Route Climbed: SE Ridge(standard route) Date Climbed: Sept 18, 2004
Despite marginal weather, I made the summit with a friend from Boulder, CO. I did not think this mountain was as hard as it is built up to be. Yes, you want to avoid falling, but there are so many steps and handholds that make it easy. Also, thanks to work by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative in 2004, the Trail to Wetterhorn Peak is now clearly marked and easy to follow. There are even signs marking where the Wetterhorn trail junctions away from the main trail. Other former climber paths have been marked "Closed for Revegetation". Having one clearly marked trail will help preserve the tundra environment and also make it quicker and easier to gain the SE ridge of Wetterhorn.
Route Climbed: Southeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 2004
One of the most beautiful Fourteeners out there. Tanya and I especially liked the last summit pitch - pure fun! We also came across a guy smoking pot on the summit...I was wondering why he was talking to the marmot up there and once I smelled the smoke, it all made sense...I guess he made it down okay, though.
Route Climbed: Good question... Date Climbed: Late '70's (Whew!!)
High on the list of most people's favorite Colorado mountains, including me. I've only done the peak once, in the late '70's, and it may have been my first San Juan 14-er. Did the mountain with Aaron, and the unusual thing about this trip came about because at that time some access roads were still open that are now gone. We'd just purchased CJ's, and were big on trying out new roads--well, we took a winding back ridge road, eventually bringing us out on to a ridge overlooking the Wetterhorn south/southeast basin. (And what a stupendous view that particular perspective is!) From there we did the mountain, which was considerably shorter than the standard routes of today. The thing of interest, and we didn't realize this until some time later, is that the area had just been declared a wilderness area, we had taken a wrong turn onto an access road in such a manner so as to miss a closed gate (the "normal" entry point) maybe a hundred yards further on--in other words, we may actually have been driving in the wilderness, and were probably the last ones ever to use that particular road. We'd never have done such a thing knowingly, and even back then the fine would have been substantial--ignorance is bliss, and we lucked out. And the mountain was terrific!
Did Matterhorn two years ago (2002) with Aaron and Ellen. Nice views of Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre.
Route Climbed: Southeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 24, 2004
This one wound up being a battle for me! I made it to the top after climbing up the frost covered crux. Exciting climb, all by myself--had the whole upper mountain to myself.
I am signing this summit log in a internet cafe in Ouray :)
Route Climbed: South Ridge (sort of) Date Climbed: July 3, 2004
Amazing climb. We actually went pretty far over towards Matterhorn Peak and then headed up grassy slopes and snow back over to the south ridge. This route is sort of in the Roach book but I think we went farther east than he suggests. There is a trail in between the two creeks that I think we were meant to find instead.
Last section got my attention but not nearly as bad as I expected. The ledges were very solid.
Route Climbed: Matterhorn (SE Slopes), Wetterhorn (SE Ridge) Date Climbed: 9 July 2004
Well, unlike "Ratballs", we were wearing clothes, so call us boring! We did the standard routes on Wetterhorn and Matterhorn. Matterhorn was easy and enjoyable. Wetterhorn proved a dandy little scramble on excellent rock! We hiked in the previous night from West Fork Cimarron trailhead and camped east of the 12500' pass east of Matterhorn Peak. Planned to take a 3-day trip to do Uncompahgre, but it seemed better to look at than to climb, so we just did Matterhorn and Wetterhorn and hiked out. Long day, but good fun.
Route Climbed: South ridge from Matterhorn Creek trailhead Date Climbed: 31 August, 2003
Highest Naked Man in America:
I headed down Crestone-wards in the evening, but the weather there looked so appalling that I just kept on going, bearing generally towards the southwest. Midnight found me deep in the San Juans, pulling up to the Matterhorn Creek trailhead, where I truck-camped for the night. I backpacked in at 8AM, set up my tent just below the Matterhorn slopes, and then hiked around the shoulder across the open plains of tundra to Uncompahgre, which I climbed up a frustrating scree-filled couloir on the west side.
