Displaying items by tag: Vasquez Mountains

Disected by the Gore Range, the Williams Fork Mountains are split into two sub-areas - east and west. The eastern part of this mountain range comprises the western edge of the Front Range, just north and west of the Eisenhower Tunnel and the western part of this mountain range is just north of the Flat Tops. The east Williams Fork Mountains are just west of the Vasquez Mountains and consist mostly of very gentle slopes and easy summits. Due to their proximity to the rugged Gore Range and because of the fact that there are very few high summits in this range, spectacular views and solitude are not uncommon here.

The Vasquez Mountains are a sub-range of the Front Range. This range is "L-shaped" and is home to several rarely-hiked summits. Most summits in the Vasquez Mountains are near 12,000 ft in elevation, offering solitude. Two Wilderness Areas lie within the confines of these mountains: the Vasquez Peak Wilderness in the south and the Byers Peak Wilderness in the north. The Vasquez Mountains begin at Berthoud Pass and the Fraser River Valley and extend west to the Williams Fork River, and then north to Bottle Peak.  Generally speaking, the Vasquez Mountains are gentle; however, some areas on the eastern side of the range consist of prominate glaciated cirques.