Mount Columbia • Hike • Colorado • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Jul 14 2020

sneakySASQUATCH

Guides 4
Routes 27
Photos 4,621
Triplogs 975

56 male

Joined Aug 23 2005
Pike National Fo

Mt. Harvard and Columbia Traverse Combo, CO

Hiking		Jul 14 2020
		sneakySASQUATCH • Triplogs 975

Hiking	14.48 Miles	6,100 AEG

Hiking	14.48 Miles
	6,100 ft AEG

no routes

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Mount Columbia

Mount Harvard

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Taco Tuesday two for the price of one. I have every other Tuesday off with kids at camp and daycare. Weather permitting have been trying to get some decent AEG. The trip up to Twin Lakes passes numerous 14ers along the way. In fact we thought about Elbert while we were there, but forecast for storms Sunday which materialized had us paddle boarding instead (easier to watch weather pack up and go). I saw the combo and decided to do it. It turned out OK. Trail is in great shape up to Harvard and I have never seen such perfectly manicured trails out of talus. Wow! Could of trail ran back down that if I didn’t decide to do the combo. There are warnings all over 14ers.com about risk factors for this hike exposure HIGH commitment HIGH route finding HIGH all of which are probably true. There is a high number of search and rescue dispatched to that section as well as injuries. It wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. I really had to slow down and be careful. I got hailed and rained on, but no thunder until I got to the car. The difficulty in this hike is the traverse. It is mostly trail less scree, talus, and exposure. If weather comes in suddenly your pretty much exposed on the ridge with no escape unless you are in one of the talus fields with car sized boulders.

You can access both these peaks from French Creek as well.
Apparently, a lot of people hike in and camp in horn fork basin which cuts the round trip mileage in half. The other notes were how horrible the trail is going up to Columbia which I came down. Initially for the first half from the top it is dirt loose rock numerous routes no switch backs and probably 30 degrees ( perfect for backcountry skiers in the winter and as bad as Bross with respect to steepness (which was recommended to me as a great winter backcountry run). Apparently, they have been working to Fix this trail for quite awhile. There is a sign half way down about maintenance and falling rocks etc. below that sign the trail is an engineering marvel where they have finished sections. Switchbacks with rocks perfectly placed as stairs using portable cranes. Scree used to make boarders on each side of rock free trail. They must have done this to Harvard at some point in the past. Both trails ( Columbia’s completed sections) are in far better shape than Pikes Peak or any of the other 14ers I’ve done. Mt. Princeton being the worst because apparently a rockslide covered most of the trail a couple of years ago. Wildflowers were great particularly on the Columbia trail. I enjoyed the traverse, but I averaged 3 mph all the way up Harvard and it took 3 hours to go from Harvard to Columbia and it is only 2.75 miles. I think the main problem lies in people not being patient. If you choose this route your going to have to slow down allot the time and not be in a hurry for the traverse.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] King's Crown Purple Fringe Rocky Mountain Columbine Sky pilot

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Marmot (Yellow-Bellied)

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mount Columbia Mount Harvard

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2 archives

Aug 02 2018

Pivo

Guides 2
Routes 512
Photos 5,579
Triplogs 4,277

69 male

Joined Mar 01 2009
Aztec, NM

Mount Columbia

South Central, CO

Mount Columbia

South Central, CO

Hiking		Aug 02 2018
		Pivo • Triplogs 4,277

Hiking	15.33 Miles	5,354 AEG

Hiking	15.33 Miles	9 Hrs 23 Mns		1.83 mph
	5,354 ft AEG	1 Hour Break	20 LBS Pack

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Mount Harvard

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Originally my daughter, Granddog Buddy and two others were to hike Mt Harvard, however I took a wrong trail at an unmarked junction and summited Mt Columbia. I am finding trails are either poorly marked or no signage at all. Perhaps compared to Arizona there is water everywhere and few if any lost hikers die from exposure during their Summer months.

Columbia is a DNR (Do Not Repeat) until the new trail is opened to the public. I scratched, slid and pulled myself up a slippery Couloir. Really tough going, and then I had to return the same way. If I had a rope and harness I would have descended using those. I was so slippery, it was safer glassading down when ever possible.

Wanting to reconnect with my daughter and the others I headed up the correct Harvard trail, after meeting three other hikers that had mistaken the Columbia trail for Harvard too. I ended hiking up with a guy named Rick, who as it turns out his daughter was in my daughter’s second grade class last school year. So after the 15 minute parent teacher meeting we headed back down to the car.

