Sawtooth Range Co – Finding Timo

The “Incisor,” and some of her friends: Northern Park Range, Colorado (Class 4)

TLDR: The ridge north of Big Agnes is full of interesting soft-ranked peaks with sections of rolling alpine, surprising challenges, and bomber rock. It can be roughly split into two parts, a higher section from the shoulder of Big Agnes to the “Incisor,” and an end-cap with the “Castle” and its unnamed neighbor, both of which look like minimum Class 3 scrambling. This report covers a Slavonia start, Micah Basin approach, ascent of “Middle Agnes,” and a jaunt north over every high point to the Incisor and a smaller, hidden (but really fun) high point behind it. Then, you loop back to the highest of two unnamed lakes in what I think is the prettiest basin in the region. Pick your line of least resistance to the saddle with Mt. Zirkel, turn south and piece together a connection to the Gilpin Lake Trail. From there, bust on back to the car. What you get: clash of environments, forest, alpine, off-trail hiking, short bouts of Class 3-4 scrambling on good rock, a series of high points, two stunning unnamed lakes, lots of off-trail exploration and, ultimately, a loop back to where you started. I don’t think this hike will appeal to too many checklist people when you have Zirkel, Big Agnes, and Flattop Mountain as the area’s only 12ers and this hike covers none of them. I saw the potential for this route from a previous scramble of the west ridge up Big Agnes and wanted to check it out. I’d consider it more of an exploration-type adventure than a summit bagging or scrambling adventure (even though it has both). This hike made me reexamine the role arbitrary elevation lines have had in limiting mountain discovery because on a map it doesn’t look like there’s much to love, but when you get back there, it’s a whole different ballgame.

-Roundtrip distance: ~13 miles (+4,150 ft.) *roughly half of the distance is off-trail, your pace will slow and orientation skills are a must*

Go Pro video of the ridge/scrambling portions only.

Click on a heading to jump to that section. At the end of each section is a “Back to Table of Content,” phrase, click on it to return here.

Preface/Rating System
Regional Intro
Resources
The Approach
To the “Incisor” (Class 4)
Extra Credit (Class 3)
Tarns, basins, and off-trail beauty (Class 2+)
Return to Gilpin Trail (Class 2)

Preface/Rating System

Quick disclaimer: I like to highlight and mark-up some of my pictures for route clarification.

Black/white lines= general directions, landmarks, and/or Class 1 sections.
Blue Lines=Class 2 sections.
Red= Class 3 sections.
Purple = Class 4 sections.
Orange = Class 5.

The class system is based on the YDS rating scale. Please note that these colors are different than other sites. If you are unsure of what a color means, I usually leave a quick reminder in the picture caption.

Quick Stats:

Highest point: 12,010 ft. on Middle Agnes
YDS breakdown
- Approach to Micah Lake: Trailed Class 1
- Spike Bypass saddle NE of Micah Lake: Class 2
- Middle Agnes to Highpoint 1: loose Class 3 traverse or Class 5 downclimb, Class 3 ascent
- Highpoint 1 to “Molar Tooth”: Class 3 descent, Class 2 ascent
- “Molar Tooth” to “Golden Tooth”: Class 3/4 descent, Class 3 ascent
- “Golden Tooth” to “Incisor”: Class 2-3 descent, Class 4 summit pitch (for both summits)
- “The Incisor” to optional highpoint “Flathead”: Class 2+ descent, Class 3 ascent
- Descent to highest lake “Timo’s Tarn” for simplicity, officially unnamed: Class 3
- Follow the basin east toward Zirkel: Class 2+
- From low saddle west of Zirkel south to Gilpin Trail: Class 2
- Gilpin Trail to Trailhead: Class 1

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Regional Introduction

For a very long and probably overly detailed explanation, click here.

The Park Range has three pieces. The southern piece is called the Gore Range, the middle part is low and forested (think Rabbit Ears Pass), and the Northern Park is largely in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness. The southern and northern portions have exquisite scrambling, and after completing the Big Agnes West Ridge Route (with the Spike add-on), I wanted to explore all the ridges around there.

The area I’m focusing my efforts on is the Sawtooth Range, the spindly ridges that lead up to and around Big Agnes. You access this area from Slavonia Trailhead, which is about an hour north of Steamboat, near the town of Clark.

This particular journey includes a series of soft-ranked summits on a north-south oriented ridge north of Big Agnes and some quality off-trail navigation.

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Resources

Weather, always check the weather. This area does not have a hugely reliable forecast; expect high variability and come prepared. Unless you live in Routt County, make sure someone has a detailed plan of where you are going and how long you plan to be there.

For general lower trail conditions, you can use the Clark 7-day forecast. For the higher portion of the hike, Mt. Zirkel is the most reliable forecast.

Here are some local emergency numbers as well; stay safe out there.

Routt County Sheriff: 970-879-1090 (offices in Steamboat Springs)
Routt National Forest: 970-723-2700 (offices in Walden)

There are some resources that shed light on this region. Summitpost has a good Park Range page with mountain profiles; there are occasional Zirkel and Big Agnes reports on 14ers.com, and List of John has regional trail reports. The following photo journal is also a great resource for the Sawtooth Traverse, but it is a photo journal and doesn’t go into too many scrambling specifics. The definitive guidebook for the region was written by Joe Kramarsic, but it is not well distributed. You’ll have to hunt in local gear shops in Steamboat or perhaps Winter Park to find it. It’s listed on Amazon as “Mountaineering in the Park Range. A Guide to the Mountains of the Mount Zirkel-Dome Peak wilderness,” but has been unavailable every time I’ve checked. Hopefully, this guide helps fill in some knowledge gaps.

Directions to Trailhead: Type Slavonia Trailhead or Seedhouse Road into your phone and follow the directions. If you’re coming from the Front Range, expect somewhere between 4 and 6 hours.

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The Approach

Since the approach is the same for the West Ridge of Big Agnes, I just copy/pasted from that guide. If you’re interested in that scrambling route, here’s a link to that post.

