Displaying items by tag: Wilderness Area

A small mountain range just over 15 miles in length from north-to-south, the Never Summer Mountains sit within the Front Range, with the western section sitting within the Never Summer Wilderness Area and the southern portion of the Never Summer Mountains within the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park. No summits within this mountain range surpass the magical 13,000 ft. mark; however, the range offers several exceptional climbing opportunities, typically within relative solitude. Like other mountain ranges in this part of Colorado, the Never Summer Mountains were impacted by glaciation and therefore many of these summits have cirques and other rugged geologic features. Specifically, the Nokhu Crags in the northern area of this mountain range characterize the rugged and rotten rock that can be found here, especially in the northern parts of the mountain range. Popular summits in this range are Mount Richthofen and Howard Mountain.

Also known as the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, the Indian Peaks lie within the Front Range, just south of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Due to its proximity to the Denver and Boulder area, the Indian Peaks are one of the most heavily accessed Wilderness Areas in Colorado. According to wilderness.net, the United States Congress designated the Indian Peaks Wilderness in 1978 spanning a total of 77,711 acres. Additionally, roughly 35% of this area is above treeline and the area is home to about 50 lakes. Summit elevations range from 8,300 to just over 13,500 feet, offering a wide range of climbing opportunities all year-round, including some challenging class 3 and 4 variations. In places, this range is rather rugged due to the glaciation that has occured to the mountains here.