High Country Beta: July 2015

Access: Rock Creek TH
Start: 0930, 7/11/2015
Climb Rating: 3+
Duration: 4.5 hours
Total Distance ~10 mi R/T
Vertical: ~3500'
Summit: 13,085'
Weather: 45-65F/mostly cloudy

Despite being only 1.5 hours east of Denver, the Gore Range remains one of the most isolated mountain ranges in Colorado. No 14ers. No roads traversing it. Rugged. Scarcely mined. And extending over 40 mi from I-70 at Frisco to Rabbit Ears Pass on Rt. 9. The range was formed by a thrust fault of the same type found in the famous Tetons resulting in steep spires bridged by serrated ridge lines. Glacial erosion carved out narrow valleys thousands of feet below. Eastern Gore Range valleys are teeming with lush foliage, big game, and they're peppered with tarns, lakes, and waterfalls. But all this drainage also yields some of the wettest valley floors imaginable saturated with mosquitos.

Keller lies east of the main ridge crest of the Gore Range. It is one of the few summits easily accessible from the Summit County side. The Rock Creek TH is accessed on your standard pock marked dirt road with ample backcountry camping all along it. But on peak summer days expect the lot to be overfilled by 11. The trail head provides access to the Gore Range Trail and by extension many of the eastern drainages that the it intersects.

"In the spirit of exploration and discovery of the eastern Gore", I will not go into a whole lot of detail about this climb. From the Rock Creek TH, continue a few miles past the intersection with the Gore Range Trail along a well trodden trail that climbs gradually to one of the few abandoned mines in the Gore - the Boss Mine.

Valhalla's east ridge from Boss Mine

Along the base of the mine tailings there is a small line of rocks overlying the trail marking a STOP. From here a faint trail forks right, climbing over and around the mine tailings. The trail fades in and out but the route is obvious.

Typical trail segment above the tailings

Occasionally a small cairn may be seen near treeline in a vast meadow devoid of any other signs that a human has ever been there.

Continue upward and onward to the east ridge line. Above treeline, with the first false summit in sight the fun part of the climb begins.

The first false summit from treeline

A class 2 talus field serves as a warmup for the class 3 climbing ahead.

From left to right - 1st false summit, 2nd FS, true summit dressed in white

From the top of the first false summit, the second false summit looms directly ahead with the true summit of Keller lying innocently behind it. To keep the climbing at class 3, carefully consider the route and do not be afraid to drop left or right off the main ridge.

Holy Cross in the distance from the 2nd FS with North Traverse on the left

The down climb from the top of the second summit can be tricky. It can be made easier by climbing left and hugging the ridge. Once the ridge line is regained the summit is a brief class 2/3 climb away.

For a variation on the descent, an old trail not shown on most maps can be accessed by staying along the ridge line past the Boss Mine. The trail eventually intersects the Gore Range Trail.