It felt so damned good to be back up high that I practically skied back down Uncompahgre and ran over to Wetterhorn--beating by twenty minutes, I might add, the summit-to-summit time of Matt Mahoney, the ultra-runner (I know, because he recorded his time in the summit register). It was 4PM, and the latest I'd ever summited. On Wetterhorn, the weather was so clear that I took all my clothes off and wandered naked around the summit for a half-hour or so.
I'm fairly certain that for 30 minutes, then, I was the highest naked man in Colorado, if not the country. Of course, by the time I got back to my tent (fully and appropriately attired), it was still only about 5:30PM, so I backpacked the whole damned thing down again and drove the 380 miles home--I never did camp.
Climbed solo from Matterhorn Creek in conjunction with Uncompahgre. Ascended the ridge from a snow couloir on the west side. The final pitch was covered in snow and ice - very treacherous!!
Route Climbed: From Matterhorn Peak Date Climbed: June 29, 2003
What a joy! Over from Matterhorn Peak. Fully enjoyed the smallish summit. Another beautiful June day in CO. The scrambling was great and solid for the San Juans. One of my favorite CO peaks. Such a distinctive mountain.
Route Climbed: South Ridge-Standard Date Climbed: September 1, 2000
I love Wetterhorn. My favorite fourteener by far. I climbed it with my brother. We took turns dog sitting the giant Jax near the Ships prow as we did the third class portion. Neat Neat Mountain. I almost wish it wasn't a fourteener.
Route Climbed: SE Ridge Date Climbed: september, 22, 2003
This was my 4th 14er. The top 200 feet was not as bad as I thought it would be. It very exposed, but the solid rock made it quite easy. Somebody told me that it is very intence and told me to bring a rope. Didn't bring a rope and there is no reason for one. The part of the climb that scared me was below where the rock is loose and slippery.
Awesome route. I was tempted to leave my first ascent as a snow climb of the face in the spring but the pictures of the ledges just looked too cool. This was my favorite 14er climb until the next day when I did Sneffels.
Little tiring after doing Matterhorn first though. Dropping that 800 feet and picking my way through the boulderfield took quite a bit of time.
Guess when the Matterhorn summit log was put out there.... 21 Aug 2001!
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: July 1, 2003
Perfect day for climbing! We left the trailhead about 6:45am and had summited by 9:15am. Not a cloud in the sky when we began and only a few appearing on the way down. Trail was WELL marked all the way to the top. The last pitch was a lot of fun for our group of 3, kind of like picking your way up an uneven set of stairs. Rocks were firm and footing/handhold options plentiful. Lazed at the top for over an hour in the beautiful day and was actually able to place cell calls as well.
Got an early start after sleeping near the trailhead in the car, and kept a fast pace to avoid potential bad weather. I passed a guy from Texas who'd made a goal of climbing all of Colorado's 14ers (even more respectable for an out-of-stater!) and caught up with a father-son duo from Gunnison. We continued to the summit together. It was a fun climb to the top, and the view from the summit was great, too. With dark clouds closing in, though, I decided to forego an Uncompahgre summit bid. I felt better about my decision when I heard thunder higher up when I'd attained lower elevations.
Larry V - Jan 13, 2005 11:33 pm
Route Climbed: southeast ridge, Matterhorn Creak Trailhead Date Climbed: July 1996Climbed late in day after conquering Uncompahgre in the morning. A beautiful mountain, and challenging climb.
climber46 - Sep 21, 2004 12:53 pm
Route Climbed: SE Ridge(standard route) Date Climbed: Sept 18, 2004Despite marginal weather, I made the summit with a friend from Boulder, CO. I did not think this mountain was as hard as it is built up to be. Yes, you want to avoid falling, but there are so many steps and handholds that make it easy. Also, thanks to work by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative in 2004, the Trail to Wetterhorn Peak is now clearly marked and easy to follow. There are even signs marking where the Wetterhorn trail junctions away from the main trail. Other former climber paths have been marked "Closed for Revegetation". Having one clearly marked trail will help preserve the tundra environment and also make it quicker and easier to gain the SE ridge of Wetterhorn.
All in all, a very nice hike!
sbkelley - Sep 9, 2004 12:55 am
Route Climbed: Southeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 2004One of the most beautiful Fourteeners out there. Tanya and I especially liked the last summit pitch - pure fun! We also came across a guy smoking pot on the summit...I was wondering why he was talking to the marmot up there and once I smelled the smoke, it all made sense...I guess he made it down okay, though.
