AMERICAN PEAK
(13,803')August 1, 2007
By Tim Briese
Brian and I drove north from Silverton early in the morning on the Alpine Loop Road and four-wheeled up the steep but fairly smooth Burns Gulch Road to about 11,800 feet. The road became markedly rougher at a minor stream crossing so we parked there and called it our trailhead.
At 6:30 a.m. we began bushwhacking to the east up steep grassy slopes beside the small stream. After climbing a few hundred feet the terrain leveled off a bit and we continued up the drainage to a small lake at 12,500 feet. Gerry Roach describes this route to American in his 13er book, and it felt good to have his impeccable guidance available for a climb again. We found a nice climber=s trail up through talus above the lake which we followed up to a 13,340 foot saddle between Jones and American Peaks. We arrived there a few minutes before 8 a.m.
We took a break at the saddle and studied the route the rest of the way to American. There were multiple points along the ridge to the east and at first we weren=t sure which one was our peak. My map showed that American was about a half mile from the saddle, but it was difficult to judge distance while looking directly into the early morning sun. Presently we embarked on a trail that climbed northeastward from the saddle and then contoured across talus on the south side of the ridge. Brian used a GPS waypoint he had set for American Peak to help us quickly determine which point was our goal. At a small saddle along the trail we paused to marvel at a spectacular view down into American Basin to the north. The final approach to the summit looked rather steep and rough as we approached, but a nice trail with a difficulty of no more than Class 2 took us deftly up through the talus to the top.
We arrived on the summit at 9 a.m., after a 45 minute hike from the saddle. It was pleasant and calm this morning, and we lounged around for well over an hour gazing about and identifying peaks all over the San Juans. The sky was a little hazy which added a nice depth perspective to the views. The view into American Basin directly below to the north was particularly dramatic. Sloan Lake sparkled like an emerald gem, and Handies Peak towered above. We could see numerous climbers on the trail to Handies and on its summit. The register on American showed that it had seen a small but steady trickle of visitors in recent years at the rate of about 20 climbers per year.
We left the top at 10:15 and began our descent. Going down was fast and easy and we were back at the truck by 11:45, which afforded us the opportunity to enjoy lunch at Handlebars in Silverton. We hiked about four miles and climbed 2000 feet of elevation gain on this short climb. American is a fun and rather easy peak to climb, and offers fine views from its excellent vantage point in midst of the San Juans.
