Steven's Peak-bagging Journey

September 3, 2026

4314m

Ouray, CO

Mt. Sneffels in the San Juans is one of the most recognizable 14ers in the state of Colorado so when Matt Lemke made the recommendation I was instantly sold on the idea. I have to admit that I didn’t know much about this part of the state as my only previous visit to Colorado was in the Sawatch (Mt. Elbert) and the Front Range (Pikes Peak). Matt recommended the SW Ridge of Mt. Sneffels and I did do some brief research. Either the SW Ridge or the “standard route” would be no worse than “class 3” so fine, if the SW Ridge has a higher scrambling quality then I might as well take it. Frankly speaking the route didn’t sound that spectacular to me but this peak boasts over 900 m prominence. I had budgeted a few days in Colorado to some peakbagging before meeting up with Clair, and I was prioritizing objectives that could hit both the boxes of being a 14er and boasting at least 600 m prominence

The bonus of using Mt. Sneffels in the San Juans to reintroduce myself to Colorado is the relatively short drive from my previous objective, Mt. Peale in the state of Utah. The nearby Uncompahgre Peak could also work but I disliked the added walking distance to do its standard approach without having a Jeep Wrangler nor equivalent. Having a Jeep could also significantly shorten the walking distance on Mt. Sneffels but this objective can be considered “short” no matter what. I spent at least half an hour reading numerous trip reports and decided that I should try to get to the “Outhouse Parking” which is the standard trail-head for the Subarus. This rental AWD lacked the power and didn’t have the X Mode equivalent, but I’m also a fairly skilled driver so maybe I would have a chance. Indeed, my prediction was mostly correct. On the steepest hill I was loosing traction but I did power it through, and there were a lot of rough stretches that required skills and courage. I would say this access is the maximum that a Nissan Rouge could do, but should be fairly straightforward for a Subaru Forester. The bonus of pushing to this parking lot was to sleep at 3450 m elevation which further added to the acclimatization process. Two vehicles with car-campers showed up within the next hour and a few more vehicles pulled in at around 5 or 6 am. The weather forecast was calling for zero chance of thunderstorms so that’s probably why nobody bothered with an alpine start. I was actually one of the earliest birds.