W0C/FR-019
Sundance Mountain
3800 M / 12466 ft
June 6, 2014

Sundance Mountain is an easy alpine summit in Rocky Mountain National Park. This peak is about 1/3 mile from Trail Ridge Road, but the hike is twice that far from the convenient parking along the highway. On a good day this is a fine spot for a SOTA activation, with spectacular views in all directions.

Start by driving to Estes Park and continue into Rocky Mountain National Park; pay the fee or show your pass; then drive up Trail Ridge Road and ascend above timberline. Look for the Forest Canyon Overlook on the south side of the road at about 11,700 feet elevation. Drive north of this overlook about 1/3 mile and find an unmarked parking spot off the road at about 11,850 feet. Sundance stands to the north, on the east side of the road.

There is no trail to the summit. Hike northeast across rocks and tundra to the saddle east of Sundance Mountain. There may be snow early in the season, and when the snow is melting, the first part of the route may be marshy. Climb the easy slope up to the top. The hike is about 2/3 mile and 500 vertical feet. The broad peak is rocky and exposed to wind, but some shelter can be found in the lee of the summit. Take a pole for an HF antenna, and plan on guying it to rocks. Sundance is an excellent HF site, and the peak provides some VHF/UHF coverage of the plains and the Denver Metro area.

There are marmots – large alpine rodents – on Sundance. These curious animals have little fear of us.

They seem attracted to ropes, and they sometimes chew on antenna support lines. While I was on Sundance, a large marmot saw my pole support lines and began to gnaw on one of them while I was on the air. I had to take a quick break to distract the pest. In case of marmots, remember that all wildlife is protected in the National Park!

N7UN has covered the rest of the details in his trip report for Sundance on the SOTA page.

Please respect these alpine summits, and don’t risk your life trying to activate when weather threatens. A cloud with a dark bottom is potentially deadly. At least two people were killed by lightning along Trail Ridge Road during 2014 – and they were well below the top of Sundance.

The day I activated Sundance, I had planned to activate Trail Ridge as well; by the time I hiked back to my car, the clouds were so dark that another activation was out of the question!

With good weather, an activation of Sundance can be combined with other nearby summits, such as Trail Ridge, Deer Mountain, or Mount Ida. The secret is to get an early start, to beat the tourists and the storms.

73

George Carey Fuller
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!