W0C/SR-070
Mount Sheridan
4190 m / 13748 ft
Sep 28, 2016

By KX0R

Mount Sheridan is a rocky, high, alpine summit in the historic mining area about 10 miles west of Fairplay, Colorado.

• High altitude hike
• Partially marked route
• Rocky trail goes all the way to the top
• Spectacular alpine scenery
• Excellent HF site
• ~ 4.5 miles round-trip
• ~ 1750 vertical feet
• *** SOTA Classic! ***

Driving Directions:

• Drive west on Highway 285, and cross Kenosha Pass
• Continue west on Highway 285 to Fairplay
• Drive south from Fairplay about one mile
• Just past the turn-off for Highway 9, Highway 285 goes up a little hill
• Turn west at the top of the hill on County Road 18, the Four Mile Creek Road
• This unpaved road is OK for several miles, but it gets worse as it heads up into the mountains. 4WD is not required, but many parts of the road are rocky and rough.
• Follow CR 18 up scenic, historic Four Mile Creek, past old mines and mills.

• The last mile or so is rough and steep. There are many rocks too large for low-clearance vehicles. Some vehicles with medium clearance may make it OK, if driven carefully.
• Parking lower along the road is possible – some parking is available about one mile down, near 11,600 feet, and lower.
• The road ends at a gate near an old mine; there’s a large parking area.
• This is the Fourmile Creek Trailhead, also called the Mount Sherman Trailhead.
• This trailhead is at 12,200 feet
• It’s about 12 miles from Highway 285 to the trailhead.
• This is a very popular trailhead, because Mount Sherman W0C/SR-061 is one of the most-climbed 14-ers.

The Hike and Climb:

• Because of the high altitude, this hike is recommended only for experienced climbers with a high level of physical fitness.
• Google Maps show none of the trails near Mount Sherman
• GPS is very useful in this area
• The hike is relatively simple, but it isn’t marked well with signs, etc.
• Hike up the road past the gate, and stay on the mine road as it ascends mostly north, up past various old mines and historic structures, into a high basin at about 12,900 feet.

• A well-used foot trail leads west from the basin at 12,900 feet up to the big saddle at about 13,125 feet. There are a few cairns marking the correct route.

• At the saddle, Mount Sherman stands high to the northeast; Mount Sheridan stands less high to the southwest.

• Follow the trail southwest along the gentle ridge, and then ascend Sheridan by staying on the most visible trail up the rocky ridge.
• Near the summit, the trail leads up through talus – there are some cairns, including the most exotic ones I’ve ever seen.

• At the top, the long, flat summit ridge comes into view.
• The actual summit is at the southeast end of this ridge; a big pile of rocks marks the spot.

• A large wind-shelter built from rocks stands on the northwest end of the summit ridge, 400 feet from the actual peak.
• A pleasant stroll along the ridge-top leads to the wind-shelter; fortunately, the entire ridge is well within the SOTA Activation Zone.

Additional Details:

Unless the wind is extreme, or people are already there, the northwestern wind shelter is an ideal place to set up radio gear. Just tie the pole to the rock wall, string the wire out along the open ridge, sit down in the shelter, and go on the air. Sometimes high peaks are tricky, but this one is already set up for SOTA!

Mount Sheridan is a near-perfect HF summit. It falls away in most directions, and except for Mount Sherman to the north, there are no higher peaks close enough to affect skip signals much. There’s no development with AC power nearby, and the RF noise level is very low.

I had no problem making 38 CW contacts on three HF bands! One of the 20M contacts was summit-to-summit (S2S) with K7NEW on W7W/NO-035.

Sheridan is a decent VHF/UHF peak, because it looks out across parts of South Park, as well as into part of the Arkansas Valley near Leadville. The peak’s SOTA history shows many 2M contacts.

The summit offers great views of numerous peaks and parts of South Park. The immediate area near the mountain is stunning – Mount Sherman is very bright, almost white, to the north; other high peaks stand for miles back along the top of the Mosquito Range behind Sherman. The high ridge leads south about 1.6 miles to Horseshoe Mountain W0C/SR-064, and then the ridge stays high and continues south for many more miles.

Many of the peaks in view exceed 4000 M! The Sawatch Range isn’t far away, with numerous higher peaks to the west; and Pikes Peak stands out clearly in the southeast, 66 miles away.

Mount Sherman W0C/SR-061 offers a reasonable dual SOTA activation nearby. I had no problem hiking down to the saddle at 13,125 feet and then up Sherman via the main trail up the south ridge. It was a long day, but so nice that I had almost nothing to worry about!

I never saw a soul on Mount Sheridan, mostly because I was there late in the season. The sunny weather was ideal, with little wind all day. It’s incredible to be alone in such places when everything is perfect.

Mount Sheridan is a SOTA Classic for all the reasons detailed above!  Mount Sheridan and Mount Sherman are a SOTA Classic Dual Activation!

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!