LOOKOUT PEAK
(13,661 ft.)July 21, 2006
By Tim Briese
Lookout Peak is a Bicentennial Peak near Ophir Pass west of Silverton that offers a short and enjoyable climb to a marvelous vantage point. A short climb was in order today because Brian and I planned to drive all the way from Ridgway to Westcliffe in the afternoon to climb in the Sangres the following day.
We left Ridgway a little after 5 a.m. in Brian=s car and headed down U.S. 550 toward Silverton. A few miles north of Silverton we left the highway and headed west on the unpaved Ophir Pass Road. I had been on the road twice before and recalled it to be passable for two wheel drive vehicles on the east side of the pass. I hoped my memory served me correctly, and it turned out that it did, because Brian=s Camry handled the road well even though it got a little rough as we climbed near the pass. The morning was clear and beautiful, much better than the day before when we attempted Pilot Knob. Along the way we saw two deer and an elk.
We found a pull-off on the north side of the road which appeared to be the trailhead about a quarter mile east of Ophir Pass. At 6:15 we struck off uphill to the north on a lightly-used trail through some bushes above the road. We continued north up a drainage on steep grass and hiked under an old powerline, which seemed to me a rather unwelcome manmade intrusion here in the heart of the mountains. Lookout Peak loomed high above to the north. I was surprised by its steep and rugged appearance. Its jagged ramparts appeared more difficult to climb than I had expected, but it turned out to be easier than it looked. The climb was certainly short and sweet, gaining 2000 feet of elevation in only one mile from the trailhead to the summit!
We picked out the best route we could find, partly on an old trail, up uneven slopes of talus and grass to a basin below the peak at 12,400 feet. At this point we headed west and climbed 400 feet up a steep slope of grass and scree to gain the crest of Lookout=s south ridge at about 12,800 feet. We headed up the steep south ridge on Class 2 terrain over talus, gravel, and rocks. I was somewhat surprised to see a climber=s trail visible in many places on the ridge, since I assumed the peak was lightly climbed. Perhaps it saw more traffic than I supposed, especially given its easy access off the Ophir Pass Road. The ascent up the ridge was a lot of fun, with varied and mildly challenging terrain. A few hundred feet below the summit we hiked up a steep dirt slope and reached the summit cliffs, which proved to be the crux of the route. This turned out to be the most fun part of the whole climb. We found a nice route that was reasonably cairned up through Class 3 ledges that required some mild rock scrambling. I deliberately went off-route in a couple of places to enhance the sporty thrill of the scrambling.
At 8:05 we strolled the last few feet up to the summit, completing the climb from the car in less than two hours. What an incredible summit it was, too! We were treated to a 360 degree panorama of the entire San Juans from this aptly-named peak. Off to the west lay the Wilson Group, to the north was Sneffels, and to the northeast Uncompahgre and Handies. Continuing in a clockwise direction were nice views of Rio Grande Pyramid, the Needle Mountains, and the Vermillion Group, with the Ophir Pass Road far below. This was one of the finest general summit panoramas I could recall, and I have been treated to many fine ones over the years. The views were enhanced by the clear sky conditions and soft early morning light. My eyes were repeatedly drawn to a beautiful lake lying in a basin directly below to the east, with sunlight glancing across its shimmering surface.
We sat on the summit for an hour while gazing about, soaking in the alpine grandeur surrounding us. Brian remarked that this climb held everything he was looking for in a fun peak, including a short, enjoyable ascent with some sporty scrambling, along with marvelous summit views. We noted in the summit register that we were only the ninth and tenth climbers, and only the fourth party, to climb the peak so far this year.
A few minutes after nine we left the top and scrambled down from the summit and slid down scree back to the south ridge. We quickly and easily glided back down the ridge, pausing to look back up at the summit from time to time. We returned to the basin and picked our way back down the lower slopes on a curving and somewhat gently descending route, arriving back at the trailhead at ten minutes past ten. The descent took only an hour, and the entire climb about four hours, including the leisurely hour spent on top. A climber from New Mexico pulled up at the trailhead while we were putting our packs away. He was planning to climb Lookout today, also, and asked for help identifying the summit on the rugged ridge to the north.
Lookout is a rather easy peak to climb in spite of its somewhat tough demeanor. The climb was one of the most purely enjoyable ones I had done in quite a while.
