Mount Bierstadt from Guanella Pass

The walk starts at the Guanella Pass Trailhead at the top of Guanella Pass, on the road between Georgetown and Grant. The trail drops gently east across willow wetlands, much of it on boardwalks, crosses Scott Gomer Creek, and climbs switchbacks onto a broad shoulder. It carries on up the open west slopes of Mount Bierstadt, and the final stretch picks through boulders near the ridge crest to the summit, at 14,060 feet. Return the same way.

It is 7.5 miles (12.0 km) round trip with 2,560 feet (781 m) of climbing; allow about 5½ hours. The grade is Hard: a steady climb at very high altitude, finishing over boulders.

The whole route is above treeline, with no shelter. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer: start at dawn, be off the summit before noon, and turn back if clouds build. Headache and nausea are signs of altitude sickness; the cure is to go down. The route is in a federal wilderness: fill in the free permit at the trailhead, and keep dogs on a hand-held leash. From the week after Thanksgiving to Memorial Day weekend, the road is closed about 0.8 miles below the pass.

The lots at the pass fill early on summer weekends, and parking on the road shoulder within half a mile of the summit is banned and ticketed.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.