Most visitors to Molas Pass are drawn to the views of the impressive peaks of the Grenadier Range, Needle and West Needle mountains to the south and east. This is not really surprising, as these views are stunning. Immediately to the north of the pass, however, there is an area of lower peaks and sub-alpine meadows that provides one of the finest wilderness experiences that Colorado has to offer.
We recently had the opportunity to hike and climb in this area. Our objectives were a couple of peaks with the intriguing names of Grand Turk (13,148 feet) and Sultan Mountain (13,368 feet). No maintained trails lead to these summits, so some route-finding is required. The snow is melting fast in this part of San Juans, so we were able to leave the snowshoes at the car. Just an ice ax and good mountaineering boots were needed.
Relative to their famous neighbors across the Animas River, these peaks are infrequently climbed. We were surprised, therefore, to run into a couple of fellow climbers, Duane and Carl Nelson, who had the same objectives in mind. We shared the climb to the two summits with Duane and Carl and had the chance to swap tales as we hiked. Duane is closing in on his goal of climbing all 13,000-foot summits in Colorado, a total of 637 peaks. His sons accompany Duane on many of these climbs.
The road to Little Molas Lake was still closed on our visit, although the Forest Service reported that it opened the following day. Walking from the highway (gate closure) to the Little Molas Lake Trailhead parking area adds 1.5 miles round-trip and 200 feet of additional elevation gain to the day.
Hike description
Walk or drive along the Little Molas Lake Road to the trailhead at the northwest end of the lake, following signs at any intersections. If parking at the trailhead parking area, walk east for about 100 yards, reaching one of two trailheads. These two trails come together in 100 yards. We’ll start measuring distance from the trailhead. Walk northwest on the trail for 0.2 mile until it crests a small ridge at an elevation of 11,129 feet. Leave the main trail here and follow a faint trail northeast along this ridge until reaching an open meadow, then travel cross country due north toward the basin nestled between the steep cliffs of unnamed peaks 12,849 and 12,734.
You may find indistinct trails leading into the basin, which become better defined as you approach the head of the basin, just to the right of a remaining snow patch.
Reach a saddle between the peaks (12,460 feet) at mile 2.5. Angle slightly left to gain the southwest ridge of an unnamed peak (12,899 feet) and follow the ridge to the top at mile 2.8. Continue east across a narrow ridge and climb another unnamed peak (Unnamed 13,087) at mile 3.2. Descend northeast to a low point on the ridge at 12,812 feet and continue up to Grand Turk’s summit ridge. Turn east and hike to the high point (mile 3.8). The map shows the highest point as being at the eastern end of the ridge but we were all convinced that a point slightly west (I measured it to be 13,163 feet) was actually higher. Climb both to make sure!
Return to the west end of Grand Turk’s summit ridge and descend northwest to the low point of the ridge at 12,776 feet and once again head up this last ridge to the summit of Sultan.
The views from the summit are truly amazing. It’s easy to pick out many recognizable summits from here, and you can look down directly on the town of Silverton, 4,000 feet below.
To descend, it is possible to reverse your route, bypassing Grand Turk this time by traversing across its west flank. Because this is a fairly long ridge run above tree line the whole time, it’s good to have another option in case the weather turns ugly. The escape route I’ll describe here is a mile longer than the ascent route, but allows you to lose elevation quickly and makes a nice loop.
For this alternate descent, continue northwest from Sultan’s summit for 50 yards and reach the head of a shallow gully on Sultan’s southwest face. Either descend the gully or grassy slopes alongside the gully. With the right snow conditions the gully could offer a nice glissade (assuming you have an ice ax and the skills to use it). We found the snow to be too firm to safely do this, so we elected to descend on the grassy slopes immediately southeast of the snow, then crossed back and forth across the gully a couple of times to find moderate terrain. If you try to descend farther to the south you’ll probably find steeper terrain and some cliff bands, so pay attention.
Continue descending southwest until reaching the 11,600- foot level, then start contouring at this elevation, curving toward the south. We found moderate snowfields and occasionally sections of a faint trail and were able to make rapid progress to the southern end of the massif. The goal is to intersect a major trail at the 11,600 foot level, which you should do at mile 7.3. This major trail continues south and then turns east around the southern end of the massif, meeting a signed junction with the Colorado Trail at mile 7.6. Stay straight here (the Colorado Trail heads right). As you continue around you’ll first see Engineer Mountain, then North Twilight Peak, Snowdon Peak, and finally Little Molas Lake. Continue down the trail to the lake and back to your vehicle.
Dave Cooper is the author of “Colorado Snow Climbs: A Guide for All Seasons.”
The Details
Getting to the trailhead: Drive on U.S. 550 to the intersection with the Little Molas Lake Road, 0.4 mile north of Molas Pass, 6 miles south of the town of Silverton. Assuming the gate is open, turn northwest and drive three-quarters of a mile to the parking area by the lake. By the way, don’t confuse Little Molas Lake with Molas Lake, a mile north on U.S. 550.
Statistics and difficulty: Assuming that you are able to drive to the Little Molas Lake Trailhead, the hike gains 3,600 feet in 7.7 miles round trip. Walking from the highway (gate closure) to the Little Molas Lake Trailhead parking area adds 1.5 miles round trip and 200 feet of additional elevation gain to the day.
The hike is mainly off-trail, but the difficulty during the summer months shouldn’t exceed Class 2. In the early-season conditions we found, an ice ax was necessary for crossing several snow slopes. Good route-finding skills are necessary, so this climb is recommended only for experienced hikers with adequate map and compass skills. I found it helpful to pre-enter several waypoints from the route onto my GPS ahead of time.
USGS Quads: Snowdon Peak, CO; Silverton, CO
