SummitPost.org

Hello All,

I've been searching far and wide and can't seem to find any specific information on the ridge between Cuatro and Maxwell (near Cuchara).

I've read that it "looks" tricky (class 3/4, possibly loose, and exposed), but I haven't been able to find anyone who has actually been on it. There are log entries on Maxwell denoting that people have hiked the ridge from Trinchera, over the leaning peaks, over Cuatro, and onto Maxwell so, it's doable (for some).

Has anyone on this site been on the ridge or seen the difficulties close up? Or know anyone who has done it?

What I want to know is:
Is it better to go from Cuatro to Maxwell, or vice versa?
On a scale of 1-5, how exposed is it?
What was the rock like?
Class 3? Class 4?
How are the holds?

Any and all information would be greatly appreciated.

Natasha:

I did the Trinchera to Cuatro ridge run last year and got a good look at the ridge over to Maxwell. It doesn't look that bad from a distance. I didn't get a shot of the ridge looking back at my pics, but my guess is there's a good chance there will be some class 3 or 4 scrambling. Not sure if you're going after ranked 13ers only, but Maxwell is unranked. Looks like a few folks have logged Cuatro and Maxwell in the same day on Lists of John, so you may want to ask there.

https://picasaweb.google.com/shknbke/TrincheraGroup#

Kevin

I walked some of the Northfork Trail Yesterday. The Uranium Road, FR 437, still has snow on it but I imagine it shouldn't be too hard to walk to Treeline. Very little snow at all in the Sangres. Road to Purgatorie Campground has no snow, but there's a little bit left under some trees along the way. Water is flowing very low.

Thanks. Overall, is the rock fairly solid on those peaks?

There's really not any scrambling between Trinchera and Cuatro, but I did scramble over to the Cuatro false summit further south. I thought the rock was below average for Sangre standards, so that traverse might be a bit loose, probably not as bad as stuff in the Elks or SJ's though!