Mount Bierstadt! Colorado - 14,060'
West Slopes Route
7.5 Miles Round Trip
2850 feet of elevation gain
Mount Bierstadt! "There's no such thing as an easy 14er!" ... a true statement. But
having said that, in a comparative sense, Mount Bierstadt might be one of the easiest. But boy is this a
beautiful hike! The trailhead at Guanella Pass is right on a paved road and the trail itself gently moves
up the West Slopes of Mount Bierstadt. There's a nice little summit block with some rock scrambling to
keep you honest, but this hike is easily do-able by just about all and is a great foray into the high
mountain peaks. Plus it's only an hour or so outside of Denver. Because of these things, on a nice
Summer day, you will surely share the trail and summit with others! Great to see hikers out there!
Once you park at the Guanella Pass parking lot, you move slightly downhill
into a wetlands area. This area is really nice due to the excellent wood bridges that allow you to
stay dry as you cross the area! You will experience easy going hiking through willows, across a
creek, by a lake and more!
Eventually you come out of the wetlands area and begin up the slopes of
Mount Bierstadt. The trail is great and there are no route finding issues even for a beginner hiker.
Bonus!! - The Sawtooth!! So, Mount Bierstadt has a connecting ridge
to its North which is called The Sawtooth! (I think the name is for both the 13,780 peak but
also the gnarly ridge itself.) As you move up the slopes of Bierstadt, the views of The Sawtooth
are AMAZING! There is a class 3 route that crosses from Biertadt over The Sawtooth and then up
to Mount Evans. It actually crosses through one of the jagged notches on the ridge and traverses
ledges on the West side (which is the side you see as you hike from Guanella Pass). The route
description on 14ers.com states the ledges are easier than they appear.. but let's just say it
looks SCARY! Looking forward to checking it out one day!
One other note about The Sawtooth hike is that if you combine it with
the East Ridge of Bierstadt starting from a descent of Mt. Evans... then over Bierstadt, across
The Sawtooth and back up Mount Evans, this is the famed 'Tour D'Abyss' route!
Back to the Mount Bierstadt hike... So once you get to the top of
the West Slope, you're now on the summit ridge where you can see to the East basin (and the East
Ridge, part of the Tour D'Abyss mentioned above). All that remains is to cross the ridge and
then up the summit block to the top of Mount Bierstadt.
The views from the summit of Mount Bierstadt are excellent. Gorgeous
scenery looking back over Guanella Pass, down to The Sawtooth and over to Mount Evans are all
breathtaking! This is a great hike I would recommend to anyone wanting to have a super fun
day... even beginners.
And be sure to check out the fun town of Georgetown, CO on the way back!
Hope this has been enjoyable and / or helpful to anyone reading it!!
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