of pictures. Your email address will not be published. From Winfield go about 1.8 miles to a vague parking area in an open area at 39.9927N, 106.4680W. Children refers to the set of objects that logically fall under a given object. Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' Looking towards the north you still can't see the summit of La Plata, but this is the view. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, and nature trips and is best used from May until September. La Plata Peak (Southern Approach) is a 7.1 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Buena Vista, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. From the trailhead, and for much of the hike, you cannot see the summit. Looking towards the south offers up a view of the nice mountain valley of the South Fork of Clear Creek. 2) Southwest Ridge (from Winfield) Last false summit as seen from the summit. Labor Day, 2007, I headed out to hike up La Plata Peak, which is located south of Leadville, but north of Buena Vista, in the Sawatch Range. So if there is a trail, please stay on it. I started the hike about 1.5 miles west of the small ghost town of Winfield (actually it isn't a ghost town for some people have moved back into the town, although only about 3 houses look like they are occupied and probably only as weekend get away cabins). The road conditions have undoubtedly changed since i was there, but in June you could reach the trailhead in a moderate clearance SUV if you take your time and drive slow. Northwest Ridge (class 2)- the scenic route is the most easily accessible and most popular route on La Plata. The actual trailhead is about a tenth of the mile further up the road. Latitude:39.0292 Additionally you will pass the trailhead to Missouri Mountain, Mounts Belford and Oxford, and the trailhead to Huron Peak is found if you turn left at Winfield. For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports. (1). Once at the trailhead head directly north and cross a small creek and turn west for a bit. I have moderate clearance on my SUV and don’t want to get stuck.? Longitude:-106.4735 The trail joins the Northwest Slopes standard route (#1474) for the last 20 feet to the summit of La Plata Peak. Trail, USFS-Pike and San Isabel National Forest - Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. Northwest Ridge (class 2)- the scenic route is the most easily accessible and most popular route on La Plata. La Plata Peak is the fifth-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. By all accounts, it's not necessarily longer or steeper than other trails we've done, but this one really wore us down. We have not yet implemented a "Winter" variation for these routes, but Colin Simon & Jason Maki did the Ellingwood Ridge route in 20 hours, 1/27-28/2016.

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