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| Page Type: Custom Object Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 32.84000°N / 113.91°W Object Type: Custom Object County: Various | Page By: Aaron Johnson Created/Edited: Feb 18, 2006 / Jul 25, 2007 Object ID: 173702 Hits: 5685 Loading... Page Score: 89.77% - 22 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
San Juans: One Range or Many?This was the subject of spirited discussion prior to the creation of SP2 and this page. Should the San Juans be presented as multiple ranges or as a singular range?
If the San Juans were separate mountain ranges, where did one range end and the next begin? Were there any definitive dividing landmarks that usually depict the end of one range and the beginning of another? Other areas in Colorado also have these issues, but not to the intricate degree presented by the San Juans.
Most ranges are divided by passes, either broad or narrow, or by expanses of low lying flat land. The San Juan ranges certainly had the pass features in abundance, but there was no low lying flat land to be found anywhere. High expanses of tundra suggested the end of one range and the beginning of the next, but the high elevation of these plateaus strongly suggested continuous mountainous terrain.
While definitive ranges could be identified by such parameters, others could not. Does Stony Pass split two separate ranges? What does the Rio Grande Pyramid mark? The beginning, the middle, or the end of a range? Is Lone Cone not a member of any range? If the tiny Red Mountains are their own range, what about the mountains that surround them? Are the Cimarrons deserving of their own range status even though they extend from Wetterhorn Basin on the Uncompahgre Plateau? Despite the SummitPost position presented here, the debate over these complex issues will undoubtedly continue.
The illustration below is a representation of the San Juans in simplest terms. Ranges are connected by arrows, indicating narrow or broad passes, or tundra plateaus. With exception of the La Plata range, the San Juans are indeed one mountain range. Their complexity, due to their volcanic genesis, makes the notion hard to realize at first, but close study of topographical maps and this diagram strongly support this conclusion. Green denotes wilderness areas that occupy part of or encompass the range.
Be sure to check out The San Juan Ranges album, which compliments this page. It features photography by your fellow SP members!
Ranges of the San Juan MountainsThe Sneffels Range by SP member yorksman THE SNEFFELS RANGE & DALLAS DIVIDE
The San Juan’s most recognizable and photographed mountain group is the Sneffels/Dallas Divide range of mountains located just west of Ouray. Harboring Colorado’s most beautiful, symmetrical fourteener of the same name, this stunning collection of mountains challenges climbers with precipitous ridges and plenty of loose rock. Some of Colorado’s most dramatic climbing and awesome views can be had from this range. The range also extends south from Mount Sneffels, then southeast toward Imogene Pass. The Dallas Divide sub-range extends west, terminating at Hayden Mountain. Dallas Peak, one of Colorado’s most technical thirteeners, is part of this group.
Mount Sneffels
Dallas Peak
Mount Gilpin
Potosi Peak
Teakettle Mountain
Cirque Mountain
Ouray and Silverton Groups from Hayden Mountain by Aaron JohnsonTHE OURAY GROUP
A nebulous collection of interconnecting ranges features a wide variety of mountains that are seldom explored. The group follows a ridge line from Imogene Pass, then splits to run north to Hayden Mountain and Ouray, and south to Ophir Pass. The Ouray group also consists of the colorful sub-range of the Red Mountains, as well as the Poughkeepsie and Engineer Creek drainages, the Mineral Point area, Engineer and Amphitheater Mountains, and the Blowout Drainage just north of Ouray.
Peak 13,466 (T10)
Trico Peak
Hayden Mountain
The Red Mountains by SP member naderTHE RED MOUNTAINS
This tiny but colorful sub-range extends from Mount Abrams, easily seen from Ouray, south to Ohio Peak. Much of the range is covered in mining claims and private property. It is traversed by the Corkscrew Pass jeep road, and several of the summits can be climbed while avoiding private claims. Others cannot. Most are already featured on SP.
