We Do Stuff: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, West Evans, Blue Sky, Spaulding

October 14, 2023

Mount Bierstadt 14,066'

Mount Blue Sky 14,268'

Winter conditions are starting to set in in the high country here in Colorado so before things got too snowy, Laura and I thought we'd take advantage of the good, low wind forecast. We agreed that we would do a very popular route that I had never done before and hike to the newly renamed Mt. Blue Sky. From the summit of Guanella Pass, we hiked quickly up the Mt. Bierstadt trail, quickly finding a well beaten path in the few inches of snow on the trail. Bierstadt is one of the most popular 14ers to hike, however today we saw only a few people along the way to the summit.

Summit of Mount Bierstadt

It took about 1:45 to summit and after taking a 10 minute break, we began our descent off the summit and across the Sawtooth. It was a bit more snowy along the traverse with 6 inches of snow in most areas, but the going was still easy and the scrambling fun.

Justin starting across the traverse from Mount Bierstadt

Laura and I summitted the sawtooth and then began the hike toward Mt. Blue Sky. Along the way we went up and over several points, one of which was sure to be West (Evans) Blue Sky.

Laura on one of the many high points between the Sawtooth and Mount Blue Sky

It took us 4:30 to the summit of Blue Sky and, with zero cars in the parking lot at the summit, we were lucky to have the summit to ourselves. Wanting to add on Mt. Spaulding, a high but unranked centennial peak, we made the short detour over to the 13,842' summit before heading down the gulley and into the maze of willows blocking easy access back to the parking lot. Laura had read about a better way around the willows that worked up and around a small hillside and back to the Bierstadt trail so we decided that rather than walking through the frozen swamp and willow bashing for several hours we would try that.

Route-finding our way back with the Sawtooth traverse in the background

Turns out is it probably not any easier or faster, but it did keep our feet drier and made for an interesting descent back to the car. We finished our round trip in just under 8 hours and were pleased to have had another great day in the Colorado Mountains.