San Isabel National Forest
Mt. Columbia

Mount Columbia and Mount Harvard are 2 of the 14er's in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. They are close together and share a ridge, so a lot of folks climb them both in the same outing. As 14er's, these peaks see a lot of traffic year-round, but most especially on beautiful summer and fall weekends and holidays. Traversing the top of the shared ridge yields some serious adventure (Class 4 with a couple of Class 5+ pitches) but if you stay on the recommended Class 2 routes (and can deal with a few hundred feet of elevation loss and gain), the hardest part of the climb is the altitude.

Elevations:

• Trail beginning: 9,880'
• High Point: 14,073'
• Trail ending: 14,073'

Access: The closest trailhead to Mt. Columbia is the North Cottonwood Trailhead at 9,880'. To get there go to beautiful downtown Buena Vista on US 24. From the stoplight, go north 0.4 miles to Crossman Avenue (Chaffee County 350) and turn west. From the turn, go 2.1 miles to a T-junction and turn north on CR 361. At mile 2.4 (from US 24), CR 361 turns to dirt and then starts to turn northwest. At mile 3.0, turn south on CR 365, which shortly heads west and hits the National Forest boundary at 5.4 miles. Go 2.8 miles (past the Harvard Lakes/Colorado Trail Trailhead, past the Silver Creek Trailhead) to North Cottonwood at the end of the road.

Notes: From the North Cottonwood Trailhead, cross to the south side of North Cottonwood Creek on the footbridge and head west for 1.5 miles. Just after the trail crosses the creek to the north side again you'll come to a trail junction. Go north on the trail to Bear Lake in Horn Fork Basin. You'll reach treeline at about 11,600'. Columbia's steep western face will be to your east with Harvard to the north at the head of Horn Fork Basin. Just below treeline, you'll want to head east on Columbia's western slopes. The easiest terrain to the summit meets the summit ridge just south of a prominent rock outcrop about 0.6 miles south of the summit, so aim yourself in that direction (and don't go too far north in Horn Fork Basin before you start up the hill). It's a long, slow-going climb to gain that ridge but you should be around 13,700' when you get there. Turn and head north to the summit cairn. If you turn around at the summit and head back down, it'll be a 10 mile round trip from where you left the car. If you decide to continue on and climb Mt. Harvard (although most folks who do both peaks do Harvard first) that will add about 3.5 miles to your round trip.

USGS Maps: Mt. Harvard, Mt. Yale