Saintgrizzly - Aug 10, 2004 9:30 pm
Route Climbed: Good question... Date Climbed: Late '70's (Whew!!)High on the list of most people's favorite Colorado mountains, including me. I've only done the peak once, in the late '70's, and it may have been my first San Juan 14-er. Did the mountain with Aaron, and the unusual thing about this trip came about because at that time some access roads were still open that are now gone. We'd just purchased CJ's, and were big on trying out new roads--well, we took a winding back ridge road, eventually bringing us out on to a ridge overlooking the Wetterhorn south/southeast basin. (And what a stupendous view that particular perspective is!) From there we did the mountain, which was considerably shorter than the standard routes of today. The thing of interest, and we didn't realize this until some time later, is that the area had just been declared a wilderness area, we had taken a wrong turn onto an access road in such a manner so as to miss a closed gate (the "normal" entry point) maybe a hundred yards further on--in other words, we may actually have been driving in the wilderness, and were probably the last ones ever to use that particular road. We'd never have done such a thing knowingly, and even back then the fine would have been substantial--ignorance is bliss, and we lucked out. And the mountain was terrific!
Did Matterhorn two years ago (2002) with Aaron and Ellen. Nice views of Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre.
s_tuning@msn.com - Aug 9, 2004 9:23 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: August 9th, 2004A beautiful climb. Rope was nice for the final pitch. Not highly technical at all, but a fall would be serious.
Gareth - Jul 24, 2004 11:18 pm
Route Climbed: Southeast Ridge Date Climbed: July 24, 2004This one wound up being a battle for me! I made it to the top after climbing up the frost covered crux. Exciting climb, all by myself--had the whole upper mountain to myself.
I am signing this summit log in a internet cafe in Ouray :)
jrf - Jul 15, 2004 10:28 am
Route Climbed: South Ridge (sort of) Date Climbed: July 3, 2004Amazing climb. We actually went pretty far over towards Matterhorn Peak and then headed up grassy slopes and snow back over to the south ridge. This route is sort of in the Roach book but I think we went farther east than he suggests. There is a trail in between the two creeks that I think we were meant to find instead.
Last section got my attention but not nearly as bad as I expected. The ledges were very solid.
ctruscot - Jul 11, 2004 8:39 pm
Route Climbed: Matterhorn trail head Date Climbed: September 2003Nice climb end of September - colors were fanatastic.
mpbro - Jul 10, 2004 11:37 pm
Route Climbed: Matterhorn (SE Slopes), Wetterhorn (SE Ridge) Date Climbed: 9 July 2004Well, unlike "Ratballs", we were wearing clothes, so call us boring! We did the standard routes on Wetterhorn and Matterhorn. Matterhorn was easy and enjoyable. Wetterhorn proved a dandy little scramble on excellent rock! We hiked in the previous night from West Fork Cimarron trailhead and camped east of the 12500' pass east of Matterhorn Peak. Planned to take a 3-day trip to do Uncompahgre, but it seemed better to look at than to climb, so we just did Matterhorn and Wetterhorn and hiked out. Long day, but good fun.
Ratballs - Jun 22, 2004 3:42 pm
Route Climbed: South ridge from Matterhorn Creek trailhead Date Climbed: 31 August, 2003Highest Naked Man in America:
I headed down Crestone-wards in the evening, but the weather there looked so appalling that I just kept on going, bearing generally towards the southwest. Midnight found me deep in the San Juans, pulling up to the Matterhorn Creek trailhead, where I truck-camped for the night. I backpacked in at 8AM, set up my tent just below the Matterhorn slopes, and then hiked around the shoulder across the open plains of tundra to Uncompahgre, which I climbed up a frustrating scree-filled couloir on the west side.
It felt so damned good to be back up high that I practically skied back down Uncompahgre and ran over to Wetterhorn--beating by twenty minutes, I might add, the summit-to-summit time of Matt Mahoney, the ultra-runner (I know, because he recorded his time in the summit register). It was 4PM, and the latest I'd ever summited. On Wetterhorn, the weather was so clear that I took all my clothes off and wandered naked around the summit for a half-hour or so.
