Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: Aug 28, 2004
Great day, blue skies and a wonderful and easy climb with good friends. took us 9 hours car to car and we took our time, and also enjoyed the summit for about 30mins.
Route Climbed: West slope Date Climbed: August 14, 2004
After searching around for trails that looked like they may head to the summit I found what was most likely an animal trail. It went straight up the large scree gully on the west slope. I stuck to the larger rocks as much as possible and made the summit in good time.
Route Climbed: Harvrd-Columbia combination from Horn Fork Basin Date Climbed: Aug 1983, July 1998
Climbed with Dad the first time, Aaron and Luke the second time. Got wet both times. Descended in the dark and the rain the first time, after wasting precious time off route. Encoutered the buzzing of electricity in the air near the summit, following hail on Harvard.
Route Climbed: Frenchman Creek Date Climbed: Summer, 199?
Columbia is one of the easier of the Sawatch, and in many respects one of the most rewarding. I climbed it by myself, on a beautiful day, and was quite taken with the terrain gradually unfolding during the trek upward. For some reason, maybe the gentle tundra leading up to the summit, maybe the lack of any kind of "extreme" steepness on the route, or possibly just the nice weather, the word that kept running through my mind then, and--years later--now, is "gentle." I think Columbia a quite personable, gentle mountain. (Beautiful view of Harvard, too, and--if one so chooses--the traverse between.) On this almost perfect day Columbia combined all the elements to offer one of the best of reasons we go into the mountains. I like it's personality!
Then, a unique thing happened on the way down: there was a pack of coyotes in the brush on the other side of the canyon, and when they all started yapping and howling at once, the noise by itself would have been impressive, but that, coupled with the echoing across the canyon, gave an impression of a substantial number of the critters on the loose. Never saw hide nor hair of even a single coyote, but their caterwauling and carrying on gave me goose bumps, it did--just the mountains and the sound of animals gleefully doing their thing. A very nice day!
Route Climbed: off route from Harvard Date Climbed: July 2002
Climbed Harvard and decided the connecting ridge looked unpleasant to traverse solo, so I decided to descend into the Three Elk Creek drainage. This made for a long day (7000+ vertical feet) - bring lots of water.
Route Climbed: West Slopes Date Climbed: June 14, 2003
Alan Ellis, had an idea of having the first annual SP campout at the Twin Lakes CG. I decided to go and nine of the Sp members went to it including me. It was a lot of fun and I met some excellent people. The group was going to hike Elbert and Massive during the event, but I have already done both of them and passed on Elbert for Columbia and La Plata for Massive. I attempted this peak last year and didn’t make it due to my dog, Amanda. So I knew the route and the steepness involved on getting to the top. After hiking up the very steep 1,800 foot slope I reached the ridge at 13,600 feet. From here it was a fun ridge walk to the summit. Columbia has surprisingly good views from its summit, some of the best of the Sawatch Range, although I never want to do it again from this route.
Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: November 2001
I have trouble saying I made this summits as I neared the final 20 feet a lightining bolt cracked to the west. I ran downhill with my dog Sopris. I don't know if I can take credit fo summiting. I was aweful close. Whatever the case I will probably go back to linger where I had previously ran away.
Route Climbed: South facing slopes (standard?) Date Climbed: September, 1995
A perfect fall day. I don't remeber the loose talus that other log entries discuss. Seems to me like it was mostly a nice tundra walk, with many rocks to step on, leave no trace. But don't rely on my memory! We did not do Harvard that day.
Route Climbed: West Slopes Date Climbed: September 17, 2003
Ugh!! Climbed this in conjunction with Harvard the "Hard Way". Left N. Cottonwood TH at 3:30am. Due to the weather I did not do the traverse after Harvard, instead I returned to 11600ft in Horn Fork and climbed Columbia's West Slopes. This added over 3 miles and 1100ft to the normal link-up. I thought is would be fun to continue straight up which was a big mistake. I found myself and rotten 3rd and 4th class rock near the ridge. Winds were gusting to 60mph making the ridge traverse to the summit tough. Made it back to the car at 11:15am.
