Twin Sisters Peak East (WØC/FR-Ø37) is located at the border of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and the Roosevelt National Forest, just a few short miles south from Estes Park. There is a new trail-head which is not marked on the relatively old USGS maps. The trail eventually joins the one on the map. The weather forecast was excellent (temps near record highs) – what a difference a week can make. During last week’s activation of Ypsilon Mountain (WØC/FR-ØØ9) in the same area we had single digits temperature (5-10 F or ~minus 20C) compared to upper 70s (20-25 C) today. What made the trip even more enjoyable was the company of my wife.
Trailhead: 9192 ft / 2386 m
Summit: 11404 ft / 3476 m
Elev. gain: 2939 ft / 896 m
Roundtrip: 7.0 mi / 11.3
Compare this summit with my other activated summits
How to get there:
Take US34 from Loveland towards Estes Park through Big Thompson Canyon. In Estes Park, take Highway 7 (S St. Vrain Avenue) to the Lily Lake area. The approx. seven mile drive is very scenic and represents the Estes Park area very well. Between mile-marker 6 and 7 (just across Lily Lake) take a left (east), bypass the visitor center and follow the dirt road up the mountain until the road ends. There is parking on the right side of the road only. Everything is marked very clearly and easy to find.
Parking/Trailhead
View Larger Map
Red Tape:
There are no fees, even-though the trail crosses RMNP area. No dogs are allowed on the trail.
The Ascent:
The official trail-head is about 0.5 miles from the parking area on an old logging road with the usual trail-head signs and posters. From there, the well maintained trail leads in and out of NP land through a uniform (boring?) lodgepole forest with only scarce views of the surrounding mountains. The lodgepole pines are eventually replaced by fir and spruce trees and patches of Aspens. Thanks to last week’s cold weather pattern, the leaves were already turning golden, creating a very
nice contrasts in the early morning sun. The higher we climbed, the better the view of nearby Longspeak (14259 ft / 4346 m), Mt. Meeker (13911 ft / 4240 m) and Estes Cone (11006 ft / 3355 m). After reaching the treeline at approx 11000 ft / 3350 m, the Twin Sisters Peaks are visible for the first time. The trail above the treeline leads over a barren, exposed scree-laden path to the saddle between the West and East peak. Either summit can be easily reached. The last 30 ft elevation to the east peak requires some scrambling.
The Summit:
Besides the unobstructed views, the summit also provides comfortable and wind-sheltered space to setup the equipment. There is ample space for several SOTA teams if necessary.
We had the summit exclusively for ourselves for about an hour. Then, the hikers started to come in thick and heavy. The number of established contacts was disappointing on 20m as well as 40m and 2m. I just made five contacts on the three bands even though the conditions were not bad at all.
The Descent:
After about two hours on the warm and sunny summit we descended the same way we came up.
Some video impressions:
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!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and
bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers.
Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!
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