Richmond Mountain

Richmond Mountain Overview

Richmond Mountain rises approximately 12,501 feet above sea level and is located in a segment of the Elk Mountains that is known as the Ruby Range. It is ranked Colorado's 991th highest peak and gains 681 feet of prominence from it's saddle with its proximate parent, Augusta Mountain. It is usually combined with mountains like Purple Mountain, Augusta Mountain, Mineral Point A, Hancock Peak, Afely Peak, and so on. People usually include it in an attempt to traverse from Yule Pass to Lake Erwin. It can see best from the summits around the area, but could also be seen very well from Buckskin Basin and the Oh-Be-Joyful basin. It does not matter which route you take, you will still get the full Elk Range panorama on top. Anyone attempting to reach the summit should look at a topo first in order to familiarize yourself with the area.

In-depth Details

Here are more details:

Elevation: 12,501 ft.
CO Peak Rank: 991

Range: Elk (Ruby Range)
Counties: Gunnison

Quadrangle: Oh-Be-Joyful
Coordinates: 38.9516°N, -107.1123°W

Prominence: 681'
Saddle: 11,820 ft.

Proximate Parent: Augusta Mountain
Line Parent: Augusta Mountain
Isolation: 1.46 miles

YDS Class Rating: 2

Climbers Log

Getting There

From Gunnison, go north on US 135 to Crested Butte. Continue up the road until the cut-off for Slate River Road (FSR-734). Go down the road until you get to the cut-off for Oh-Be-Joyful or Daisy Pass Rd. (Poverty Gulch Rd.) on the left. From Daisy Pass Rd, a 4WD vehicle is required to countiue. Most people hike it, but feel free to go up the road if you have clearance. So, go up the old road until you get to a road that goes off to the left and through a stream crossing. If you continue up this road, you will need a Jeep or something has a short wheel base and alot of clearance. There was a slide about .4 miles up blocking the road from all motorized access, but I have recently been up there and as of August 2009, a 4X4 vehicle was be able to cross, but in August 2010 our 4X4 vehicle got stuck trying to cross so as of August 2011 the road is still closed. Since I'm up there all the time, I'll tell you updates on if the slide is passable or not. But continue up the incredibly eroded and bad road until the end, where a short trail remains to Angle Pass. This is where your summiting will begin.

Routes

Richmond Mountain via Angel Pass: See Getting There to find your way to Angel Pass. From Angel Pass, the summit is roughly .7 miles away and you should expect some Class 2+ terrain.

Richmond Mountain via Oh-Be-Joyful Pass: Staring from the trailhead at Oh-Be-Joyful, hike through the basin until you get to the Oh-Be-Joyful Pass/Daisy Pass junction. Stay to your left and ascend Oh-Be-Joyful Pass. Richmond Mountain is NE. Expect terrain no harder than Class 2/2+.

Red Tape

No permits required. You are in a nicely preserved area so try to not drive off the road. If your vehicle is in bad shape, don't even think about taking it further than Slate River Road.

Camping

There are many free campsites in there along with many others up and down the Slate River Road. You can tent camp in 4 or 5 different areas in the Daisy basin. If on a rare occasion, all the spots up there are filled, don't create your own, camp on Slate River Road or Oh-Be-Joyful. I would not recommend bringing a camper up into the Daisy basin.

External Links

http://listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/Climbers.php?Id=1302

Images

View Richmond Mountain Image Gallery - 7 Images