Mt Evans
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Mt. Evans - from Summit Lake over Mt. Spalding onto Mt. Evans west ridge

The summit of Mt Evans with a view of the NE face descent route

The summit of Evans with the descent down to the road

The start of the route from Summit Lake up Mt Spalding

Start of the loop over Mt Spalding then on to Evans West Ridge from Summit Lake

View of the Mt Evans west ridge and Mt Bierstadt from the summit of Mt Spalding

Taken from the summit of Mt Spalding

View of the Summit Lake parking lot from high on Mt Evan's west ridge

A look back at the Summit Lake parking area from the start of the Evans West Ridge

A closer look at the terrain on the west ridge of Mt Evans

Start of Evans West Ridge route follow cairns below ridge crest around to the summit

A look at the descent route on Mt Evans

Descent directly from the Mt Evans parking down to the road then left back to Summit Lake parking

Allan on the summit of Mt Evans

On the summit of Mt Evans

The RAV4 bags its first 14er!

The RAV4 bags its first 14er!

 

Mt. Evans – from Summit Lake over Mt Spalding with descent NE Face

Scramble: Class 2 – Steep Hiking

Altitude: 14,264 ft

Elevation Gain: 1,700 ft approx, Summit Lk TH elevation 12,845 ft, 3.8 miles return with descent down NE face

Start Time: 5am to 8am to be on your way down by noon and avoid potential lightning storms

Ascent Time: 2 hours approx

 

Highlights

This scramble is a good introduction to scrambling 14ers. A nice one to start with after driving 1,100 miles from Calgary.

Getting There

Summit Lake Trailhead – 12,845 ft – Yes restrooms

Heading west out of Denver on I-70 take the Idaho springs exit number 240. Drive south on Colorado 103 for 13.5 miles to the Echo Lake campground and lodge. Just past here is the booth for the $10 fee. Pay the fee and drive a further 9 miles up the road to the Summit Lake TH.

Camping

If you want to camp the day before the Echo Lake campground charges $14. The lodge across the road sells bags of ice, drinks, baked goods etc.

Route Description

From the Summit Lake TH facing the lake head right and past the restrooms to pick up the trail over Mt Spalding, from the top of Mt Spalding you drop down to the saddle between Evans and Spalding. You can see Bierstadt and the Sawtooth over to your right. Continue on towards Evans and traverse the west ridge on the right side a bit below the ridge crest. Find the prominent cairns and follow these on the traverse around to the summit of Evans. The NE face descends directly from the parking area and the first part of the slope is reddish in color. There is a rough small trail heading down here to the road. A short walk back on the road to the Summit Lake trailhead and voila, a nice 14er outing.