From the trailhead, pick up the only trail as it heads northeast-ish. Only a few points of a mile into the hike, you’ll come across a trail junction. Take the left branch (Gilpin Trail); the right one heads to Gold Creek Lake. Continue along the trail as it ascends a smaller valley and skirts a larger burn area. You’ll be seeing lots of burn evidence on this hike. The late 90s saw a devastating wind event in the region, followed by a pine beetle infestation and a couple of fires (~2002). Combine that with the deeep regional snowfall (~500+ inches a year), and I think trees have just had a really hard time bouncing back. It’ll look a little bare on the approach, but for the first 1.25 miles, you stay in a treed area and only skirt the scars.

The next junction is with the Micah Basin Trail; take a left and head up the valley. The approach into the basin is a good 700 or so vertical feet in less than a mile. It’s not so bad in the morning, but from late July-early September, if you go up this stretch, put on some sunscreen, it gets bright.

Once you get into the basin, the elevation gain lessens, and you meander along the trail as it winds higher among fields, burn scars, and babbling brooks. Eventually, you cross a crest of land and can stare down a small rise to the shores of Micah Lake. Your introduction is over. Micah lake is about 4 miles in, so it’s really not a bad approach, and all on easily identifiable trails.

Micah Lake.

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To the “Incisor” (Class 4)

Instead of heading directly north to the low saddle visible from Micah Lake, you want to head northeast into the higher part of Micah Basin. A good visual cue is to head right from the lake shoreline and keep the rock towers of “The Spike” clearly framed to your left.

Once you get beyond the towers, a steep but Class 2 slope will present itself and you can get onto the ridge without too much difficulty.

The key to this ascent is to stay to the left of a thick patch of Krummholz. These low-lying subalpine pine shrugs are very hardy plants and will scratch the shit out of you if you try to break through a patch. It’s much easier to just go around them until you hit the ridge.

The blue arrows in the picture above show the ascent route to the ridgeline. Everything from Big Agnes to the left is part of the prominent N-S ridge that makes up the bulk of what’s considered to be a part of the “Sawtooth Range.” There are other components of the range on the other side of Big Agnes.

Once you hit the ridgeline, you can turn west (left) and see the isolated but very gratifying set of rocky towers known as “The Spike.” There’s also a smaller north-south ridge that has a prominent rock tower on it called “The Grand Central Tooth,” according to ListofJohn. Other online references to this rock are rare or nonexistent; I’ll use the name’s I can find. If I can’t find a name, I’ll create one to help with orientation. A lot of the peaks around here don’t have names, and if they do, they are unofficial.

The “Grand Central Tooth.”

If you’re looking at Grand Central Tooth, head east (right), following the ridgeline as you skirt to the left of the Krummholz patch and ascend a Class 2 grassy slope up to “Middle Agnes.” As you ascend, you’ll get stunning views of one of the most dramatic cliff lines in the area (Mt. Zirkel’s west slope being the other contender). Now, these aren’t the most dramatic cliffs in the state, probably not even the top 100 (or 200, tbh), but for the region, they are stark, shapely, and give you a preview of the summits you’ll be on. Rest assured, the other side is easier to scamper across, but I wonder if there’s a scrambling way up those cliffs that does two things 1. stays fun, 2. avoids roped climbing pitches. Further exploration is required.

At one point there’s a small cluster of rocks on the ridgeline, you can just hop around it to the right to keep everything in the Class 2 range.

Stay to the right of the rock cluster on the ridgeline.

If you haven’t yet, hop up to the top of Middle Agnes, an obvious high point in the shadow of Big Agnes’s North Wall. Instead of working your way to Big Agnes, you’re going to head north (left if you’re looking at the view in the picture below).

From Middle Agnes, looking over to Zirkel.

The ridge from this perspective doesn’t nearly as intense as it did from the ascent up Middle Agnes, but it has a few surprises waiting for you.

Here, again, is the link to a GoPro video detailing all ridgeline issues and challenges. It does not show how to get back, only the scrambling parts!

The first question you should ask yourself is, “how do I get off this thing?” Which, as it turns out, is not so easy and makes up your first challenge.

Blue=Class 2, Red=Class 3, Purple=Class 4, Orange=Class 5

There are two options, you can head north from the summit of Middle Agnes and piece together a relatively short but very significant Class 5 downclimb to the next saddle, or you can take the loose way around (Class 3).

The Class 5 downclimb looks like this from the next saddle to the north.

Short but consequential Class 5 downclimb off of Middle Agnes.

You don’t really get a look at the downclimb until you’re on top of it, so I decided to find a way around. Turns out there is a navigationally easy alternative but probably my least favorite part of this hike. It’s not long, it’ll take you only a few minutes, but everything moves. It’s San Juan scree meets off-trail Cascade volcanic crap. Is it doable? Yeah, absolutely. But go slow, check every hold, and don’t be surprised if you slide and/or have to kickstep a bench out of the loose slope to stabilize yourself.

This part kinda sucks, but it’s not long; just go slow and double-check everything. The good news is that you do not have to do this part again if you make a loop out of your route.

Once you make it to the first saddle, you need to scramble up Class 3 blocks to the top of Highpoint 1. This one isn’t that visible from the approach and only has like 40 feet of prominence, but it’s in your way, and you need to deal with it.

What’s not apparent from the short scramble to the top is that the majority of Class 3 scrambling on Highpoint 1 comes on the descent to the following saddle. It’s stable for the most part, 3.5/5 if 5 is the sturdiest bomber rock you ever held, but there are a few places where careful foot selection will help you out. You can descend about 2/3 of the way along the ridge crest. However, the endcap is a bit of a cliff. Bounce right and traverse around to avoid having to backtrack.

Looking back up at Highpoint 1 from a section of Class 3 scrambling.

The scrambling is pretty involved and interesting, but the best view of this stretch of the route isn’t from the ridge. On your return journey, you’ll be able to snag the view below.

The rock striations on Highpoint 1 are really fun to look at. Red=Class 3, Blue=Class2.

Once you get off the rocky ridge, you’ll end up in a Class 2 saddle. The rest of the ascent to “Molar Tooth,” which was probably the most obvious high point you saw on the approach, is a pretty easy Class 2+ affair. The only real scrambling is a couple feet near the top.

