W0C/PR-007
Mount Epworth
3610 m / 11843 ft
First Activation
Sep 11, 2015

By KX0R

Mount Epworth is a fun alpine SOTA peak less than a mile west of the Continental Divide, near Winter Park.

• Arapaho National Forest
• Accessible summer and fall
• Relatively easy alpine activation
• Beautiful scenery
• Few visitors
• Fine HF site
• Rocky off-trail hike up the mountain
• Access via a rough 2WD road
• 1.7 miles round-trip
• 730 vertical feet, including the return trip

Driving Directions:

• Drive west from Denver on I-70
• Turn northwest on Highway 40
• Cross Berthoud Pass
• Continue down Highway 40 to Winter Park
• About 0.6 mile past Winter Park Resort, turn right, north, on Corona Pass Road 80.
• This road also is called the Moffat Road.
• Follow this rough, unpaved, 2WD road about 13 miles
• The Moffat Road is passable in cars with enough clearance
• Park along the road about 1 mile south of Rollins Pass
• A small sign “Corona Lake Trail #118” marks the trail west of the road
• This is the trailhead.

Trail 118 leads to beautiful Corona Lake, about a mile to the north. Mount Epworth stands west across the valley from the trailhead.

The Hike:

• Walk down the Corona Lake Trail about 1/5 mile.
• Look for an informal path heading down off the main trail, toward Pumphouse Lake below

• Hike down to the north end of Pumphouse Lake
• Cross the small outlet creek
• Continue southwest toward Mount Epworth, and pick a route up the steep, rocky northeast slope.
• There are some paths in the scree, but there’s no real trail up Epworth.
• Further around the mountain to the west, an alternate route is available
• It’s less rocky, but slightly longer.

After about 250 vertical feet of loose rocks above the lake, the route gets much easier. The last part of the climb is over large, stable boulders. The summit is a large mass of rocks, and the pile can be climbed easily on its southeast side. There are numerous large cairns on the summit – the cairn builders certainly had a lot of energy!

The activation zone is large and rocky. In good weather it’s pleasant, and the summit has nice views. There are no trees; a pole can be guyed or braced with rocks. It’s possible to operate right on the peak as I did; if it’s windy, set up behind rocks for shelter.

No development is near the mountain, and the RF noise level is very low. It’s a good HF site – there are no higher peaks nearby to block the signals. Low-angle radiation is possible in most directions. Epworth is probably a poor VHF/UHF site, because it’s partly blocked to the east by the Continental Divide. There’s some coverage of Winter Park, Fraser, and the area around Granby.

I had an enjoyable late-afternoon activation.  My logs shows 19 contacts on 30, 20, and 17M.  I was able to work EA2IF, Guru, in Spain, across the Continental Divide and the Atlantic Ocean, with my tiny 5 watt ATS-3B radio.

Mount Epworth can be combined with nearby Skyscraper Peak W0C/FR-122 for a dual activation. Skyscraper takes more time than Epworth, so it’s probably better to activate Skyscraper first. I did this, and it worked well. The mileage total for the dual activation is about 6.9 miles, with a total vertical gain of about 1425 feet. My total time for both trips, including the short drive between the trailheads, was about 7 hours. The drive from Boulder took about 3 hours each way, so it was a 13-hour day in perfect conditions.

Climbing and activating Mount Epworth should be reserved for a day with stable, dry weather. The Continental Divide often has dangerous lightning storms, high winds, hail, snow any month, fog & clouds, etc.

73

George
KX0R

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!! 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!