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Teakettle before it lost its spout (July 1993).



Tea Time
Once again I’ve a bit of summit fever today. I'm not sure why. The good weather riding and mountaineering season edges up the difficulty stick over the next several months. Often, as difficulty increases, so does the fun meter. Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something. Who knows! Nonetheless, while perusing old photos and trip reports, I started reminiscing about a favorite summit, an itty bitty summit that comfortably allows only two climbers. That alone warrants a cup of fine tea.

Teakettle Mountain sports an elevation of 13,819 feet, ranking 98th in elevation in Colorado. Peaks on the 100-highest list are known as Centennials. Teakettle holds the number two altitude slot in the Sneffels Range, an east/west sub-range of the northern San Juan Mountains. If you have traveled Colorado's Highway 62, Teakettle is one of the numerous points serrating the sky in the rugged row of summits shadowing the highway between Ridgway (no e in this Ridgway) and Dallas Divide.


Teakettle (left) and Potosi Peak (13,786 ft) touching the sky in June 1993.

The igneous rock in this region provides a glimpse into the Lower to Middle Tertiary Periods, dating 20 to 70 million years ago. The prehistoric volcanic activity was widespread and violent. From many vantage points, Teakettle is aptly named. However, during the 1998-1999 winter, the spout fell off. Teakettle is one of several Centennials that are technical by their easiest route.


Teakettle's airy summit; Potosi provides the backdrop.

Tidbit: The monarch of the area is 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels, probably my favorite 14er to climb, especially the deeply inset snake couloir poised on the north face. The name Sneffels originates from the Jules Verne classic Journey to the Center of the Earth. In 1874, while crossing Blue Lakes Basin, directly below Mount Sneffel’s southwest face, a member of the Hayden Survey compared the high basin with the hole in the earth in Verne’s classic. Dr. Frederick Endlich, a scientist with the survey, exclaimed, “There’s Snaefell,” in regards to the Icelandic mountain located in the vicinity of the hole (Bueler, 1986). Having spent numerous days in Blue Lakes Basin, I can vouch that not only is it a delightful hole, but arguably harbors one of the finest wildflower displays in the state. It’s a magical place to lie and watch peaks and clouds spar with each other.


Majestic Mount Sneffels (left) rises above Blue Lakes Basin in fall.

Teakettle was first climbed in 1929 by Rolfe and Alonzo Hartman. Yet, by the mid-1970s, Teakettle was one of the few peaks with only several pages of names in its summit register. In fact, its neighbor Dallas Peak (13,809 ft, rank 100), did not entertain a third ascent until 1976 (Bueler, 1986). I didn’t find the technical portion to be difficult; it’s a short one-pitch hop onto a tiny summit — a tiny 3- by 7-foot summit. The overall climb consumes time; the rotten volcanic rock covering very steep slopes can be tedious at best. Hence, a serious undertaking from a weather and potential rockfall standpoint; there are no easy bail points. We were blessed with a blue bird day.


Todd, my climbing cohort, gives some context to Teakettle's handle hole.


Until we meet again...

Adios

Literature Cited
Bueler, William M. 1986. Roof of the Rockies: A history of Colorado mountaineering.
Cordillera Press, Inc. 251 pp.

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12,890-foot Red Mountain Number 3 rises high above Red Mountain Pass. Just for fun, the inverse of this pic may be found here. My shot location is from the highway in the lower left just before the big u-shape switchback (disregard seasons obviously).

Silverton Vicinity

We left Yankee Boy Basin around noon. Our next stop for the day would be Mineral Creek, northwest of Silverton, Colorado. Silverton is a small community surrounded by alpine majesty. Its heritage has primarily been mining. Yes, this is the Silverton that made national news about flooding the Animas River with heavy metals from a mine being tinkered with by the EPA. Currently, the town is host to trinkets and souvenirs, 4-wheeling, backcountry skiing and the turnaround depot for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad out of Durango.

Only one year-round highway provides access to Silverton. During the winter months, it's not uncommon for Silverton to be snowed in with no physical access because avalanches have closed Highway 550 on the north and south sides of town. Many of the slide-paths have names. During the summer months, 4x4 access from Lake City is possible over Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass. Similarly, summer 4x4-access to and from Telluride is possible over Ophir Pass, as is one-way to Telluride over Black Bear Pass (a very dangerous 4x4 route).

Off we go! The Yankee Boy Basin shelf road is always fun! This road is a good bike ride too; it entails a bit of huffing and puffing.



Above this point, the road becomes much steeper and rougher rather quickly.



Aptly named Red Mountain Creek drains the Ironton area of Red Mountain Pass.