This part of the route is lovely and rolling. Enjoy it while it lasts. As you descend off of the “Molar Tooth,” make sure to stay closer to the ridgeline so you can enjoy the dramatic western profile of the ridge.

Looking back to “Molar Tooth” Blue=Class 2.

You’ll descend toward the notch between “Molar Tooth” and “Golden Tooth”, which seems to go at an easy Class 2 until you hit the Trench. This gouged-out section of the ridge forces you into some brief Class 4 downclimbing. It’s only a couple of moves but may come as a shock given the gentle nature of “Molar tooth.”

The view ahead as you get closer to the Trench shows the gnarly sides of both “Golden Tooth” and the “Incisor.”

Like the Class 5 downclimb off of Middle Agnes, you don’t really see the Trench until you’re right on top of it. The best perspective is actually down by one of the two lakes you’ll visit later. I’m calling it Timo’s tarn bc it doesn’t have a name, and since there are two lakes, it’ll be easier to reference later in the report, but you can call it whatever you want.

The Trench is an interesting and abrupt feature. The geology in this area is super cool with lots of interesting rocks shapes, striations, and colors. Purple=Class 4, Red=Class 3, Blue=Class2.

The descent isn’t long, and despite the near-vertical look, there are two variations that stay Class 4 and make use of a slanted boulder that keeps the difficulty from shooting into the Class 5 range. (Check out the footage here.)

Once you’re down in the trench, you’ll notice that the rock lining the other side has a few more breaks in it, which gives you more to work with. There’s a nice Class 4 climb (optional) and an easier Class 3 traverse to a Class 2 slope.

Purple=Class 4, Red=Class 3, Blue=Class 2

Whenever you’ve picked your route, work your way out of the trench and reclimb up to “Golden Tooth.” If you took the easier traverse, the scrambling is majority Class 2, with a short/fun Class 3 section near the top.

The Class 3 scrambling section up to the top of “Golden Tooth.” The rock is sturdy and a nice break from the rolling tundra you’ve been moving through, but like previous sections, it’s over pretty quickly.

“Golden Tooth” is the last summit before you get to the “Incisor.” Again, summit is a bit of a stretch. I think we’re looking at like 80 ft. or prominence…maybe. But it has nice scrambling, and the views keep getting better the farther north you go. I think the best perspective I’ve found for “Golden Tooth,” was taken on a subsequent trip up Little Agnes. It hides from most perspectives, but when you’re climbing up it from the Trench, it certainly feels like enough of a highpoint to warrant acknowledgment.

Taken from Little Agnes’s East Ridge, another Class 4 route in an area that’s just full of ’em.

There’s a bit of Class3 downclimbing but nothing substantial, and before you know it, you’re knocking on the “Incisors” door. To me, this was the most consequential summit. There are two summit blocks, both require a little Class 4, and the rock is glorious. Despite the exquisite scrambling, both sections are short, which is another staple of the route. I believe the western summit is higher, and it also has the most gratifying scrambling on it. The best way to dispense with it is to move up between the two summits, drop your pack, and hit the western one first.

Generalized look. Purple=Class 4, Red=Class 3, Blue=Class 2

The western summit is basically one intact rocky slab that has an astounding amount of exposure to the north. The exposure to the south is less scary, but a slip will absolutely send you tumbling head over heels down to more dangerous terrain. This is very clearly a no-fall zone.

I climbed up according to the alt. route in the picture below, but you can squeeze in a little extra Class 3 before a few non-negotiable Class 4 moves if you hit the ridgeline between the two summits first and then turn left toward the western summit.

Despite the short duration, this is the best section of rock on the whole ridge. You can find a few variations to work with; the rock quality is 5/5, and if you combine this summit with the eastern one, you get to stretch the scrambling out for longer.

Careful up top; not a whole lot of room. Looking back east, you can zero in on the route up the other summit block, which wasn’t 100% visible from below.

Fun, fun, fun. Purple=Class 4, Red=Class 3.

Both summits are really fun, the western one feels more dramatic and exposed, but the eastern one has better views toward Zirkel and the massive untrailed basing between it and you. What’s nice from this perspective is you can piece together a visual route into that basin, cuz if you do the loop, that’s where ya going. (If you have the time, you want to do this, but it is longer and has way more off-trail navigation.)

Once you’ve had your fill of the “Incisor,” you could start to head down into the basin with the lakes, but I would recommend going a bit farther. There’s a high point that’s been hidden this entire time, and it’s a fun 3rd Class scramble. Plus, you get some great looks at the rock walls on the “Incisor’s” north side.

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Extra Credit (Class 3) “Flathead Rock”

The first cool part about this added little section is that you can descend reasonably close to the Incisor’s dramatic north face without having to do anything more than Class 2+.

The descent is Class 2 to the next saddle.

The scrambling on Flathead Rock is fun. You start right on the ridgeline and ascend up to just below the summit block; this gives you great sections of Class 3 scrambling. Once you make it up to below the highest part, the easiest thing to do is traverse to the right and scout a way around.

Probably my favorite view of the whole day, especially with the warm afternoon light.

You’ll start on a grassy bench that narrows down to a slanted rock. Traversing the slanted rock is solidly Class 3 with exposure behind you. Once you turn the corner, you’ll end up on another bench.

Now, turn to find the highest rock (hard left) and scamper up (Class 3). I ended up taking a nice long break up here, it’s a cool spot with killer views of the Incisor to the north, the Castle, and whatever sharp, mystery peak is in front of it.

From here, the main ridge you’ve been on dips to its lowest col before climbing back up to the Castle. It makes for a natural break. My original plan was to do the whole ridge up to the Castle but sometimes life shits on your plans. I got a bead leak in my tire pulling into Steamboat so my early start was replaced with 2 hours of waiting for a shop to open and another 2 to get it fixed, plus another hour to the trailhead. I don’t think I hit the trail before 10:30, so by the time I got to Flathead Rock, the afternoon was in full swing and I had hours of off-trail travel ahead of me. Flathead ended up being the last summit on the day but because of the views, probably my favorite on the day. I’ll have to come back for the Castle and it’s crazy looking neighbor.