Red Mountain #1
Red Mountain #3
Ohio Peak
Brown Mountain
Silverton Group from the Red Mountains by SP member nader THE SILVERTON GROUP
This extensive collection of mountains is the result of the ancient collapsed Silverton Caldera volcano, and was the scene of much prosperous mining activity. A circular mountain crest extends from Mineral Point due south along the east flank of the Red Mountains to Storm Peak. A parallel range to the east across the Animas River drainage begins roughly at Cinnamon Pass and extends south to Kendall Mountain, east of Silverton. Endless possibilities exist for mountain climbing and solitude.
Whitehead Peak
Tower Mountain
Bonita Peak
Hurricane Peak
Little Giant
King Solomon Mountain
Kendall Mountain
Ice Lake Basin from UN 13,309 by SP member nader THE ICE LAKE BASIN GROUP
This massive and complex range begins at Ophir Pass and fans out westward into a bizarre and beautiful collection of spires and pinnacles. The showpiece is the massive and gorgeous Ice Lake Basin, surrounded by some of Colorado’s most beautiful and challenging summits such as U.S. Grant Peak, Pilot Knob, Golden Horn and Vermilion. The range extends southwest to San Miguel and convoluted Sheep Mountain on the east side of Lizard Head Pass. High alpine terrain connects this range with the Molas Group.
Vermilion Peak
Pilot Knob
Golden Horn
Ulysses S. Grant Peak
Fuller Peak
South Lookout Peak
Peak 13,309
The Three Needles from T10 by SP member Aaron JohnsonTHE OPHIR-TELLURIDE GROUP
A collection of obscure summits along a ridgeline that extends west from Black Bear Pass to Highway 145, this range borders the towns of Telluride to the south and Ophir to the north. Several sub-drainages extend north from this range, which features plenty of hiking in solitude and splendor. The west end of this range features the Ophir Pinnacles, a well known technical rock climbing area. THE RICO MOUNTAINS
A smaller range west of Rico and south of Dunton, extends southward and ends in sublime fashion in vast forests through which Highway 145 travels enroute to Cortez. These lonely peaks have yet to be discovered by SP members.
Talus Slopes of the San Miguel Range by SP member Aaron Johnson THE SAN MIGUEL RANGE
This beautiful mountain range harbors three of Colorado’s most challenging fourteeners, as well as the state’s most dangerous mountain to climb: Lizard Head. These mountains are clustered together, but their neighbors, also part of the range, rise further to the west, ending in the San Juan range’s most western point, the solitary Lone Cone, which sits by itself as the terminus of the Colorado high country in the west. These mountains are rugged and dangerous, and feature loose San Juan climbing at its worst. Experienced mountaineers can find these mountains a challenge. Beginners should climb elsewhere before attempting anything in the San Miguels.
MountWilson
El Diente
Wilson Peak
Gladstone Peak
Dolores Peak
Lizard Head
Blackface Mountain
Lone Cone
La Plata Mountains by SP member BSHILER THE LA PLATA RANGE
A gorgeous and rugged range west of Durango, and visible from many points in the main San Juans, these peaks are comprised of the same rotten rock found throughout the region. Their beauty is stunning nonetheless, and solitude is often assured. Some challenging climbs await the explorer in these isolated peaks, which are the only mountain group that is not connected to the rest of the San Juan range network.
Lavender Peak
Hesperus Mountain
Sharkstooth Peak
West Needles (foreground) from Grand Turk by SP member Aaron JohnsonTHE WEST NEEDLES
This small sub-range runs north and south along the west side of the Animas River and East of Highway 550 north of Durango. The north end of the range terminates in the Molas Pass area and features challenging climbs up notable peaks such as Snowdon and the Twilight Peaks.
Snowdon Peak
Twilight Peak
North Twilight Peak
West Needle Mountain
Engineer Mountain by SP member Aaron JohnsonTHE MOLAS PASS GROUP
Grizzly Peak (one of many), Rolling Mountain, Jura Knob and an extensive expanse of tundra highlands extend westward from Molas Pass, featuring a vast area of exploration possibilities. The group includes Bear Mountain, the Sultan and Grand Turk. The popular point though lies to the south. The unique and solitary Engineer Mountain is a goal for the locals, and this unusual mountain is a trademark sentinel for the South San Juan.
