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| Southwest Ridge   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 38.73690°N / 104.8806°W Route Type: Hike/Scramble with route-finding Time Required: Half a day Difficulty: Class 2
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| Page By: mmoerk Created/Edited: Sep 20, 2005 / Sep 21, 2005 Object ID: 166820 Hits: 597 Loading... Page Score: 86.19% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Introduction
This route to the summit of Cheyenne Mountain requires confident navigational skills. Although it is not technical, it is almost all off-trail, with no marked route.
Summit Only
Trailhead Elevation: 8,500'
Total Climbing: about 1,200'
Distance: 1.5 miles (one-way)
Round Trip (without Horns side trip)
Total Climbing: about 1,700'
Distance: 5.3 miles
Approach
As indicated in the "Getting There" section of the main page, park at the intersection of Old Stage Road and FR369. Climb onto the gravel mound on the east side of Old Stage Road. Continue east straight up on old trail/washout to a small saddle at 8560'(the USGS map shows this the best). At this point, the trail is apparent and heads northeast to a highpoint at about 8700'. The USGS map correctly shows the trail to this point. From this point, follow the Route Description below.
Route Description
Near the high point around 8700', the trail becomes very difficult to find. But that's ok because you're done with the trail. Simply head east/northeast down to a small saddle at 8620'. From this saddle, you should be able to make out the MacNeil Trail on the left, which heads down and to the north. This trail is not your destination for this route!
Instead, skirt a highpoint on its south, and make your way straight up the ridge to the east/southeast. Your goal is to reach the southern part of Cheyenne's summit ridge, or somewhere close to that. When I ascended this route, I made my way just south of the west ridge, hit the very southern part of the summit ridge, and encountered no major difficulties. The hiking gets steep and there will be some minor obstacles to circumnavigate, but as long as you are comfortable with navigation, the terrain is passable.
Once on the summit ridge it is a simple matter of traversing the ridge to the summit. There should be no need to stray too far from the ridge, as any obstacles along the way will be minor.
Once at the summit, you can return the way you came, continue to the Horns, or make a loop hike out of it. If continuing to make a loop, or to continue to The Horns, read on.
To continue on the loop or to The Horns, traverse the summit ridge to the northeast. The ridge goes down to a saddle around 9280', then back up to around 9400', then down quickly to another saddle around 9250'. From this saddle you will see a clearing to the right (south). To the northwest, find the Swisher Trail, as indicated on the Pikes Peak Atlas. This trail can be difficult to find, but is key to making your descent trouble-free. The trail closely follows a gully as it descends steeply. If you lose the trail, look left of the gully (as you are going down). The trail will become quite clear, and is an excellent, though steep, trail.
Follow the Swisher Trail down, ignoring an apparent intersection at 8700'. Continue to about 8500' to an intersection with the MacNeil Trail. The trail junction is higher than shown on the USGS map. A hard right turn takes you to The Horns (see separate route page). To complete your loop, take a hard left instead. The remainder of this page describes the completion of the loop.
You are now cruising along the MacNeil Trail, almost parallel to your summit ridge traverse, over a thousand feet above. Continue along this excellent trail until you reach a fork in the trailaround 8360'. Follow the right fork, which will eventually dump you out right back to the gravel mound where you started from.
Essential Gear
Maps, compass, and GPS are the most important gear for this climb. During my hike on Cheyenne Mountain I carried 3 maps, and consulted every one of them. They are listed below.
You will need to be comfortable with your navigation skills to have a stress-free day on the mountain.
Bring plenty of water; you won't find any on the mountain.
The maps I used are:
- Pikes Peak Atlas
- Colorado Springs Pikes Peak 75k Trail & Recreation Map
- USGS Map (via National Geographic Topo! software)
Images
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Front Range (CO)