Chronogically, Gopro video coverage ends on the top of Flathead Rock.

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Tarns, Basins, and Off-Trail Beauty (Class 3)

From the Flathead Rock/Incisor area, though, you have the easiest exit off the ridge. If you went out to the Castle, you’d have to budget another hour or two for going out and coming back. I don’t know if the ridge north of the Castle goes and if it does you’ll just end up farther from where you started. Coming back over the ridge seems to be the best one-day option.

Work your way back to the saddle between Flathead Rock and the Incisor. From there, head SE toward Timo’s tarn.

There’s a grove of krummholz here that you can try to skirt to the south, though you then have to deal with loose traversing. You can also pick a path through the krummholz veering left to stay on its northern side, where the scrambling is less. Between the krummholz are a few lines of rock steps, so be prepared for those (Class 3).

The rock most prominent rock tower, is the Eastern Summit of The Incisor.

Once free of the steepest part of the descent, it’s an easy Class 2 stroll to the lakeside. However, the shoreline has a lot of rock alongside it, so anticipate some Class 3 scrambling to get to the outflow stream when you’re ready to leave the area. If it’s a hot day, the lake is deep enough for a jump and, at least when I was there, had a wonderful greenish hue.

The echo is also pretty good here, so if you take a dip, follow that up with a nice shout to see if you can hear it bouncing off the ridges. All in all, this is a very cool place and still allows you two options to get back. Reclimb the few hundred feet to the ridge and backtrack, or head downhill and deeper into the basin.

If you go deeper into the basin, your first challenge is getting away from the shoreline. The best thing to do is climb above the shoreline and traverse across until you can hop down to gentler terrain on the southern edge of the lake.

Once you’re clear of the lake, follow the drainage down, clinging to the left (north) side for easier movement (Class 2). The outflow stream starts underground before reappearing farther down, but anything close to the water will be slippier.

On this stretch, you get some interesting views back up to the ridgelines around Big Agnes, including a cool look up to the South Summit of Big Agnes from below some gnarly cliffs.

Looking down the valley, you get an idea of where you want to go. Ideally, you want to stay closer to the ridgeline on your right (which looks super gnarly and is on my scramble list).

Looking back up from where you came you can see that the easiest descent (or ascent) route is hugging the north side of the drainage.

I think there’s probably a way to rope in a shoreline traverse of the other unnamed lake in the basin, but it won’t make for your fastest route. In my situation, running out of daylight, I was going for the easiest route out of this wild, trailless, and miles-from-my-car mountain basin. Below is the route I settled on. It worked well.

The high route in the pic above (high as in you never quite descend down to the other lake) is the faster way out of this basin. There’s a decent amount of sidehilling, but it’s not more than a few Class 2+ moves. Essentially, you descend down to the outflow stream, cross it, and find a way to attack the grassy bench just to the south of the lake. Then, wrap-around, regaining a bit of elevation, until you can see a diagonal slot (pointing up and to the left) that’ll take you around another finger of land.

Even if you had the time to go down to the lake, I’d recommend skipping it and traversing above because of the views of the Castle. They just keep getting better and better.

And look, once again, these aren’t 14ers, they don’t have thousand-foot uninterrupted cliffs, but this area is surprisingly rugged, wild, and beautiful.

Anyway, now that you’re traversing above the lake, time to look for your next marker.

Forgive the bad quality of the pics above; however, they do a great job of showing the whole traverse. Once you make it to the end of the ramp, turn right and enter another basin, this time with the flanks of Mt. Zirkel just to the east of you.

Work your way up forgiving ground in a S-SE direction, taking care not to lose elevation or cliff out. Eventually, a super loose gully will separate you from the pass you’re going for. DO NOT TRAVERSE THIS SLOPE. I did, and it blew chunks; wasted a lot of time in there. Can you? Yeah, but if you’re doing this loop the way I’m describing, this far into the journey, you’re going to be tired and more susceptible to mistakes. Mentally, it may be tough, but the best thing to do is drop a couple hundred feet to more stable ground and then reclimb up to the pass.

The reason traversing high is crap is because it’s steep, there’s no grass or solid slope to get traction, and the rocks are all small, meaning any bit of movement starts a slide. Plus, for your convenience, you’ll be traversing below crumbly cliffs that almost certainly contain rockfall danger. It’s just crap; drop down and go around.

Once you finally make it to the saddle, you’re out of one trailless basin and into another. Luckily, now you’re on the right side of the range. Let’s take a look at a map of your progress since Flathead Rock.

Nice! You cover a good amount of distance in this basin, but there is an issue. Do you see any indication of Gilpin Lake Trail in the pic above? Nope, because it’s still far below the bottom frame. It’s off-trail till you reconnect, but thankfully, it’s downhill and fairly intuitive.

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Return to Gilpin Trail (Class 2)

Follow the drainage down. From the saddle, connect fields and rocky benches together in a southward direction. You want to eventually get on the right (west) bank of the stream that starts from a small tarn you can see from the saddle. The ground is uneven, and this late into the hike, perfect ankle-rolling territory, Be cautious!

As you make your way down the valley, you’ll notice the Pt. 11,580 sticking up like a sore thumb; the easiest route is to stay relatively close to its flanks.

This strategy works well for a while but finding a good place to meet the Gilpin Trail takes a little creative navigation. If you stay on your trajectory, using Pt. 11,580 as a wall to your right, you could end up trending parallel to the trail without connecting, which is a grand ole way to waste more time and energy (says the guy who did exactly that). On a follow-up mission to scramble Bulwark Ridge, I did find what I think is the best reconnection strategy.

It’s not foolproof, but eventually, the terrain features a series of bogs and meadows. The temptation is to stay to the right to avoid them, however, if you find yourself on a rib of rock. Turn to the right and see if you see this view.

If you can, turn around and veer downhill and diagonal left (east-southeast). You’ll pass through a few more fields, some wetter than others, but there are many game trails to follow. Keep a true south trajectory when able, and you should pop into the trail right here.

Don’t expect the last part of this to be smooth. It’s tough bushwhacking and checking orientation often that ultimately got me to this spot.