Grizzly Peak
Rolling Mountain
Sultan Mountain
Grand Turk
San Miguel Peak
Engineer Mountain
Jura Knob
The Needles by SP member miztflip THE NEEDLES
Making up the western half of the Weminuche Wilderness, this complex collection of jagged peaks are made of granite and are much more sturdy than most of the San Juan to the north. Five sub-ranges, including the Grenadiers (see next section), run east to west from the Vallecito drainage to the Animas River. This is Colorado at its most rugged and remote. This cluster of mountains, along with the Grenadiers, are known as the Storm Factory, for often these mountains create their own violent weather. Camping, climbing and exploration possibilities are endless, and all excursions into the area are certain to be exciting, if not epic multi-day events.
The Needles harbor three of the state’s sought-after fourteeners, Eolus, Windom and Sunlight Peaks. Some of the state’s most difficult climbs are here as well: Jagged Mountain, Peaks 18 and 19, The Monitor, Pigeon, Turret, The Index and many more obscure summits await the intrepid explorer. Access is often involved and difficult, requiring a long backback from Molas Pass, Vallecito Reservoir or Humpback Pass. The shortest backpack alternative is from the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Train, another experience in itself. Seeing the Needles is a savored lifetime experience. Being in them is another experience altogether and one you’ll never forget.
Mount Eolus
Windom Peak
Sunlight Peak
Pigeon Peak
Jagged Mountain
Jupiter Mountain
The Grenadiers by SP member Todd Caudle THE GRENADIER RANGE
A range located on the north end of the Needles massif, this impressive and rugged range features giant peaks that sear the sky like the bastions of a fortress. These peaks are legendary in the annals of Colorado’s climbing history, and their beauty is beyond compare. Challenging to approach and climb, the reward for the determined is climbing on wonderful rock and unparalleled views of a remote wilderness beyond description. Arrow, Vestal and the Trinity Peaks rule the western half of the range. Mount Silex, Storm King and the Gaurdian rule the eastern half.
Trinity Peaks
Arrow Peak
Vestal Peak
Storm King
Mount Silex
Mount Garfield
The Highlands by SP member Aaron Johnson THE HIGHLANDS
This area really isn’t a range, but high rolling tundra that extends unbroken between the Grenadiers to the south and the Silverton group to the north in the heart of the San Juans. This rolling tundra harbors many lakes and streams, and serves as a watershed for both the Animas and Rio Grande Rivers. Obscure hiking trails traverse the area, but much of it remains pristine despite lack of protection.
Whitehead Peak
The Mount Oso Group from Hunchback Mountain by SP member Aaron Johnson THE OSO GROUP
Rugged and remote, and every bit as complex as the Needles to the west, the Oso group is even more isolated and less visited than the Grenadiers or Needles. A mixture of steep faces and rotten rock, the Oso Massif stands as a formidable barrier betwen the Vallecito drainage and points east. Mountains extend south from the Oso massif proper, and also north to Hunchback Mountain along the Continental Divide. Mount Oso, the centerpiece of the group, is rugged to climb and demands a long approach from any direction.
Mount Oso
The Rio Grande Pyramid by SP member robinmtns THE EAST-CENTRAL SAN JUAN
A pass west of the Oso Massif is the beginning of the meandering range of the Divide Crest, which extends eastward along the south flank of the Rio Grande Pyramid and further, until it bends to the south where it is breached by Wolf Creek Pass. This is remote country, where many summits remain unclimbed and unnamed. The area is popular with sportsmen and comprises the sprawling eastern half of the remote Weminuche Wilderness.
The Rio Grande Pyramid
The South San Juan by SP member Aaron JohnsonTHE SOUTH SAN JUAN
Extending south from Wolf Creek Pass, this remote area also features many unclimbed and unnamed summits. The area is popular with sportsmen and was the scene of ruinous mining activity even in recent years. The San Juans extend into New Mexico before finally reaching a quiet terminus in wooded lands.
