Needleton-Ruby Lake

Regional discussion and conditions reports for the U.S. Rocky Mountains. Please post partners requests and trip plans in the Colorado Climbing Partners section.
no avatar
pappabroome

 
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:32 pm
Thanked: 0 time in 0 post

Needleton-Ruby Lake

by pappabroome » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:45 pm

We are planning a trip to CO and we are thinking about taking the Train from Durango and being dropped off at Needleton. We are looking to take the Ruby Creek Trail up to Ruby Lake as our base camp. Does anyone have any trail maps of this route? How is the fishing? Are there any 13er's/14er's in the area that we can do without having any actual climbing experience?

Thanks,

P.

User Avatar
chicagotransplant

 
Posts: 1426
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 5:16 pm
Thanked: 760 times in 475 posts

Re: Needleton-Ruby Lake

by chicagotransplant » Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:26 pm

I have a verbal description of the Ruby trail on the Monitor Peak route page, but I do not have a map. The Ruby trail gets tough to follow after North Pigeon Creek though, its not that well marked and has some braided trails that dead end. Its worse on the pack out, you have to pay attention to where you are going on the way in.

Ruby Trail: http://www.summitpost.org/north-ridge/638725

You can climb Turret Peak from a high camp in Ruby Basin (high 13er, one of Colorado's Highest 100 peaks) and keep it to class 2/easy 3. The route page on SP shows the route from North Pigeon Creek, but you can get there from an 11,600 meadow in Ruby Basin and come up to the Pigeon-Turret saddle. From Ruby, Turret is probably the best "easy peak".

Turret Peak: http://www.summitpost.org/turret-peak/307246

Monitor, Animas and Pigeon all involve class 4 scrambling, which is not technical but may be out of your comfort zone? There is also a lower 13er, Peak 12, at the head of Ruby Basin that is Class 2, there is a bit of a faint trail most of the way even. That could be a good one too, but I wouldn't go to Ruby just to climb it, it has nice views though and if you are camped there already, well worth it!


Return to Colorado

 


  • Related topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests