Mount Werner is located in the Park Range of the Rocky Mountains in Routt County and is part of Routt National Forest. It is a popular winter destination, since it is getting some of the highest levels of snowfalls in all of Colorado. At the base of the Mountain is Steamboat Springs and the Mountain is operated by Steamboat Ski Resort Corporation (which has a long term lease from the National Forest I believe).

Thunderhead Station and Steamboat Springs at the base of Mt. Werner

In summer the main activity seems to be Mountain-biking. A ski resort in summer is never an attractive sight. Hiking trails are scarce due to the fact that the resort makes most of their money with Bikers (just an assumption). If you want to do some nice hiking in this area, try Rabbit Ears Pass instead, you will not be disappointed. During my hike to Mount Werner,  I could never get the feeling to be in a remote location and was unable to connect to nature on this disturbed and heavily scared mountain.

Trailhead: 6900 ft / 2103 m (Gondola Base) or  9080 ft / 2768 m (Thunderhead)
Summit: 10565 ft / 3220 m
Elev. gain: 3665 ft / 1117 m (from base)  or 1485 ft / 453 m (from Thunderhead)
Roundtrip: 10.4 mi / 16.7 km (from base) or 7.2 mi / 11.6 km (from Thunderhead)

Compare this summit to my other activated summits

I took the Gondola to Thunderhead (about $20 for a ticket if I remember correctly – you can use the ticket all day long) and hiked up to the summit on the hiking trails (really just a dirt road) indicated on the official resort map.

How to get there:
The Gondola base is impossible to miss if you are in Steamboat Springs.  The base-station of the Gondola is the heart of the Resort.

Gondola Basestation

View Larger Map

Red Tape:
The whole mountain is managed/controlled by the Steamboat Ski Resort Corporation and the rules of the National Forest do not apply here. According to the official resort map and the info I received locally by talking to their staff, it is not allowed to hike up to the highest point. The  trails above Four Points Hut are reserved for Mountain-bikes only!!! In order to comply with SOTA rules I went up on a day where they had a mountain race (runners) and they changed the trail assignments to accommodate the racers. Optionally you could rent a mountain-bike or go up there in winter (you can go up all the way with Gondola and Ski-lifts and have an easy traverse to the Mt. Werner summit).

The Ascent:
It is pretty straight forward. It is a maintenance dirt-road from the Gondola station all the way to the highest point. You will get some nice views of Steamboat Springs and the valley. I always had to keep an eye on all the MBs coming downhills – not all are in complete control of their equipment.

The Summit:
The summit is very extensive and hosts several huge antenna installations.  The views in easterly direction are undisturbed and were definitely the best feature on this trip.

View from the top of Mt. Werner (10565 ft / 3220 m)

The Descent:
You are limited to the same route back, either to the Gondola station or you could hike all the way down.

Video Impressions:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSLBl6AOp2s

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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!

Written by: k0mos on August 6, 2011.on April 7, 2014.