The Tenmile and Mosquito Ranges are actually contiguous, but split by the Continental Divide. Combined, they are a small linear range in central Colorado. They contain 6 14ers and I've climbed all of them, in addition to all of the named and significant peaks above 13,800 feet. The roads go very high in this part of the state, so the ascents generally require only modest elevation gains. The standard routes are technically easy, yet the scenery is rugged. The summits are given from north to south.
This is a high 13er just north of Quandary Peak. I made an attempt on Pacific in October 1995, but a potential avalanche slope stopped me. I finally came back and climbed it by the same route in June 2002.
This is a photo of the dangerous 400-foot slope that I decided
not to climb. Under favorable snow conditions this would have
been a fun climb, and in June 2002, it was, despite less snow.
In this photo, we are looking back down the valley across a
high, frozen lake.
Fletcher is another high 13ers just south of Pacific Peak and just west of Quandary Peak. It took me 4 tries to climb Fletcher, but that has more to do with when I tried to climb it as opposed to the difficulty of the mountain. These photos are from my successful ascent on in October 1995.
The summit of Fletcher is just barely poking up behind
the nearby ridge just right of center. However, the route
actually turns sharply left and ends up behind the left-hand
skyline. In the bottom left is a collapsed mining cabin.
Here is a close-up view of the summit dome rising about
400 feet above the flats.
Summit victory photo. That smudge an arm's length to my
left isn't an artifact; it's the Moon!
Here is a view of the Blue Lakes, shortly before they froze up
for the year. The trailhead is at the dam.
Finally, this is a dilapidated cabin on the south side of Point
13515 just south of Fletcher. (Check your topo map for those
2 x-es.) I believe the upper right background is the summit of what
Roach calls "Drift Peak". I attempted to climb it from the saddle with
Fletcher, but it was technical, at least with the snowcover.
Quandary is a rather linear mountain with steep slopes on its north and south sides. However, the main ridge line is a simple hike.
This was my first night hike, and I missed watching the sunrise
from the summit by about 10 minutes. However, I did catch
Quandary's shadow being cast to the west. September 1994.
Quandary also supports a classic moderate snow climb in
spring. This photo is looking down half a vertical mile
from just below the summit down to Blue Lakes Dam. May 1996.
Here is a long view of Quandary from Mount Silverheels looking toward
the northwest, and includes that snow climb. June 1999.
Here is another long view, from near Bald Mountain, featuring
an apocryphal looking cloud. June 1997.
A not so long view of Quandary's west ridge and summit, from just
below Fletcher Mountain, October 1995.
Finally, a more pedestian (or motorist) of the south slopes from highway
9, just above the Blue Lakes Road turnoff. June 1997.
Lincoln, Bross, and Democrat are separate 14ers on the same massif and generally get climbed together along with unofficial 14er Cameron. This is by far the most practical way to summit 4 named 14-thousand feet peaks in one day.
This view shows Cameron with the summit of Lincoln peaking
over the left shoulder. This photo was taken during Labor
Day weekend 1994 from the summit of Democrat, just after
the first snowstorm of the season.
In February 2002, I finally bagged my first winter 14er, Mount Bross, and the next few photos are from that trip.
Here is an interesting wildlife photo of a white-tailed ptarmigan
in winter plumage, with the south summit of Bross in the far
background.
From a similar spot as the previous photo, here is the south summit
on the left and the main summit on the right.
This is a shot of Mount Cameron from the summit of Bross, and the
summit of Mount Lincoln lurks just off the right side of the frame.
Silverheels provides the northern boundary of South Park, so you get expansive views to the south. This is yet another high 13er.
This photo taken in late June 1999 shows my summit route which
was up that dirt slope to the right of center between the
two prominent couloirs. Note the dark clouds over the
mountain. Luckily, I was less then an hour from my car
on my way down at that point.
Perhaps the easiest 14er, Sherman still has nice views, and some of the mining relics on the standard route are surprisingly intact.
Through the sun glare, you can see the remains of the
Dauntless Mine just above 12,000 feet.
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File last modified: 08 January 2005
