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Mount Columbia

© Virginia O'Connor

Introduction

Mount Columbia can be combined with Mount Harvard if you feel up to a double peak day, but it's hard. We used the suggested Southeast ridge route in Dawson's Guide to Colorado Fourteeners, Volume 2, The Northern Peaks (4th printing, 1997). Please note: there is a big difference between a route and a trail. I'll explain in the Trail Specifics below. Here at the stats on Mount Columbia.

Elevation: 14,073 feet

Trailhead Elevation: 9,440 feet

Elevation Gain: 4,730 feet

Roundtrip Length: 12.5 miles

Roundtrip Time: 11 hours, including 2 breaks and 20 min. at the top

This is number 11 for this hiker!

Trail Rating

• Level: definitely a level 4, this one was tough
• Kids: nope, I don't even recommend that adults do this one
• Dogs: well, yes if they can handle a stiff 10- or 11-hour hike
• Facilities: nope, none at all

What to Bring

Everything. Layer your clothes appropriately and be sure you have enough cold-weather gear, including gloves, face covering, and warm boots with good socks. Bring as much water as you can comfortably carry and more. Remember that if it gets heavy, you can always drink it. Bring as many high calorie snacks as you can. We calculated that we burned between 7,000 and 9,000 calories on this hike, so plan accordingly.

How to Get There

Take U.S. Highway 24 west to Buena Vista and turn left (West) onto Chaffee County Road 350. Take Road 350 two miles to a T intersection with a stop sign. Turn right. A sign indicates N COTTONWOOD CREEK 1 Mile. Drive another mile to another T and turn left onto Chaffee County Road 365. Continue on this road, it turns to gravel, and you will find campsites all along the road. We stopped at the campsite near the Harvard Lakes trailhead because that is the start of the Southeast Ridge route.

Trail Specifics

We climbed Mount Columbia in mid-June and it was a little warmer than our last climb of Missouri Mountain. We had perfect weather this time, none of the infamous lightning, snow, or hail showers in the afternoon. These can be a danger in any of the summer months in Colorado, so take care. As I indicated above, we used a route suggested by Louis Dawson (the book is listed above) because the so-called trail is through a scree field. I don't know how you feel about scree, but I personally hate it. I also experience significant amounts of trauma when traveling up or down a scree slope, not only because of the tremendous struggle and sense of frustration, but also because the scree tumbles down and covers up the alpine flowers. So, I spend a significant amount of time unburying the flowers. Scree is a big waste of time, so I avoid it at all costs.

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