Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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39.21900°N / 105.468°W |
Route Type:
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Hiking |
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Time Required:
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Most of a day |
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Difficulty:
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class 2 |
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Standard Route Overview
The standard South Slopes Route follows the well-worn Brookside-McCurdy Trail, but add some snow and this route becomes arduous and attaining the summit is not as staightforward as one may think. The route actually ascends into three different saddles. Because of the overall length, I found it more manageable to break it up into short term goals. Do not forget your topo and know how to read it.Route
Round Trip-14.4 miles & 4,000-ft
Starting at the Twin Eagle TH (8,540-ft.), cross Tarryall Creek on a good bridge and hike .03 mile to the Brookside-McCurdy Trail. Your view of McCurdy Mountain here is inspiring. Go left at the register sign-in and follow the trail past some private property at the base of the McCurdy Massif. After 1.4 miles you will intersect the Hankins Pass Trail junction at 8,900 ft.
Continue 1 mile to the Lost Creek Wilderness Boundary at 9,500-ft. Continue another 1.2 mile as the trail switchbacks up a major drainage that separates the McCurdy Massif from the Tarryall Massif. At 10,740-ft you will come to a pass. From the pass, stay on the trail and descend 200-ft down to a beautiful meadow. Once you descend 200 vertical into the meadow you finally get your first glimpse of the towering rock formations of McCurdy Park. Stay on the right side of the meadow for .03 mile until the trail crosses the meadow and continues on the left side another .4 mile to another pass 10,900-ft.
Continue on the Brookside-McCurdy Trail as it descends slightly into McCurdy Park. Follow the trail as it suddenly swings to the left (west) and ascends a shallow drainage and finally delivers you the lower ramparts of McCurdy's summit plateau.
Once above tree line, it really opens up and makes for faster progress. Locate the pronounced rocky ridge that extends from the plateau straight down the mountain. There is a wide and easy drainage before this rocky ridge that makes for easy ascent to the plateau. The summit is to your left a half mile away across the flat plateau. Gaining the summit is not as hard as it looks, just circle around to the north and find the weakness. The summit block is class2+.