Back on the trail, bust ass to your car, just remember, it’s still a few miles to Slavonia.

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Conclusion and Future Adventures

I loved this hike for a variety of reasons. The scrambling on the Incisor was short but very fun and well-worth the ridge walk. Flathead Rock was kind of the surprise hit, I really enjoyed that highpoint. The tarns are also delightful, and worth an alpine dip. The trailless basin you end up in has some of the best views of the whole region and it all feels very wild. Plus, you can make a loop out of it. This is an unexpected and surprising route for those interested in getting way more than the map suggests you will.

My next adventure in the region was a route up to and across Bulwark Ridge (my name, it officially doesn’t have one) which ended up being more committing and, in my opinion, more of a classic high peaks scramble than Big Agnes’s West Ridge. Stick around for that one!

Big Agnes Mountain West Ridge (Class 4) w/ Optional “Spike” Traverse (Class 4)

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Looking to Mt. Zirkel from below Big Agnes’s true summit

TLDR: Big Agnes Mountain has a few ascent routes, this is the most difficult while still allowing access without ropes. It’s a really fun, dramatic route with short periods of intense scrambling followed by very pleasant alpine strolling. The scrambling (both up Big Agnes’s north summit/west ridge and around the Spike) certainly demand attention and careful route selection but aren’t as difficult or nearly as long as something like the North Ridge of Lead Mountain. However, for such a geographically small area, the scrambling possibilities are explosive. There are many, many individual rock formations that you could add to the adventure, although many of them require ropes. In most cases, you can just breeze right by them so the variety of possibilities is a highlight. This route takes advantage of easy access, offers great views of the Sawtooth Range, sections of superlative scrambling and stellar views of Mt. Zirkel. I have two Gopro videos that show both the Spike and the W. Ridge. You’ll find links sprinkled throughout the article. There’s no volume, it’s really for informational purposes and goes well with the route description below. “Spike Traverse,” “Big Agnes W. Ridge.”

-via W. ridge and the Spike: ~10.6 miles (+ 3,920 ft.)

-via W. ridge and the Spike Bypass: ~10.25 miles (+ 3,770 ft.)

Each bullet point below is hyperlinked, just click it to go to that section of the report. At the bottom of each section is another hyperlink back to the table of contents. Endless scrolling is annoying, hopefully this helps.

Preface/Rating System
Introduction to the region (lots of maps and geography talk)
Resources
The Approach
The Spike Option ie. full West Ridge Traverse (Class 4)
Spike Bypass
Big Agnes West Ridge (Brief Class 4)
Descent Options
Conclusion/Future Reports

Starting along the ridge to the Spike. Peak 11,777 is the large peak, and Pt. 11,820 is the mountain farther behind.

Preface/Rating System

Quick disclaimer: I like to highlight and mark-up some of my pictures for route clarification.

Black/white lines= general directions, landmarks and/or Class 1 sections.
Blue Lines=Class 2 sections.
Red= Class 3 sections.
Purple = Class 4 sections.
Orange = Class 5.

Quick Stats:

Highest point: 12,060 ft. on Big Agnes Mountain’s middle summit (there are three)
YDS breakdown
- Approach to Micah Lake: Trailed Class 1
- Low saddle north of Micah Lake: Class 2
- Direct approach that skips the “Spike”: Class 2+
- “The Spike” (optional but very fun): Class 4
- The North Summit of Big Agnes from this route: Class 4
- Descent route: Class 2+

The Class 4 challenge on the way to Big Agnes, the North and south summits are showing; the true summit is hidden. You’ll ascend just to the left of the obvious cliff face.

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Introduction

So, the Park Range. it’s a lower, lesser-known, and difficult range to reach, despite relatively good access from the Steamboat area. Resources are scarce, although there are some (discussed in the Resources section), so my scrambling partner and I were flying a bit blind. A lot of this adventure was an exploratory endeavor, and I think the route represents a really good case study of the type of terrain available here. The rock is generally very solid around Big Agnes but gets less solid around Mt. Zirkel and the Continental Divide.

Since many people recreate in Colorado without ever stepping foot in this part of the state, I think it’s beneficial to play a little geography catch-up.

Here’s a big overview of the main ranges of Colorado. By the way, I hope you are a map person. Slide the bar to the right to see a PARTIALLY labeled map. The partially labeled map shows areas many people are familiar with but also leaves some notable areas out, like the Grand Mesa, Rabbit Ears Range, Roan Cliffs, Uncompahgre Plateau, and The Park Range.

If you’re wondering what the numbers in the Front Range Zone represent, here they are:

1. Medicine Bow Range (NOT Medicine Bow Peak, that’s in the same range but north of the border in Wyoming. A lot of people just call these the Rawahs because of the wilderness area and to avoid confusion.)
2. Never Summer Range.
3. The Mummy Range.
4. The most popular area of Rocky Mountain National Park, west of the town of Estes park. The east/northeastern part of the Never Summers and all of the Mummy Range belong in the park as well.
5. The Indian Peaks Wilderness
6. James Peak Wilderness
7. The mountains around I-70 i.e. Loveland Pass, Pettingell, Citadel, Grays/Torreys, Evans etc.
8. The Pikes Peak Massif, kinda off on its own
9. The Wet Mountains

Wow, great, cool, super nice, but where’s the Park Range? Great question; it be here.

There are three broad areas of the Park Range that, combined, make for a continuous uplift area about 180 miles in length before jumping the border into Wyoming. Big Agnes and Mount Zirkel are located in the Northern Park Range, which we’ll be focusing on.

The middle section of the Park Range is a lower, rolling area with thick forests (Sarvis Creek Wilderness is a notable feature, along with the Colorado River breaking through the range just west of Kremmling). If you’ve ever driven over Rabbit Ears pass on US 40, that’s a great example of the terrain typically associated with that region.

The southern part of the range is really dramatic and known as the Gore. This part of the Park Range is well-known and well-loved for a truly mind-boggling amount of scrambling and peak bagging. The Northern Park Range is similar in its offerings but much less expansive.

Sweet, let’s zoom in on the northern part of the range, again, with an unlabeled and labeled map; just slide the indicator to toggle between them.

