I'm hoping someone in the SP community could help me out with some beta on Fotress Peak....at least that's what I think its called. It lies between precipice and redcliff in between the west and middle cimarron forks.

I've been up redcliff/precipice/courthouse and I'm curious if fortress can be climbed without any technical gear. I know it appears it'll be a good bushwack to gain the saddle but I'm not sure what lies after. The summit looks fairly intimidating and I would like to know what the difficulty is.

In addition, I only have 2WD capability so the middle fork isn't a trailhead option for me.

Any information would help, thanks.

Here are my short notes, taken at the time:

From West Fork of the Cimarron TH, up trail a mile to Wilderness sign, short bushwhack in trees until came to open, long, narrow flood path that led to grassy slopes up to base of large buttress on W. ridge. Around at base of buttress to S. side. Following base of cliffs led into a drainage. Went up and right in drainage on loose rock until came out on grass and a passage farther along base of cliffs. Shortly found a small cairn below an easy passage up through cliffs to W. ridge. Guidebooks say Class 3 but is just a scree-filled gap in the rocks. Walked up using trekking poles. Some steep scree immediately above to get to ridge crest, then easy walk up ridge to summit.

"Guidebooks" might have meant Ormes or Rosebrough.

I tried to follow the route Teresa describes but I'm not sure how successful I was. You defintaley don't need technical gear. I found some of the most unstable scree/talus up there I've ever come across. My partner (who had plenty of scrambling experience) gave up before the top and waited for me because she was freaked out. I may have not found the best line but I couldn't see anything that looked better. Cool peak though!

Crick's "Hiking Colorado's Uncompahgre Wilderness" has a description of the route to "Point 13,241". It is described as moderate while Redcliff is described as difficult. The route leaves the West Fork trail a little before the way you go up to Redcliff (~ 3/4 of the way from the trailhead to where you leave the trail for Redcliff) - it aims for the saddle between Redcliff and 13,241. Scree and talus are described but no special mention is made of them with regard to difficulty.

I am planning to do this in late July - I'm leading a hiking group from Durango into the Cimarron's. I'll show them the route to Redcliff while I try "Fortress" (did Redcliff and Precipice last year).

I am curious if anyone has done what I call the "Heisshorn loop" as that is also on my list for this trip. The starting point would be the Middle Fork trailhead. Specifically, I'm interested in what it's like going over the saddle SW of Pk 13,377 (saddle is on the Wetterhorn - Coxcomb ridge), down into the upper East Fork drainage and contouring to the trail that goes up it to Middle Fork Pass. The route to the saddle would begin from ~ 3/4 of the way up the Coxcomb Pass trail from where that trail leaves the Middle Fork trail.