W0C/PR-020
Gray Wolf Mountain
4146 m / 13602 ft
Aug 16, 2014
By KX0R
Gray Wolf Mountain is a high alpine summit located about 2-1/2 miles northeast of Mount Evans. On a nice summer day it’s a pleasant retreat into the wilderness, and it’s also a fine SOTA peak.
Gray Wolf Mountain from Mount Spalding
To climb Gray Wolf, first drive up Mount Evans. Traverse the long rocky West Ridge of Evans – a trail leads through the rocks around the south side of this ridge, and it’s heavily used by hikers on nice days. Follow this trail down to the Evans – Spalding saddle.
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- West Ridge Trail of Mount Evans
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- Mount Bierstadt from Evans
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- West Ridge Area of Evans
From this saddle you can either follow the trail north over Mount Spalding, or contour around the west side of Spalding. The trail eventually goes down a craggy ridge to Summit Lake, and it’s a popular route for climbing Spalding and Evans.
Mount Evans from Spalding Slopes
Leave the trail and descend about 750 vertical feet north to the Spalding – Gray Wolf saddle at about 13030 feet. The broad saddle area is marshy, so try to pick a dry route. From the saddle, hike north across the tundra, and then climb the easy southeast ridge of Gray Wolf.
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- West of Evans North to Spaulding
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- Mount Spalding, Saddle, and Gray Wolf
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- Gray Wolf Looking Back at Spalding and Evans
The summit is broad, rocky, and pleasant; the activation zone is large. Rocks southwest of the top provide shelter from the west wind.
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- Gray Wolf Summit
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- Grays and Torreys from Gray Wolf
Gray Wolf is a great radio site – it’s far from man-made sources of RF noise, and it has an open view across the Denver Area, the Plains, and the mountains. Few people visit this summit.
Gray Wolf Activation
Even though this hike looks like an easy stroll across the tundra, it requires about 6 total miles of hiking. Most of the route is rough trail or off-trail. The total vertical ascent is about 2000 feet, and the entire trip is above 13,000 feet. Pick a good day for this interesting activation, and start early!
It looks like the route to Gray Wolf can be shortened by starting at Summit Lake. Hike up the ridge trail northwest of the Lake, climb to the north slope of Spalding, and then leave the trail and head north to Gray Wolf. The total hiking distance is reduced, but the total vertical ascent is still about 2000 vertical feet. I have not climbed up the ridge above Summit Lake, but it looks like an efficient route.
73
George Carey Fuller
KX0R
!! 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!