Zoomed in on the Park Range north of US 40 and Rabbit Ears Pass

Yeah, so, a lot going on. Steamboat Springs is on the southwest side of the range; the higher peaks are to the north and east. There’s also the lower Elkhead range, which is an East-West oriented range that includes Hahns Peak, a popular hike and backcountry ski. Hahns Peak is NOT in the Park Range. Adding to the confusion is the Sierra Madre, or what Wyoming calls the Park Range, which spills north into Wyoming. Jury’s out on whether or not the Sierra Madres is distinct enough to be its own range (geologically, it’s part of the Park Range), but again, these distinctions begin to matter when you live around here or recreate in the area and are trying to relay accurate locational information. For now, there’s the Sierra Madre and the Northern Park Range, which bears similarities to the 10 Mile/Mosquito Range issue (same range geologically, but separate names and divided arbitrarily at a point). The 10 Mile/Mosquitos are divided at Hoosier Pass, the Parks and the Sierra are divided along the drainage of the Northern Elk River and the Encampment River.

Don’t worry, there’s more! Let’s zoom in on the Zirkel/Agnes zone, one of two major alpine uplift zones that make up the meat of the Northern Park Range.

The southern zone is almost as high but doesn’t quite make 12k. The southern zone is notable for large stretches of alpine (treeline is quite a bit lower this far north) and contains a ton of large permanent snowfields on the eastern flank of peaks like Mt. Ethel and Lost Ranger (turns-all-year people take note).

The Zirkel/Agnes zone (northern zone) contains the Northern Park Ranges only 3 official 12ers and can be subdivided further (because, of course, it can).

Confused yet? Here’s the gist. The Northern Park Range has two major alpine zones; we’re focusing on the northern one, which is largely accessed by one trailhead: Slavonia.

This zone can be divided into two components based on rock quality. There’s the looser rock quality along the Continental Divide spine and the bomber rock hidden in the Sawtooth range. The Continental Divide portion has the range’s two highest peaks (Zirkel and Flattop); both are longer journeys but don’t exceed Class 2 and are beautiful. The area has some backpacking potential as well, especially near Gilpin and Gold Creek Lake (not allowed to camp within 1/4 mile of either). The trails that connect the two lakes to the trailhead make up a loop called the Zirkel Circle or Zircle. That is probably the best way to experience the area without going too crazy because it’s a great loop and it’s on an established trail network. If you want Big Agnes, you gotta get off-trail no matter what route you pick.

For the adventure-oriented and scrambling-minded folks, let’s do one more zoom-in, this time focusing on the best part of this area (and a top-five candidate for the best area in northern colorado if you ask me), the Sawtooth Range. I’ve also drawn the general overview of the West Ridge Big Agnes route. Don’t worry, route descriptions are still coming, along with a shitload of pics and extra maps.

There are MANY more peaks than what I’ve labeled, most are soft-ranked (under 300 ft. of prominence) but totally worth exploration.

The Sawtooth Range is exquisite, and Big Agnes is its heart. However, if you look online, you will find very few pics and descriptions of the area. This is due to a variety of reasons, including a lack of online reporting and the generic-ass name. There are Sawtooths everywhere. There’s the Sawtooth Traverse, a very popular and well-documented intro Class 3 scramble between Mt. Evans and Mt. Bierstadt. There’s also Sawtooth Mountain, a 12,300-foot peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. There’s even a Sawtooth Mountain in the remote Elkhead Mountains. The Sawtooth designation doesn’t end in Colorado either; Idaho’s Sawtooth Range is one of the prettiest in the western US; there’s even a set of Sawtooth Mountains in Minnesota.

Understandably, this Sawtooth Range (the rugged subrange that includes Big Agnes) is tougher to get info on. This is kind of a double-edged sword, though. Despite weekend popularity and high traffic around Gilpin Lake, once you barrel into the arms of the Sawtooth, you will likely be all alone. The exceptions are Micah Lake and the two of three routes up Big Agnes that don’t involve Class 4 scrambling. If you do see people on this route, they’re likely just as nuts as you are.

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Resources

For general lower trail conditions, you can use the Clark 7-day forecast. For the higher portion of the hike, Mt. Zirkel is the most reliable forecast.

Here are some local emergency numbers as well; stay safe out there.

Routt County Sheriff: 970-879-1090 (offices in Steamboat Springs)
Routt National Forest: 970-723-2700 (offices in Walden)

Directions to Trailhead: Type Slavonia Trailhead or Seedhouse Road into your phone and follow the directions. If you’re coming from the Front Range, expect somewhere between a 4 and 6-hour commute. Plan accordingly. The last 6 miles are on a relatively easy dirt road but there are some sections of washboard to watch for.

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The Approach

From the trailhead, pick up the only trail as it heads northeastish. Only a few points of a mile into the hike, you’ll come across a trail junction. Take the left branch (Gilpin Trail); the right one heads to Gold Creek Lake. Continue along the trail as it ascends a smaller valley and skirts a larger burn area. You’ll be seeing lots of burn evidence on this hike. The late 90s saw a devastating wind event in the region, followed by a pine beetle infestation and a couple of fires (~2002). Combining that with the deeep regional snowfall (~500+ inches a year), I think trees have just had a really hard time bouncing back. It’ll look a little bare on the approach, but for the first 1.25 miles, you stay in a treed area and only skirt the scars.

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The Spike Option (Class 4, optional but the best scrambling on the route)

Right, so north of Micah Lake is a low saddle that separates the east ridge of Little Agnes with the ridge leading up to The Spike and eventually Big Agnes. Head for it.

GoPro footage of the scramble.

If you look to the right as your finding a way beyond Micah Lake, you should be able to see the profile of the Spike.

Clamber up to the low saddle, where you’ll notice fire damage from the Mt. Zirkel Complex Fire (~2002) to the north and the effect it has on the landscape, which is…yeah, pretty noticeable.

Head east (right), up a steep slope with sections of dead trees. This first part is somewhere in the Class 2 range and gains elevation quickly.

The higher you go, the better the views become. There are great perspectives to the south, where you can see all the way down to the Lost Ranger and Mt. Ethel region, which is the other large alpine area of the Northern Park’s.