Conejos Peak
Summit Peak
Redcloud Peak by SP member Jon Bradford LAKE CITY GROUPS A & B
This expansive set of ranges begins at Stony Pass and sprawls northward along the Divide in a twisted course back toward the east, eventually coursing along the south shore of Lake San Cristobal, Colorado’s largest natural body of water, just south of Lake City and Slumgullion Pass. The range also terminates at Spring Creek Pass, where a narrow and broad stretch of tundra hovers at timberline to connect to the La Garita Range. Many unnamed and unvisited summits reside along this spine of mountains, traversed in the middle by a jeep road to Carson City and beyond to the Rio Grande Valley west of Creede.
But there’s more! The group is also traversed by the Cinnamon Pass jeep road, where another range (Group A) parallels the first range also in an easterly course to the north shores of Lake San Cristobal, terminating at Red Mountain, just south of Lake City. These two groups wrap around popular fourteener Handies Peak, which offers the best strategic view of the San Juans. Two more fourteeners also reside nearby, Redcloud and Sunshine. Most of the hiking in this range is class two on typical San Juan talus.
Redcloud Peak
Handies Peak
Sunshine Peak
Half Peak
Pt. 13,832 & 13,811
Niagra Peak
Jones Mountain
Pt. 13, 795
Sundog
Wood Mountain
Canby Mountain
Organ Mountain, La Garita Range by SP member Aaron JohnsonTHE LA GARITA RANGE
The western half of this northwest to southeast trending range is comprised of great tundra plateaus that sprawl eastward from Spring Creek Pass like a fan and hovering around 12,000 feet. The range rises in earnest in a series of mountain monoliths such as Stewart Peak, Organ Mountain and lonely fourteener, San Luis Peak. The range serves a variety of interests, and about half of it carries the wilderness designation. On the south side of the range is the unique Wheeler Geologic Area, with its bizarre volcanic tuff formations situated in a remote setting that is a challenge to reach. Expect pristine solitude in the La Garitas.
San Luis Peak
Stewart Peak
Organ Mountain
Baldy Alto
Baldy Cinco
Wheeler Geologic Area
Cannibal Plateau by SP member Ryan SchillingCANNIBAL PLATEAU
Located northeast of Lake City and extending north from Slumgullion Pass, this is the largest uninterrupted expanse of rolling tundra in Colorado. Hovering at 12,000 feet in elevation, this wilderness is largely unvisited by hikers, but is popular with snowmobile enthusiasts and hunters. The formation is named in honor of the famed cannibal Alferd Packer.
Uncompahgre Range from Redcloud Peak by SP member Aaron Johnson THE UNCOMPAHGRE RANGE
Extending generally eastward from Engineer Pass along the north side of Henson Creek, the Uncompahgre is some of the finest wilderness in Colorado. Alpine tundra dotted by spires and pillars, this rugged landscape features two of Colorado’s finest mountains, Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre Peaks. Many summits in this range are unnamed and rarely, if ever climbed. Two spur ranges extend north toward the Gunnison River from the fourteeners.
Uncompahgre Peak
Wetterhorn Peak
Wildhorse Peak & Engineer Mountain
Broken Hill
Precipice Peak in the Cimarron Range by SP member Aaron JohnsonTHE CIMARRON RANGE
The Cimarrons are often regarded as a sub-range of the Uncompahgre, and are the third, western spur of mountains that extend north from the Uncompahgre range, beginning at the bizarre looking Coxcomb Peak. The range is collection of the most unusual and remote summits in Colorado. Redcliff, Precipice, Dunsinane and Courthouse Mountain all exhibit character unique beyond description. The climbing variety is endless, from hiking the weird hoodoos on Precipice to the challenge of a 5.8 climb with little protection on the towering Chimney Rock. The nearby Turret Needles were only recently scaled.
Coxcomb Peak
Redcliff
Precipice Peak
Courthouse Mountain
Castle Rock
Be sure to check out The San Juan Ranges album, which compliments this page. It features excellent photography by your fellow SP members! Additional San Juan Range AppendicesSan Juan Range Appendix A
4WD Roads, Historical/Geological Timeline/Geological History
San Juan Range Appendix C
The towns of the San Juans and links to additional information.
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