Vermilion Peak (13,894 ft) and Golden Horn (13,780 ft) by Brian Schultz Thursday July 24, 2003
Tim and I stayed in Ridgway last night and eagerly discussed the upcoming climb while eating at one of our favorite Mexican places, the Adobe Inn. We were glad to be back in the San Juans to climb a centennial thirteener that's been on our wish list for a long time.
Our drive from Ridgway to the South Mineral Creek trailhead took just over an hour- good timing, but only because of the early hour and lack of traffic. We left my car at the bottom of the four wheel drive road and drove up in Tim's truck to the higher trailhead at 10,860 ft.
We began at 5:35, unsure of what to expect for a trail, but found a good foot path that quickly led to an exposed waterfall crossing. After a cautious crossing on slippery rocks, we set a fast pace when first light revealed a heavy cloud cover. When we joined up with the Ice Lake trail, we found it to be excellent, quelling any routefinding concerns and allowing us to maintain the fast pace. As we traveled the lower basin, the cloud cover dissipated and treated us to a splendid morning. Maybe we'd have a clear day after all.
The elevation gain came quickly after leaving the lower basin, and as we ascended near a cliffy area we stopped for a photo break, for surrounding us were columbines on the side, a field of flowers ahead, and the lush lower basin below.
After pulling ourselves away from this scenic area, we crested the field to find we were only minutes away from Ice Lake. We arrived there at 7:20 and stopped for some more photos, especially enjoying the stark perspective of Golden Horn. We continued along the trail as it weaved around two more small lakes, then left the trail and bushwhacked up a grassy ramp to a mini ridge (elev 12,820 ft), where we took a food and rest break at 8:10. From where we were sitting, we could see a path in the scree leading up to the Vermilion-Fuller saddle and it looked steep, but we didn't bring our ice axes today because we read in a trip report that the route was snow free. We started up again at 8:30, and within minutes a solo hiker who'd already summited Vermilion charged by us.
Ascending the well packed scree was much easier than it looked. When Tim and I reached the saddle, we glanced over to Fuller Peak before heading up to Vermilion. If we had time to also climb Fuller later we would, but Golden Horn was our preferred extra credit. The route ahead was cairned as we passed by two huge rock towers, grunted up a steep gully just below the summit, and stepped on top at 9:50. It was fairly easy except for the loose junk in the gully. The small summit, with drop-offs on all sides, was thrilling and we had it to ourselves. The views were outstanding and the weather was holding nicely but stormclouds were definitely brewing.
We stayed until 10:30 and departed for Golden Horn, choosing to skip Fuller. Not liking the looks of Vermilion's northeast ridge for a descent, we took our same route down to a point above the Vermillion-Fuller saddle and cut back across Vermilion's face. On our descent we passed another solo climber on his way up, with a copy of the Roaches' thirteener book in hand, and chatted with him for a few minutes. We crossed the face on a handy bench that still retained patches of snow before reaching the Vermilion-Golden Horn saddle.
From the saddle, we stayed below the ridge on scree and loose rock, then climbed up steeply to the summit. We made Golden Horn's summit at 11:34, slightly over an hour from Vermilion. This exposed summit would've been more fun if the weather wasn't moving in on us so quickly but we enjoyed the views, especially of Vermilion and its northeast ridge. At 11:49 we headed down and ran into trouble trying to find a safe exit through the cliffs but after scrambling closer to Vermilion, Tim found a reasonable passage and we were able to catch up to the trail. We passed the solo climber from earlier and took a break by one of the higher lakes, long enough to eat and don our rain gear just before it started raining. Below Ice Lake, it poured. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed on the peaks about us as we hurried down the trail to safety. I was mortified to see people hiking up the trail and wondered what they were thinking. Or if they were thinking at all.
We chatted with the solo climber again during a lull from the rain, but otherwise hiked out in a downpour all the way back to Tim's truck. We got there at 2:35. Despite the stormy weather, we very much liked these peaks.
Trailhead to Vermilion summit- 4 hours 15 minutes
Vermilion to Golden Horn- 1 hour 4 minutes
Golden Horn to trailhead- 2 hours 47 minutes
Total day- 9 hours, including all breaks