Route Climbed: W slopes via N Cottonwood trailhead Date Climbed: July 21, 2002
A long scree-laden trek from just above treeline to the summit ridge. Not nearly as much fun as Harvard (perhaps that goes for the universities as well!) It is easy to lose the route and end up on lots of loose scree and talus on the way up; we found the trail easier to follow on the descent. Although the ascent route that we took worked out just fine we found that the trail to the south of our ascent route appeared easier.
Route Climbed: Rabbit Ridge from Harvard Date Climbed: July 12, 2003
Yikes. Everything Bryan said below is true. It was a lot longer than we thought! I'm always proud of us, though, and how we stick it out. I guess we didn't have a LOT of a choice, though. We could either make it to Columbia and head back down or go BACK to Harvard, which would be as hard, if not harder. So we kept on truckin! I thought the ride down from Columbia was pretty crummy, but I didn't think it was ridiculous. I kind of like sliding down scree. I know I would NOT want to go UP that route! There was a guy with his dog going down with us. The poor dog was NOT happy and his owner had to carry him down half the scree. I felt bad for both of them! I guess I learned that if I bring a dog up a mountain, I should avoid scree-filled slopes! We were hoping to hike out that night but it was getting really late, and it was fun to camp there again anyhow! Can't wait til our next trip to CO so I can add on to my 9 fourteeners!
Route Climbed: Rabbit Ridge Traverse from Harvard Date Climbed: 7/12/03
After making Harvard in just over 3 hours, I was feeling pretty good and wanted to go for Columbia. We started out by following 3 groups. As it turned out, it was like the blind following the blind. The trail was pretty good as it traversed the rabbit ridge. However, a little over half way there the trail ended. You could either start rock climbing the ridge or drop down the scree. We dropped down the steep scree and then had to do some serious boulder hopping. I mean some of these were the size of a car. From there we could head back up the boulders and snow fields, but we chose to head east and intercept the Frenchman Creek route. Not much of a trail there, but we did make the summit some 5 hours after leaving Harvard. Spent just a few minutes on the summit and started heading for the descent route into the Horn Fork basin. The west slopes on Columbia are terrible steep scree and there is no avoiding it. So, I followed the ridge to about 13,700' and then scree surfed all the way to about 12,000'. What a terrible route, I would do Columbia from any other route than this one. Finally, made it back to camp 12 hours later. No packing out tonight....decided to spend one more night at camp.
I traversed over from Harvard. Well, traverse is the wrong word. I climbed down into the upper basin and climbed Columbia from there. I bit lower than I wanted to go at 12,500. Eventually, I made the summit. The hike back down into Horn Fork Basin was terrible loose dirt and scree. Not recommended. If you want to bag Harvard and Columbia I suggest doing them from Frenchman Creek.
Route Climbed: Frenchman Creek Date Climbed: June 29, 2003
I loved Columbia - it climbed quickly and we saw no people on the route we hiked nor on the summit. We got there pretty early (around 10:30 am I think) so others climbing up the other side probably hadn't arrived yet. I would definitely climb this mountain again.
I thought the traverse to Columbia from Harvard was nice. There is a pretty marshy area on the backside of Columbia along this route that I found memorable. I also enjoyed the scree skiing down Columbia's West Slopes Route.
Route Climbed: SE Ridge, Rabbit Ridge from Mt. Harvard Date Climbed: 12, 25 September, 1999
The first time I summited (via the SE Ridge), I didn't have enough time to do Harvard also. Greatly desiring to do both in a day, I made sure that this was accomplished the next time, as I 'rode the Rabbit (Ridge),' traversing across after first climbing Harvard. This day was great fun overall, with the exception of getting sick (perhaps from the altitude, but I'd already summited Harvard (!), so I'm not sure...), and it being really windy. Despite needing to take a break for awhile halfway through, still managed the traverse in 2:26. Took 3:43 to get back to the CO/Main Range & Harvard Lakes TH, via the SE Ridge.
