Loveland Pass West

Distance: 3 miles round trip
Elevation: 11,990 ft - 12,457 ft
Elevation Gain: 467 ft (net) 1062 ft (cum)
Bathroom at Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash
Tags: #coloradooutdoors, #hiking, #tundra
Nearby hikes: Upper Straight Creek, Mt. Sniktau, Herman Lake

The high tundra world along Loveland Pass West

Loveland Pass West is breathtaking high tundra hike that almost anyone with a moderate level of fitness can do since it starts way above tree line on Loveland Pass itself.

Looking across the road to the trailhead. Trail goes around to the right of the hill. 

Going around the initial knoll. Trail goes sharply up the hill in the distance. 

While short, this trail is not flat! The first 0.7 miles are the hardest, gaining 414 ft in a heart pounding climb to a small hill. You will immediately loose this well earned gain by dropping down the other side only to climb again to the broad U-shaped ridge that will form the rest of the hike.

Heading up the initial steep pitch

On the ridge looking that the route

You won't be alone on the first 0.7 miles of the journey. Instead you will be surrounded by hordes of tourists in flip flops, walking their small dogs up for a glimpse of the high country. Few make it past the first ascent, however and those that do are serious hikers.

Further along

Heading up a "false summit"

Once on the ridge, the trail weaves up and down several small hills until it dead ends at a small rock shelter on an unnamed 12K ft peak. On the one way trip you will gain 824 ft but will have climbed a total of 1,062 ft by the time you return.

At the final destination. Rock shelter in sight. 

All along the journey, views abound. There is nothing like a summer time jaunt along the Continental Divide. Tundra flowers bloom in rainbow colors and fluffy white clouds dot the horizon. Keep and eye out for more ominous grey clouds, however,  since there is no place to hide on this trail.

View to the west from the destination. 

To get to the trailhead, take the Loveland Pass road out of Keystone CO or off of I-70 just before the Eisenhower Tunnel. Parking is very limited at the pass so arrive early or in the late afternoon for a better chance of parking. The trail starts next to the Loveland Pass sign and initially wanders around the small knoll next to it. Across the road is the trailhead for Mt. Sniktau, a much harder climb. Still you will see the tourists struggling up the initial 1000 ft climb that is not for the feint of lung.

Mt. Sniktau

Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
Elevation: 11, 990-13,234 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,675 ft (net) 2,147 ft (cumulative)

(Left: View from the summit) Mt. Sniktau as a great introductory peak for anyone wanting to train for higher endeavors. It is close the Front Range so you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night and the trail is relatively short so you can get acclimatized gradually. In fact, I met a couple from Montreal on the trail for this exact purpose. I chose this hike because I have passed the trailhead many times and have just been curious about getting “up there”. The trip was delightful despite some pressure from the weather and I would recommend it to anyone fit enough to roam above tree line.

The trail starts on the west side of Loveland Pass. There is a large parking area there that was empty when we arrived at 7:45am but that was packed when we returned. You could tell there were many lowlanders marveling at the pass and wandering about the knolls right next to it.

Guidebooks will tell you there are two false summits on the way to the summit of Mt. Sniktau and this is technically true. When you look on a topographic map there are two obvious summits, one at 12,915 ft, one at 13,152 ft and the final one at 13,234 ft. On the ground, however there are many more knolls, bumps, and talus piles that make it difficult to determine how many “summits” one has traversed. The main thing to remember is that the final summit is not visible until you are on the second of the “official” false summits and that it is a large triangular hunk of rock. All the other knolls and summits are very rounded. You also have to descend 100 ft or so from the second “official” false summit before you can ascend the final summit. All the other milestones are generally upwards.

Looking up at the first summit from the beginning of the trail. The second summit is off to the left.

The first part of the trail ascends up a very steep ridge to the first summit at 12,942 ft. This ascent takes 0.94 miles so you are ascending 1,000 ft in less than one mile, which is good for separating out the mountain goats from the domestic goats. None of the day-trippers that infested the parking lot ever made it up that high. It is a lung and calf buster. Descending this pitch is much easier with poles because the ground is loose, slippery, and filled with small rocks.

Farther up the initial pitch

Every step upwards improved the view as the Continental Divide becomes more distinct. The tundra was green and filled with wildflowers. A few large snow banks remained but certainly nothing worth skiing. When we reached the trailhead we passed a skier starting out with a skis and heavy boots. I suspect he was going to be disappointed. All the snow banks were off the trail and did not impede the journey.

(Right: Finally, on the ridgeline). From the first summit at 12,942 ft the trail is a very easy stroll across a wide ridge. You can see the second summit off to the northeast. A trail also goes off to the southeast towards Cupid Grizzly peaks. That looks like a nice trip as well. One of those large talus piles exists about half way across ridge towards Sniktau. We skirted its edge on the way up and went straight over it on the way back. It is easy enough to navigate. Talus always has the potential to twist an ankle so don’t be complacent even when the piles are small.

The second official summit is deceiving. There is a large wind shelter there, a USGS stake in the ground, and a rock pinnacle. Without the ability to judge distance, we thought were on Sniktau and were looking at another 13er off to the left. This is wrong. While the second summit is above 13,000 ft it seems to be unnamed. We were also confused by the obvious deep decent from the second to the final summit. I know that for a 14,000 ft peak to be its own named peak there has to be at least 300 vertical feet between them. I do not know if the same rule applies to 13ers. I need to calibrate my sense of the vertical because I was thinking the decent to the ridge between these summits was greater than 300 feet when in reality is was closer to 110 ft.

Talus pile on ridge to the second summit

At this point we were torn because the sky was completely covered in dark cumulus clouds. They were not building very much but the clouds right over the summit were the darkest in our immediate area. We wasted way too much time vacillating over continuing on when we should just have been hiking. Finally, we decided to go on and it was a short 20-minute journey to the official summit. Another clue. You can see Eisenhower Tunnel from the official summit and not from the second summit. The other major view is looking south. There is small lake between Sniktau and Torreys, which is quite picturesque.

Trail above the skree to the second summit

Alas, we did a high-five, took a few shots and left the summit quickly. Sometimes I hate Colorado’s weather. After all that work it is nice to hang out for a while and being chased off a summit by the weather is a real downer. After leaving the summit, the clouds did begin to break up a bit. This enabled us to slow down and enjoy the scenery. It was not until we had reached that 12,942 ft summit that things started to get really dark. It was here that we met the couple from Montreal. They were heading up and we pointed out the dark clouds and indicated it was tricky to continue. They chose to go on even and we were scurrying downwards. This is always risky. Storms in Colorado can build very quickly. They may or may not produce lightening but 1.5 hours up a treeless trail is a dangerous place to be. As it was we saw them on the summit long after we had returned to the car. The storms had been building and dissipating so hopefully they survived. I would not have started up with that level of darkness to the clouds. If I had been leading a group of people I would have also turned around at the second summit rather than take a chance. Risking your own life is one thing, risking others is quite another.

View from the second summit
I really enjoyed Sniktau. Purists might think it is too short to be worthwhile. I for one want to do every trail and can find an occasion for every type of trail no matter the distance or elevation gain. Sniktau has great views and is really fun, which in itself makes it worthwhile. Had the weather been better, I would have taken that second trail that leads off towards the southeast from the first summit. That trail leads to another unnamed 13er. From peak there is a narrow ridge to Grizzly Peak.

Mt. Sniktau from the second summit

Wildflowers and views looking northwest