Mineral Creek flows beneath the long east ridge of 13,761-foot Fuller Peak. On the other side of this ridge, Ice Lake Basin is suspended in awesomeness! It's probably one of the most beautiful basins in the San Juan Mountains. Snowcatcher has some beautiful photography from Ice Lake Basin. We had planned to return to Ice Lake this trip but were hampered by lightning.



Here comes the rain!



From high atop Red Mountain Pass, the Black Bear 4x4 route begins its rough journey to Telluride.



Red Mountain Number 1 (12,592 ft) ended Day Three. (Exciting official USGS 7.5 minute map names – no?) We pointed the nose north and took off toward the Gunnison River Valley. We hoped to reach Blue Mesa Reservoir by sunset. After collecting petrol and pizza in Montrose, Colorado, we arrived at the reservoir a tad before sunset.




Our final day would take us up through the Taylor Park area into the southern Sawatch Mountains. Stay tuned.

Adios

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Yankee Boy Basin Part II

Welcome back. We're still on wildflower patrol high in the northern San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. We couldn't get enough of scenic Yankee Boy Basin. Colorado's state flower, the Blue Columbine, was prolific, as was the Larkspur.

Blue Columbine
Aquilegia caerulea
Hellebore family



Larkspur
Delphinium nelsonii
Crowfoot family



13,694-foot Gilpin Peak stands watch over upper Yankee Boy Basin.



The final 3/4 mile of 4x4-access to upper Yankee Boy Basin is not a difficult drive. However, it is slow, steep and narrow; it is very eroded and washed-out in places; it requires descent ground clearance in areas. Longer vehicles may drag their hitches while navigating water bars and stream crossings. Lastly, people tend to park their non-clearance vehicles in small passing pullouts (common sense no longer exists).





The jagged, crumbly Saint Sophia Ridge tickles the sky's belly. I've been told mountain gods reside here and the Jabberwock provides their protection.



Saint Sophia Ridge rises above Governor Basin, as seen from lower Yankee Boy Basin.



From lower Yankee Boy, see ya next time, Kismet (13,694 ft) and Cirque Mountain (13,686 ft). The rain started about 30 minutes later.



More mountains on the docket; they'll be up soon.

Adios

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Yankee Boy Basin

Day Three of our wildflower fest found us in four-wheel drive wrou, wrou, wrouing up to phenomenal Yankee Boy Basin. The only downfall: it's a very busy basin full of 4x4s crawling toward thinner atmosphere. Words don't really describe the flowers here. This is one of the few alpine regions capable of giving the wildflowers of the Crested Butte area a run for their money. When Yankee Boy Basin flowers are at peak, it's amazing. We hit it very close to peak

The alpine tundra and sentinel peaks are not bad on the eyes either. I think the San Juan Mountains are Colorado's finest alpine peaks; Yankee Boy Basin touches only a tip of them. Enjoy the pics.

The scenery kicks into high gear in lower Yankee Boy Basin.



As we inched up the mountain side, views began to open up. In the far upper left, the summit block of Mount Sneffels (14,150 ft, rank #27) is just visible. The peak in the upper left is Kismet (13,694 ft, no rank). The upper right peak is Cirque Mountain (13,686 ft, rank #155). Cirque actually has two summits. Note: Kismet is not ranked because its connecting saddle with Mount Sneffels has less than 300-foot drop in elevation. Kismet has what is known as a soft rank.



Larkspur
Delphinium nelsonii
Crowfoot family



Rock Groundsel (I think)
Packera werneriifolia
Aster family



During the late 1800s, some regions of the San Juan Mountains underwent a fair amount of mining. Access into the many areas is the result of mining. However, the mountain range is vast, and much of the San Juans remain primitive, especially the South San Juan Mountains.



Clouds swirling about Kismet predicted afternoon monsoonal rain.



The high saddle between Teakettle Mountain (13,819 ft, rank #98) and Potosi Peak (13,786 ft, rank #113) is more difficult to reach than it looks. The rock up high is loose and often resting at the angle of repose. However, sometimes the rock is worth the care required to navigate. Teakettle is one of the finer alpine climbs I've done. Its coffee table-sized summit was a hoot.



The following pics are from previous trips and used to present Teakettle Mountain and Potosi Peak. The spout succumbed to gravity and snow during the 1998/1999 winter. The second picture is of the tiny summit.





Upper Yankee Boy Basin is home to 13,694-foot Gilpin Peak (rank #149). Crossing the saddle between Gilpin and Sneffels will deposit you into the spectacular Blue Lakes Basin.



Potosi Peak touches the clouds at 13,786 feet (rank #113).




More Yankee Boy to come. Check back.

Adios