Route Climbed: eastern ridge Date Climbed: august 23, 2002
Summated mt. columbia around 6 p.m. during the '02 nolan's '14 endurance event. Very intense and memorable hale, ice and thunderstorm storm on the summit.
Route Climbed: North Cottonwood Trailhead - via Harvard Date Climbed: June 13, 2002
The traverse to Columbia from Harvard was terribly difficult. I never did find the route described by Roach in his book. I dropped to nearly 11,500 ft. and climbed Columbia via a scree filled draw. A terrible route. Additionally, the descent from Columbia back to the NC trailhead was a 2,500 ft. scree slope. Made it back to my car much later than I intended to. I would have been in deep trouble had a storm rolled in.
If you do this route, do some careful research. Roach calls it "arduous," and it certainly is. If I could go back I would do the peaks separately, and probably do Columbia via it's East slope. Remember that once you make the decision to do Columbia, you can't back out. It's between you and your car!
Zeke - Sep 4, 2004 11:58 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: Aug 28, 2004Great day, blue skies and a wonderful and easy climb with good friends. took us 9 hours car to car and we took our time, and also enjoyed the summit for about 30mins.
bdewoody - Aug 21, 2004 12:28 am
Route Climbed: West slope Date Climbed: August 14, 2004After searching around for trails that looked like they may head to the summit I found what was most likely an animal trail. It went straight up the large scree gully on the west slope. I stuck to the larger rocks as much as possible and made the summit in good time.
Larry V - Aug 14, 2004 6:52 pm
Route Climbed: Harvrd-Columbia combination from Horn Fork Basin Date Climbed: Aug 1983, July 1998Climbed with Dad the first time, Aaron and Luke the second time. Got wet both times. Descended in the dark and the rain the first time, after wasting precious time off route. Encoutered the buzzing of electricity in the air near the summit, following hail on Harvard.
Saintgrizzly - Jul 31, 2004 4:36 pm
Route Climbed: Frenchman Creek Date Climbed: Summer, 199?Columbia is one of the easier of the Sawatch, and in many respects one of the most rewarding. I climbed it by myself, on a beautiful day, and was quite taken with the terrain gradually unfolding during the trek upward. For some reason, maybe the gentle tundra leading up to the summit, maybe the lack of any kind of "extreme" steepness on the route, or possibly just the nice weather, the word that kept running through my mind then, and--years later--now, is "gentle." I think Columbia a quite personable, gentle mountain. (Beautiful view of Harvard, too, and--if one so chooses--the traverse between.) On this almost perfect day Columbia combined all the elements to offer one of the best of reasons we go into the mountains. I like it's personality!
Then, a unique thing happened on the way down: there was a pack of coyotes in the brush on the other side of the canyon, and when they all started yapping and howling at once, the noise by itself would have been impressive, but that, coupled with the echoing across the canyon, gave an impression of a substantial number of the critters on the loose. Never saw hide nor hair of even a single coyote, but their caterwauling and carrying on gave me goose bumps, it did--just the mountains and the sound of animals gleefully doing their thing. A very nice day!
DaveC - May 20, 2004 9:21 pm
Route Climbed: se slopes Date Climbed: june 99i didn't think this was nearly as bad a route as its reputation. had to run for it, though, as clouds were rolling. camped in horn fork basin.
RyanS - Apr 12, 2004 12:09 pm
Route Climbed: West Slopes Date Climbed: August 19, 2002This is my least favorite route on a 14er. A trip report is available here.
hhsilleck - Jan 10, 2004 7:17 pm
Route Climbed: off route from Harvard Date Climbed: July 2002Climbed Harvard and decided the connecting ridge looked unpleasant to traverse solo, so I decided to descend into the Three Elk Creek drainage. This made for a long day (7000+ vertical feet) - bring lots of water.
