Sheep Mountain (WØC/FR-Ø97), one of several summits with this name in my vicinity, is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountain and the Roosevelt National Forest. It is located about 20 miles (30 km) north-west of the town of Fort Collins in the Cache La Poudre Canyon. Several other SOTA summits are close by. Access to Sheep Mountain is via CO14. The mountain rises sharply from the side of the road and parking and access is very limited.

Trailhead: 6201 ft / 1585 m
Summit: 7555 ft / 2303 m
Elev. gain: 1391 ft / 424 m
Roundtrip: 1.9 mi / 3.1 km

Compare this summit to my other activated summits

How to get there:
Take US287 N from Fort Collins towards Wyoming. Go west  at Ted’s Place on CO14. About 18 miles into the Canyon is a small gravel/dirt patch on the the right side of the street. It is shortly after the bridge over Poudre River. It is easy to miss on the first try. Watch the video below  @ about 6:00 minutes into the clip.

Parkinglot/Trailhead

View Larger Map

Red Tape:
Nothing I am aware of, it is part of Roosevelt National Forest – therefore NF rules apply.

The Ascent:
Once you found the parking spot outlined above, it is pretty obvious where to go. The (very) steep south facing slopes can only be tackled one way – through a steep gulley. It is not only steep but rocky with large boulders, sagebrush and tons of prickly stuff. I switch-backed up the slope up to a ridge to the west which provided the first nice overview of the Canyon and the road below. It also provided nice views to the east on some previously hiked mountains and some grazing deer which were not amused by my presence.  I continued to follow the ridge until it got kind of steep but I forced my way through/up the giant boulders all the way to the peak. The best approach – in retrospect  – is to move east and summit from the north-east side to avoid scrambling up the scraggy peak.

The Summit:
The summit provided a nice shady place beneath the Douglas firs. Setup was easy, the abundance  of boulders provided ample opportunities to guy the mast for the antenna. Finding a quiet spot on the 20m band was a different story.
The highlight was certainly the QSO with Larry (W7BUY) who was activating SOTA W7/NE-Ø92 in Oregon. My first S2S QSO.

The Descent:
The descent does not provide any more challenges than the ascent, and you have gravity working in your favor. The area can be easily navigated, since the flora consists only of grasses, sagebrush and prickly pears. The only thing you have to watch out for is the heat, the slope is south-facing – so don’t forget your sun-protection.

Some Video Impressions:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVCwCRRVhMU

If you would like to leave questions or comments, please do so through Youtube.

!! 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!

Written by: k0mos on June 15, 2011.on April 7, 2014.