I'm fairly certain that for 30 minutes, then, I was the highest naked man in Colorado, if not the country. Of course, by the time I got back to my tent (fully and appropriately attired), it was still only about 5:30PM, so I backpacked the whole damned thing down again and drove the 380 miles home--I never did camp.
mountainmota - Jun 15, 2004 7:31 pm
Route Climbed: Southwest Ridge Date Climbed: July 2003Fun 14er!
bc44caesar - May 16, 2004 2:08 pm
Route Climbed: SE Ridge Date Climbed: 15 May 2004Climbed solo from Matterhorn Creek in conjunction with Uncompahgre. Ascended the ridge from a snow couloir on the west side. The final pitch was covered in snow and ice - very treacherous!!
Ryan Kowalski - Apr 19, 2004 5:04 pm
Route Climbed: From Matterhorn Peak Date Climbed: June 29, 2003What a joy! Over from Matterhorn Peak. Fully enjoyed the smallish summit. Another beautiful June day in CO. The scrambling was great and solid for the San Juans. One of my favorite CO peaks. Such a distinctive mountain.
JonBradford - Nov 9, 2003 9:53 pm
Route Climbed: South Ridge-Standard Date Climbed: September 1, 2000I love Wetterhorn. My favorite fourteener by far. I climbed it with my brother. We took turns dog sitting the giant Jax near the Ships prow as we did the third class portion. Neat Neat Mountain. I almost wish it wasn't a fourteener.
Jon Bradford
Steven Cross - Sep 29, 2003 3:10 pm
Route Climbed: SE Ridge Date Climbed: september, 22, 2003This was my 4th 14er. The top 200 feet was not as bad as I thought it would be. It very exposed, but the solid rock made it quite easy. Somebody told me that it is very intence and told me to bring a rope. Didn't bring a rope and there is no reason for one. The part of the climb that scared me was below where the rock is loose and slippery.
Overall it was a fun climb.
Not a cloud in the sky!
big_g - Sep 27, 2003 9:53 pm Date Climbed: Sep 25, 2003
Route Climbed: SE Ridge std routeAwesome route. I was tempted to leave my first ascent as a snow climb of the face in the spring but the pictures of the ledges just looked too cool. This was my favorite 14er climb until the next day when I did Sneffels.
Little tiring after doing Matterhorn first though. Dropping that 800 feet and picking my way through the boulderfield took quite a bit of time.
Guess when the Matterhorn summit log was put out there.... 21 Aug 2001!
RyanS - Aug 22, 2003 3:50 pm
Route Climbed: Standard route Date Climbed: August 15, 2003A strange weather day made for a quick climb: 2 1/2 hrs. from TH to summit! What a blast! A trip report is available here.
Matt Mahoney - Jul 27, 2003 10:16 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: July 9, 2003Started from Capitol City and climbed Uncompahgre first. Nice weather even at 2 PM. The last bit of exposed class 3 was scary but not hard.
jvoss - Jul 9, 2003 6:53 am
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: July 1, 2003Perfect day for climbing! We left the trailhead about 6:45am and had summited by 9:15am. Not a cloud in the sky when we began and only a few appearing on the way down. Trail was WELL marked all the way to the top. The last pitch was a lot of fun for our group of 3, kind of like picking your way up an uneven set of stairs. Rocks were firm and footing/handhold options plentiful. Lazed at the top for over an hour in the beautiful day and was actually able to place cell calls as well.
Happy climbing!
Diggler - Apr 2, 2003 2:50 pm
Route Climbed: SE Ridge Date Climbed: August 2000Got an early start after sleeping near the trailhead in the car, and kept a fast pace to avoid potential bad weather. I passed a guy from Texas who'd made a goal of climbing all of Colorado's 14ers (even more respectable for an out-of-stater!) and caught up with a father-son duo from Gunnison. We continued to the summit together. It was a fun climb to the top, and the view from the summit was great, too. With dark clouds closing in, though, I decided to forego an Uncompahgre summit bid. I felt better about my decision when I heard thunder higher up when I'd attained lower elevations.