Unlike Elbert and Huron there was plenty of water for Buddy to wade, cool off and drink on the Harvard segment. Columbia had no water above the tree line.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Marmot (Yellow-Bellied) Pika (American)

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bear Lake

Wildflowers Observation Moderate

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1 archive

Jul 16 2017

jrousoshammond

Routes 30
Triplogs 186

37 male

Joined May 15 2015
Tucson

Harvard/Columbia, CO

Hiking		Jul 16 2017
		jrousoshammond • Triplogs 186

Hiking	15.00 Miles	6,100 AEG

Hiking	15.00 Miles	11 Hrs	1.36 mph
	6,100 ft AEG

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Mount Harvard

Mount Columbia

Horn Fork Basin Trail #1449

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This was a bigger day than I had bargained for, but it was a success. Based on the stats (13.7 mi, 5813' AEG) and relatively nonchalant description in the Roach guide, I expected a little bit tougher version of Oxford/Belford. It was considerably tougher. The stats above are from 14ers.com, which seem more correct to me after the hike. In addition to the bigger numbers, the terrain and level of commitment on this hike are more serious than Oxford/Belford and all of the other combos I've done.

The trail into Horn Fork Basin and subsequent ascent of Harvard is the highlight of this hike, and IMO is ideally done as a backpack. There are lots of nice camping spots below tree line in the basin by the Columbia turnoff, and the trail is very gradual up to that point. Harvard is a BIG mountain and you feel all of those 420 feet over 14,000, but it's nice and straightforward.

The traverse to Columbia ranges from lovely to maddening. Some of it is a clear trail, some of it is talus, some of it is an eroded mess (at least if you're like me and didn't spend enough time looking at the 14ers.com pictures), and a good amount of it is over snowfields this time of year. It took me about 2:45 to complete; I'd avoid starting it after 9:00 or if there's any sign of unfavorable weather.

blog.rei.com/hike/m ... 4er/

The above article is a good description of the situation on Columbia. I ended up on the crappy slopes, though I saw another party that had found their way to one of the newer sections of trail which looked really nice as I was skiing down the dirt. My advice is to wait on this combo until the trail is completed, or to do the peaks as two separate outings: Harvard via the standard route, and Columbia via one of the alternate routes from the East. Of course, if you're an insatiable peak bagger or an unprepared moron or a combination of the two :oops:

, then this combo is here for the taking...

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2 archives

Aug 26 2012

BobP

Guides 2
Routes 251
Photos 4,593
Triplogs 3,212

63 male

Joined Feb 26 2008
Scottsdale, AZ

Mount Columbia

South Central, CO

Mount Columbia

South Central, CO

Hiking		Aug 26 2012
		BobP • Triplogs 3,212

Hiking	14.80 Miles	6,101 AEG

Hiking	14.80 Miles
	6,101 ft AEG

no routes

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Mount Harvard

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New York always beats Boston except in Seafood. My dads family was from Boston and my moms family was from New York before they both moved to CT. I hated everything Boston and loved everything New York and still do. What does any of that have to do with hiking? Harvard(Boston) vs. Columbia(New York).

I was gonna save the best for last but since New York is number one I decided to do Columbia first. Most people do Harvard then Columbia. The first 3.5 miles is the same either way and it was awesome. Hiking along water thru forest and not much aeg in that 3.5 miles. The total polar opposite of yesterday. So I decided on the talus ascend first. It got old fast and I was glad after about 1k of gain they started to throw in some switchbacks. Total aeg from TH to Columbia was 4,300 in 5.75 miles. I didn't see another soul on route and then saw two people on the summit. They had come up the other side. I did the west slopes. The route I choose off Columbia was good for awhile and then I had to improvise which worked out but there were a couple of scary traverses. When I started climbing back to the ridge, I saw three people heading over to Columbia and they pointed to the route and I said no thats not it. And explained what to do but I'm not sure they had a clue. Then about .5 miles later I run into another guy who doesn't know the route and is following the other group. I hope they made it ok because things weren't sounding well.

Harvard had a few summit areas that I climbed around on. I almost took a bad line and I quickly stopped. It was scarier than the Cheops move with moving rocks. I found a nice tame class 3 which only lasted a short time and then it was nice trail down. This would be a backpackers paradise for the first 3.5 miles to Horn Creek Basin.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bear Lake Mount Columbia Mount Harvard

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Always pronounce Egeszsegedre properly......
If you like this triplog you must be a friend of BrunoP

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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