Grant - Dec 18, 2003 12:58 am
Route Climbed: West Slopes Date Climbed: June 14, 2003Alan Ellis, had an idea of having the first annual SP campout at the Twin Lakes CG. I decided to go and nine of the Sp members went to it including me. It was a lot of fun and I met some excellent people. The group was going to hike Elbert and Massive during the event, but I have already done both of them and passed on Elbert for Columbia and La Plata for Massive. I attempted this peak last year and didn’t make it due to my dog, Amanda. So I knew the route and the steepness involved on getting to the top. After hiking up the very steep 1,800 foot slope I reached the ridge at 13,600 feet. From here it was a fun ridge walk to the summit. Columbia has surprisingly good views from its summit, some of the best of the Sawatch Range, although I never want to do it again from this route.
JonBradford - Dec 13, 2003 8:04 pm
Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: November 2001I have trouble saying I made this summits as I neared the final 20 feet a lightining bolt cracked to the west. I ran downhill with my dog Sopris. I don't know if I can take credit fo summiting. I was aweful close. Whatever the case I will probably go back to linger where I had previously ran away.
Jon
Nelson - Oct 20, 2003 8:29 am
Route Climbed: South facing slopes (standard?) Date Climbed: September, 1995A perfect fall day. I don't remeber the loose talus that other log entries discuss. Seems to me like it was mostly a nice tundra walk, with many rocks to step on, leave no trace. But don't rely on my memory! We did not do Harvard that day.
miztflip - Sep 18, 2003 9:16 pm
Route Climbed: West Slopes Date Climbed: September 17, 2003Ugh!! Climbed this in conjunction with Harvard the "Hard Way". Left N. Cottonwood TH at 3:30am. Due to the weather I did not do the traverse after Harvard, instead I returned to 11600ft in Horn Fork and climbed Columbia's West Slopes. This added over 3 miles and 1100ft to the normal link-up. I thought is would be fun to continue straight up which was a big mistake. I found myself and rotten 3rd and 4th class rock near the ridge. Winds were gusting to 60mph making the ridge traverse to the summit tough. Made it back to the car at 11:15am.
dp - Aug 31, 2003 1:08 am
Route Climbed: W slopes via N Cottonwood trailhead Date Climbed: July 21, 2002A long scree-laden trek from just above treeline to the summit ridge. Not nearly as much fun as Harvard (perhaps that goes for the universities as well!) It is easy to lose the route and end up on lots of loose scree and talus on the way up; we found the trail easier to follow on the descent. Although the ascent route that we took worked out just fine we found that the trail to the south of our ascent route appeared easier.
Speedy - Jul 23, 2003 12:44 am
Route Climbed: Rabbit Ridge from Harvard Date Climbed: July 12, 2003Yikes. Everything Bryan said below is true. It was a lot longer than we thought! I'm always proud of us, though, and how we stick it out. I guess we didn't have a LOT of a choice, though. We could either make it to Columbia and head back down or go BACK to Harvard, which would be as hard, if not harder. So we kept on truckin! I thought the ride down from Columbia was pretty crummy, but I didn't think it was ridiculous. I kind of like sliding down scree. I know I would NOT want to go UP that route! There was a guy with his dog going down with us. The poor dog was NOT happy and his owner had to carry him down half the scree. I felt bad for both of them! I guess I learned that if I bring a dog up a mountain, I should avoid scree-filled slopes! We were hoping to hike out that night but it was getting really late, and it was fun to camp there again anyhow! Can't wait til our next trip to CO so I can add on to my 9 fourteeners!
