Mount Ouray

August 31, 2024

Mount Ouray | 13,979 feet

6.87 miles; 3389 feet elevation gain

Total time: 4 hours 15 minutes

This mountain had been on my list for years but with the 3+ hour drive time from home it always got pushed to the back burner. This weekend we rented a cabin on Poncha Pass so it was the perfect opportunity. Both the west ridge and east ridge look like beautiful approaches but the ridgeline cirque of the west ridge caught my eye - I love a beautiful ridgeline walk. Marshall Pass is an easy drive, a rough gravel road but accessible in any car. There are many campsites along the pass and bathrooms at the top. This drive would be incredible in the fall, with many sections being lined with aspens.

I started from Marshall Pass TH at 6:25am as the sun was rising. Overall, this route had more of a marked trail than I anticipated. You start by heading up 200C spur road, past the cabin and then break off the road into the forest. I expected this to a bit of bushwhacking but there was a clear trail most of the way through the trees. Around 11,800 feet you emerge from the trees and get your first glimpse of your objective. From here you continue ascending to the ridgeline where you get a view of the remainder of the route. Once on the ridgeline there is an on and off trail all the way to the summit, but the route is straightforward and easy to follow. The ridgeline cirque was as beautiful as I expected, a mixture of grassy tundra and rock until the start of mile 3. Mile one contained about 800 feet of elevation gain and mile two contained about 1000 feet of elevation gain. Mile three, which is mostly talus hopping, contains almost 1600 feet of elevation gain. 1200 feet of this is in the last 0.75 miles - exhausting!! Along the ridgeline you will ascend and descend a few times before reaching the final ascent, which you have been starring at for the whole route. After you pass around the white rock structure, to the left, you have the final pitch of very steep talus hopping, with no visible trail to the summit. There is nothing technical about the route but it is steep and tiring.

I reached the summit in 2 hours and 15 minutes and spent about 30 minutes up there, with the summit to myself. The summit views are beautiful, the Sawatch range in one direction and the San Luis valley in the other. From the summit you can also see your car on the top of Marshall Pass. I was the first one on the summit on Saturday and only encountered three other groups on the way down the same route. The last 1.5 miles back to the car are very runnable, if that is your vibe! Overall a beautiful but challenging route that was very low trafficked on a holiday weekend.