We have not inherited the world from our forefathers –
we have borrowed it from our children.
– Kashmiri proverb |
Purple Mountain – 12,958 feet
This majestic Elk Range Twelver waits south of Yule Pass. |
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Pondering Purple from the Yule Pass Trail |
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Purple from the north
You can see the North Ridge Route curving toward the summit from Yule Pass |
| Gerry took the above photos on 8/10/03 |
USGS 7.5’ Quadrangles: Oh Be Joyful, Snowmass Mtn.
North Ridge – 5.6 mile RT, 1,638 feet net & total, Class 3 |
| This is an easy hike punctuated by a scruffy scramble near the summit.
Start at the Paradise Divide Trailhead,
and hike 2.0 miles northwest on the Yule Pass Trail to Yule Pass at 11,700 feet.
You can ponder the cliffy peak ahead of you during this approach walk.
Move to the south side of the pass and contour 150 yards west on an old roadbed until you reach a grass slope
above you to the south. Leave the road and hike south up grass, find a use trail in the scree above the grass
and climb south to a small 12,180-foot saddle. Climb 0.2 mile west on the continuing use trail in the chip rock
to a bend in the ridge at 12,640 feet, then follow the gentle ridge 0.2 mile south to the base of the summit pyramid.
Climb south up the west side of the summit slopes on dangerous, loose chip rock, which is near its angle of repose,
working your way from bench to bench en route (Class 3). The summit ridge is not far above this difficulty.
The numbered point is the northern of two summits, and the mountain’s highest point is the southern summit,
100 yards to the south. The view of the Thirteeners Treasure and Treasury to the north is uninterrupted,
and numerous Twelvers to the south are lined up for your review. |