Bryan W - Jul 16, 2003 1:06 pm
Route Climbed: Rabbit Ridge Traverse from Harvard Date Climbed: 7/12/03After making Harvard in just over 3 hours, I was feeling pretty good and wanted to go for Columbia. We started out by following 3 groups. As it turned out, it was like the blind following the blind. The trail was pretty good as it traversed the rabbit ridge. However, a little over half way there the trail ended. You could either start rock climbing the ridge or drop down the scree. We dropped down the steep scree and then had to do some serious boulder hopping. I mean some of these were the size of a car. From there we could head back up the boulders and snow fields, but we chose to head east and intercept the Frenchman Creek route. Not much of a trail there, but we did make the summit some 5 hours after leaving Harvard. Spent just a few minutes on the summit and started heading for the descent route into the Horn Fork basin. The west slopes on Columbia are terrible steep scree and there is no avoiding it. So, I followed the ridge to about 13,700' and then scree surfed all the way to about 12,000'. What a terrible route, I would do Columbia from any other route than this one. Finally, made it back to camp 12 hours later. No packing out tonight....decided to spend one more night at camp.
big_g - Jul 11, 2003 6:51 pm Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2003
low traverse from HarvardI traversed over from Harvard. Well, traverse is the wrong word. I climbed down into the upper basin and climbed Columbia from there. I bit lower than I wanted to go at 12,500. Eventually, I made the summit. The hike back down into Horn Fork Basin was terrible loose dirt and scree. Not recommended. If you want to bag Harvard and Columbia I suggest doing them from Frenchman Creek.
mtnhiker13 - Jul 9, 2003 11:38 am
Route Climbed: Frenchman Creek Date Climbed: June 29, 2003I loved Columbia - it climbed quickly and we saw no people on the route we hiked nor on the summit. We got there pretty early (around 10:30 am I think) so others climbing up the other side probably hadn't arrived yet. I would definitely climb this mountain again.
Kane - May 27, 2003 7:39 pm
Route Climbed: North Slopes Date Climbed: 1996I thought the traverse to Columbia from Harvard was nice. There is a pretty marshy area on the backside of Columbia along this route that I found memorable. I also enjoyed the scree skiing down Columbia's West Slopes Route.
Diggler - Apr 17, 2003 6:11 pm
Route Climbed: SE Ridge, Rabbit Ridge from Mt. Harvard Date Climbed: 12, 25 September, 1999The first time I summited (via the SE Ridge), I didn't have enough time to do Harvard also. Greatly desiring to do both in a day, I made sure that this was accomplished the next time, as I 'rode the Rabbit (Ridge),' traversing across after first climbing Harvard. This day was great fun overall, with the exception of getting sick (perhaps from the altitude, but I'd already summited Harvard (!), so I'm not sure...), and it being really windy. Despite needing to take a break for awhile halfway through, still managed the traverse in 2:26. Took 3:43 to get back to the CO/Main Range & Harvard Lakes TH, via the SE Ridge.
steve simmons - Dec 10, 2002 4:04 pm
Route Climbed: eastern ridge Date Climbed: august 23, 2002Summated mt. columbia around 6 p.m. during the '02 nolan's '14 endurance event. Very intense and memorable hale, ice and thunderstorm storm on the summit.
GOD bless! Praise JESUS!!!!!!!
http://mattmahoney.net/nolans14/index.html
Ed F - Sep 14, 2002 8:47 pm
Route Climbed: North Cottonwood Trailhead - via Harvard Date Climbed: June 13, 2002The traverse to Columbia from Harvard was terribly difficult. I never did find the route described by Roach in his book. I dropped to nearly 11,500 ft. and climbed Columbia via a scree filled draw. A terrible route. Additionally, the descent from Columbia back to the NC trailhead was a 2,500 ft. scree slope. Made it back to my car much later than I intended to. I would have been in deep trouble had a storm rolled in.
If you do this route, do some careful research. Roach calls it "arduous," and it certainly is. If I could go back I would do the peaks separately, and probably do Columbia via it's East slope. Remember that once you make the decision to do Columbia, you can't back out. It's between you and your car!