"Cupid" (13,117) & Grizzly Peak (13,427) by Brian Schultz Saturday July 21, 2012
Roundtrip mileage: 6 miles from Loveland Pass
Elevation gain: 2,800'
Start to finish: 4 hours 30 minutes
I began from Loveland Pass at 8:20 AM under warm, sunny skies. Lots of climbers were on the trail this morning, no surprise being a Saturday, as I headed up toward Pt 12915. It took less than forty minutes to reach the Point, a high bump on the ridgeline with Mt Sniktau to the left and Cupid to the right. The view of the "Citadel" across the I-70 corridor was particularly impressive.
The slopes on Cupid were easy hiking and I talked to a few hikers along the way, one of whom was also continuing on to Grizzly Peak. I watched him ahead of me as he sidehilled Cupid and bypassed the top, which I found odd because he told me he intended to summit it. I arrived on the Cupid at 9:25 and had the summit to myself, and stayed just ten minutes before departing.
The terrain got a bit rougher toward Grizzly but still traveled well. I reached the summit at 10:45, said hello to three guys already on top, and continued to the other end of the long summit where a father and his two young sons were enjoying the views. Satisfied it wasn't a higher point, I went back to the main summit and stayed until 11:10.
By the time I got back to the Point at 12:25, the skies were starting to cloud up and lots of climbers were coming from or going to Mt Sniktau. The trail down to Loveland Pass was congested with tourists, some families had kids as young as two years old hiking with them, and I arrived at the over-crowded parking area at 12:50. Ten minutes later it was raining but not hard enough to spoil a picnic spread that a large group of people had set up.