Little Agnes also starts to take shape behind you, along with its apparently Class 4 east ridge (on the to-do list).

What really steals the show, though, is your view east, which reveals a dramatic profile of the Sawtooth Range.

This view continues to change and impress as you traverse the spike. In fact, the whole route from here on out has plenty of great mountain views to stare at and scramble over. The sharp and serrated profile of the ridges in the Sawtooth is a route highlight.

The ridge will stay class Class 2 as you descend a bit off of the first high point you reach. As you start to gain elevation on the other side of a shallow col, the first scrambling section appears.

You’ll cross into Class 3 territory as you negotiate a rock band on the ridge crest. There are several options to choose from, and if you get to the Class 3 section on the ridgecrest and don’t like what you see, head right, following the rock band. The rock will break in a few spots allowing for a few additional Class 3 options to consider that will reconnect you with the ridge crest.

In either scenario, you’ll continue along the ridgecrest, deploying Class 3 and Class 3+ moves where necessary. The rock quality is great, with plenty of holds. The ridge narrows, and you get to stay on it for a few seconds before the route briefly banks to the right to avoid a wall. Once you get around this (Class 3 light), the ridge widens out a bit and softens with more grassy saddles.

The next section as you near the tallest part of the Spike.

This is very typical of the Sawtooth Range. There are stretches of superlative rock scrambling, but those sections are often broken up by mixed terrain. It certainly keeps you on your toes, but none of the scrambling sections on this route are what I would consider relentless.

With the summit tower of The Spike, the strategy is to head right and circle around. The exposure is very high to the north (left) if you decide to take a look that way. There is a route that hugs the summit block and goes at easy-moderate Class 3, with a final small Class 3 slab to climb before relenting back to Class 2. A rocky side ridge blocks you from maintaining your elevation line, so the only way to continue is to work back up to the ridge crest, now on the other side of the summit tower.

**This route does not climb the top of the Spike, to do that I think you’ll need to still circle around the tower and attack it from the east, it could go at exposed Class 4 but I didn’t scout it, will report back when I do!

Once you work back up to the ridge you have a sneaky Class 3 descent before arriving at the next grassy col. This is the last break before the route crux, which is a really fun and engaging section.

From the grassy col, sight a diagonal line of rocks to the left of a very prominent rocky highpoint.

The first part of the route is a nice Class 3 section with good holds, then you hit a small shoulder and the difficulty bumps up to Class 4. The rock is delightful and there are great options for holds.

Once you get right up to the obvious highpoint rock, slide by on Class 3 terrain and approach another difficult section. The next part features two small leaps of faith sections where the ridge comes down to only a few feet in width (on good rock) and drops vertically on either side. The exposure to the north is, again, much more dramatic.

The first leap of faith section, you don’t actually have to leap but be very careful: Class 3+

The second section, with a class 4 downclimb into the notch. The rock is very grippy, and it’s 1-3 moves but with substantial exposure.

Once you get out of this section, the ridge begins to look a lot more accommodating, and for the most part, it is. However, like with the traverse around the highest tower of the spike, there is a sneaky descent here (Class 3+). The path is not straight down; hunt for options, and don’t be afraid to traverse around before settling on a route. There are a few chances to make this section harder than you’re intending.

After you drop off the last rocky part, you’re back to grassy alpine for a while. Descend to the right of one final rock fin, hit a lower saddle, and approach a thick line of krummholz atop another sneaky Class 3 rock band. The scrambling is easy and fun. Make sure to stay on the ridgeline to avoid the krummholz. Watch the exposure to your left(north), but this part doesn’t get harder than moderate Class 3 if that.

On the other side of the krummholz, you’ll see two rock towers along a softer stretch of the ridge and The Grand Central Tooth taking shape on a sub ridge to your north. This area is where the Spike Bypass comes in.

Looking back at the Spike section from beyond it.

Footage of The Spike Scramble

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The Spike Bypass

Now, let’s say you didn’t want any of that, and you just came to tag the Class 4 wall on the way to Big Agnes. Well, you can skip the Spike and its associated scrambling portions. The idea is to break from the trail at Micah Lake, and head east, higher into the basin. The vegetation is pretty sparse here, so orientation should be very simple on a clear day.

It’s easiest to break trail from the top of the ridge right before you get your first views of Micah Lake.

Keep the Spike to your left, traverse beyond the rock towers and sight a grassy slope leading up to the ridge with thick krummholz on its right (eastern) side. By the easiest route, you can keep this ascent at a mid-Class 2 and avoid the Spike. I would argue that including it adds to the route, but the option to skip it is certainly there.

As you climb up to the ridge, make sure to keep the krummholz to your right and sight the line of least resistance to the ridgeline. You’ll join the route from the Spike right after its difficulties relent and around a set of three rock towers. There are two smaller ones on the main ridgelines and a much larger tower on a spur ridge leading north (called “Grand Central Tooth” on Listofjohn).

The two smaller towers on the ridge are called “Baby Teeth,” according to ListofJohn, but I don’t know how I feel about that name. I kinda thought the eastern small tower looked like a howling Pika, so I’ll just call it that. You can scramble the Howling Pika at Class3+; the other tower looks harder. I think Grand Central Tooth also looks like a Class 5 endeavor.

The two smaller towers, Howling Pika is centered.

Head east and uphill to continue to Big Agnes.

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Big Agnes West Ridge (Brief Class 4)

Like the Spike portion, the start of the Big Agnes West Ridge route (post bypass) starts out pretty innocuously.

Seen from the end of the Spike scrambling. The Blue line below is the bypass option.

The trajectory is fairly self-explanatory. Stay closer to the ridge crest, avoid the krummholz and begin ascending up to “Middle Agnes.” This unofficial peak is attainable via Class 2+ scrambling, making it one of the easier peaks to reach in the Sawtooth. As you climb, the Sawtooth wall leading north from the Big Agnes Massif steals the show. The rock walls around the Incisor are particularly good-looking. On subsequent adventures, I went along that ridge and made it beyond the Incisor, look for that report soon.

