Goat Piss and Choss: Kelso Ridge (III)

 I nearly shat myself as I popped the top of my head over the small boulder in front of me. Two big and beady black eyes stared back from an arm’s distance away. After a quick inspection they appeared to belong to an obviously well-fed, large, white, male mountain goat. It was breeding season. I popped back down and whistled to my wife, Sarah below me. We were nearly three-quarters of the way up the well-popularized “Kelso Ridge.” This route was more than proving itself to me as the best way to the summit of Torreys Peak.

The weather the day we had chosen to scramble the ridge could not have been more perfect. Not too sunny, yet nary a cloud in the sky harkening any sort of danger. We chose the late season to go up it, about late September, as all the standing snow fields would be dry and the temperature moderate. I really couldn’t and still can’t find anything to complain about the day we had on the ridge. For reference, Kelso Ridge is one of the more trafficked “harder” routes on the few 14’ers the front range has to offer, though I would certainly add that the scrambling for any intermediate climber is not hard whatsoever. The exposure and movement however, remains to be fantastic. Altogether, Kelso Ridge offers a great way to throw some excitement into peaks otherwise accessed via moderate hikes. 

Kelso Ridge rises quickly and violently from the valley below, allowing a nearly 280 degree view of the surrounding peaks. To the west, one is able to bask in the sheer walls of Argentine Pass, Argentine Peak, and Edwards Peak. To the east, the rest of Clear Creek county spills down onto the front range foothills below. Though slightly chossy in select spots, for Colorado, the rock along the ridge remains to be reasonably good. Any self-respecting climber of the high sierra or Tuolumne would call it choss, but we’re not in California, are we? Running from the low point on the saddle where Kelso Mountain and Torreys Peak meet, Kelso Ridge runs in a narrow and jagged edge to the summit.

We began our day from the Grays Peak trailhead, plenty awake after being jostled on the rough dirt road that led up to it. From nearly the trailhead, the cirque formed by Torreys, Grays, and where they meet with the Continental Divide looms overhead. There’s certainly nothing missing on this route when it comes to views. Rising modestly from the trailhead, the initial trail climbs into the middle of the cirque, y-ing off twice, the first for Kelso Mountain and Kelso Ridge, and the second for each individual trail leading up to each of the 14’ers. There are simpler and more class 1 options to the summit of both Grays and Torreys, but after giving it a go, I prefer the linkup from Kelso Ridge.

While the scramble mostly remains solidly in the 3rd class range, do be aware that there are multiple “crux” sections of the route that may require some exposed sections of scrambling, or light climbing. While the ridge for the most part is more of an exercise in “choose your own adventure,” there is a required section of class 3/4 moves over the final knife-edge scramble at the finish of the ridge towards the summit. Overall, the route can be kept as tame or as wild as one would like it to be. Do be aware-many mountain goats inhabit this area of the Rockies, and while they really don’t remain to be too terribly aggressive, they’re still wild and one should maintain their distance.

The return trip from the top of Torrey can be taken in a couple ways. Sarah and I opted to tag Grays peak from the saddle connecting trail to add another peak onto the haul for the day. If Torreys is enough, another small connecting trail will take you down to where the main approach trail meets. If running the route (which I also heartily recommend), the return approach trail flows beautifully. Not too steep, but just enough to throw some junk into the quads for the day.


Local Beta: For a bigger day, and a cool linkup, jaunt up Kelso Mountain first, return by the same path, and go up the ridge. In the summer a rope and rack are not needed for this excursion. Enjoy! Show up early if you do not want to fight for a parking spot. The lot at the trailhead in Stevens Gulch has a tendency to fill up fast!


**ALL WRITING AND PHOTOGRAPHY PROPERTY OF TRENT HILLIER AND SAWATCH COWPOKE**








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