As you ascend up the pleasant alpine slopes of “Middle Agnes,” you’ll run into one ridgeline obstacle. There’s some quick Class 3-4 scrambling involved here, but you can just as easily skip it all to the right.

After some huffing and puffing, you’ll top out on “Middle Agnes.” This is a great place to take a break with stellar views.

A trailless basin with two unnamed lakes and Mt. Zirkel in the background. I’m going to call the higher lake Timo’s Tarn because A. alliteration is easy to remember, B. I’m vain and wanted to use my name in something. If that don’t float your boat, you can call it something else; it has no official title, like many features in this area.

Don’t get too caught up in the view, though, because there’s a big ole wall that’s now in front of you, and you need to get around it to get up to Big Agnes. The wall leads to the summit of Big Agnes North, one of three summit blocks.

As you approach the wall, you may be wondering how on earth you’re going to be able to scale this thing without ropes. Well, there’s a sneak on the left-hand side that provides a (relatively) simple passage. Let’s walk through it. FYI: This will be another section of concentrated scrambling like the Spike, or it’ll be your scrambling intro if you hit the bypass. Get your game face on, it’s not long, but it is steep.

Scrambling footage

The first section involves some brief Class 3 scrambling along the ridge crest as you approach the wall of North Agnes.

You’ll stay along the crest (employing some moves to the north side to get around a small tower) until arriving at a set of white slanted blocky rocks. Here, you have two options, a Class 3 skirt to the left or a brief, fun Class 4 traverse along the very sturdy rocks.

Is there any benefit to the Class 4 way? Yeah, it’s fun. Practically, though, you can just skip it.

On the other side of this initial test piece, you’ll be on the slanted northern slope of the Big Agnes massif. The terrain here is a mix of solid rock sections and grassy benches, which are pretty but don’t offer the best traction. Pay attention to where you step and what you step on.

The first section along the white rocks. Red=Class 3, Purple=Class 4

The strategy now is to perform an ascending traverse along these grassy ledges while keeping the mostly solid cliffs close to your right-hand side. A few sections of traversing are necessary, but if you start losing elevation in this part, you’re doing something wrong.

Gopro still shot. Head to the red circle.

As you ascend towards what looks like a rockier section, two options open up for you.

The upper option is initially easier, taking advantage of a large, flat-ish rock, but ends in an awkward Class 4 traverse move to get into the right gully. The lower option traverses underneath the flat-ish rock, heads into the right gully, and then climbs it directly. In both scenarios, there is a move or two of Class 4, while the rest remains manageable Class 3.

Once you’re in the right gully, you climb up and bank left, following the natural lay of the land. This will deposit you on another series of grassy benches underneath a last quick pitch of Class2+/Class 3 scrambling. Once you find the easiest gully up, take it, scramble for a few seconds and then find yourself on a much more forgiving summit plateau.

Here’s the whole route from below.

From where you break through on the summit plateau, it’s only another 20 seconds to the top of Big Agnes North. Might as well touch it since you’re up there (Class 2).

Once satisfied with your first of 3 Big Agnes summits, turn south and sight the last mandatory Class 3 section. The basic pattern is ridgecrest (Class 3), dip left to circle around a small tower (Class 3, stay on the slanted rocks, it’s got better grip than the sandy chute below), scramble back to the ridgecrest (Class 2+).

When you’re beyond the Class 3 section, pick your easiest Class 2+ route up the blocky terrain to the highest summit. There’s a small plaque in this section; see if you can find it.

Continue up to the highest point, and just like that, Big Agnes is yours.

There is a southern summit that’s within a few feet of the true summit’s elevation. It takes a bit of Class 3 to reach, but nothing you haven’t already done.

To add the south summit, descend into the col, and work your way back up to the white rocks at the top.

Looking back at the other two summits from the col

The final push to the Southern Summit requires a handful of Class 3 moves on gloriously solid rock. Have fun!

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Descent Options

Once you’re done farting around on the summit, it’s time to pick your descent route. There are three options, repeat what you just did (hardest), choose a Class 2 route back into Micah Basin, or choose a longer Class 2+ route that leads southeast towards the Gilpin Lake Trail. I chose the Class 2 Micah Basin option; it’s easy to find, the off-trail veg is manageable, and you can reconnect with the Micah Basin Trail pretty simply.

Once you descend out of the upper basin between Big Agnes and Pt. 11,777, head west or southwest to reconnect with the Micah Lake Trail. The simplest strategy for the off-trail descent portion is to sight Micah Lake and head towards it. This may not be the most direct route, but you connect with the trail quickly, and then you can haul. Once you do, follow it south to its end, take a right and bust the 1.25 miles back to the trailhead. Nicely done, ya did it.

Scramble Video

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Conclusion/Future Reports

Big Agnes Mountain is one of 3 12,000 foot mountains in the Park Range. There are three ways up it, with the Class 4 west ridge providing the most in terms of scrambling. There are also three summits, a southern summit (Class 3), true summit (Class 2+) and a Northern Summit (Class 3 by easiest way, Class 4 via West Ridge).

I find this area fascinating for several reasons:

Rock Quality: Generally great, especially within the Sawtooth Range (Big Agnes and the ridges leading up to it).
Off-the-beaten-path: Solitude almost guaranteed if you hit Big Agnes via the Spike or any of the other spindly ridges in the area
Satisfying scrambling and views (largely Class 3-4 with harder stuff around)
Lots of rock climbing potential
Large alpine area for being so low. The tree line is also a lot lower so you get alpine ruggedness mixed with stretches of krummholz, thick alpine grass and occasional pine trees. It makes for a challenging and visually quite interesting smash of environments.
Generally manageable distances to get to most of these ridges, just a (potentially) long way to the trailhead
Lots of fun off-trail exploration (Pack your shit out though, like, all of it.)
TONS OF SNOW IN THE WINTER. Backcountry skiing looks like it would be excellent up here, most likely via snowmobile though, lots of winter gate closures limit cold weather access
Relatively contained area: i.e. depending on willpower and scrambling ability, you could check off the main ridges and peaks within a season or two

The next report will deal with the Incisor and the ridge to the north of Big Agnes, which makes for another excellent adventure. Look for that report soon!