Picture of Humboldt Peak (14,069) as seen from Horn Peak (13,450)
Route: South Colony Road to Humboldt Peak Trail
Highest elevation reached: 13,000 feet
Trailhead Elevation: 11,000 feet (Parked near end of road)
Elevation Gain: 2,000 feet
Round-trip Length: 6 miles
Difficulty: Class 2 (Click here for discussion of Class System)
Overview: Humboldt Peak (14,069) is 37th highest point in the state and one of four 14ers in the middle Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The other three, Kit Carson Mountain (14,169), Crestone Needle (14,201) and Crestone Peak (14,298) are some of the more difficult 14ers to climb with all routes requiring technical and/or semi-technical maneuvers. While Humboldt is easier, it is still a difficult class 2 past South Colony Lake.
1996 Attempt: My dad and I attempted Humboldt Peak in 1996 while I was making all my preparations for my Whitney climb which took place the next year. The plan was that Humboldt would be my first 14er and a warmup for Whitney. My dad and I made all the necessary plans and preparation for the Humboldt climb; we drove up the nasty South Colony Road in a jeep and made it to the top of the road. From there we continued up the trail to the lakes. The Humboldt Peak Trail takes off up Humboldt's West Ridge towards a saddle. After a series of nice switchbacks on beautiful sloping tundra we reached the saddle. By this time is was only about 10am or so but a nasty system was already developing over Humboldt and we didnt want to take a chance with lightning, so we headed back after a few pictures. The saddle is about 12,850 feet and only a mile from Humboldt's summit.
 That's me walking along the South Colony Trail with Crestone Needle (14,201) behind me. Upper South Colony Lake is to the left.
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My dad and I on the South Colony Lakes trail near the upper lake about to peel off on the the Humboldt Trail to the saddle. The trail takes off behind us and goes through several switchbacks on its way to the saddle.
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 A view back down the valley towards Lower South Colony Lake from the switchbacks on the Humboldt Trail.
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 A marmot along the trail at the switchbacks. You can see some of the trail below and some tents which would be near the upper lake.
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Another shot of the marmot
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Arriving at the saddle at 12,850 feet. This is a view northeast towards Colony Baldy (13,705) and the North Crestone Creek drainage with some of its lakes visible. It was getting dark rapidly at this point even though it was only 10am.
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View towards the summit to the East from the saddle. The actual summit is hidden away further east. You can see the dark clouds moving in rapidly and see why we had to turn around. At this point we are only one mile from the summit.
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Thats me on top the saddle with Crestone Peak (14,298), the 7th highest in the state, behind me.
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My dad on the saddle with the Crestones-Crestone Neddle (14,201) and Crestone Peak (14,298) behind him.
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Another shot of me with the Crestones as backdrop.
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I am currently a student at University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), where I intend to get a degree in Political Science and Geography/Environmental Studies. When I'm not studying, you will find me in the mountains. I have been climbing since I was pretty little and have done climbs throughout California, Colorado and Arizona, including the highpoints of those states. I have done Mount Whitney and Mount Elbert, but I plan on doing some even higher mountains, maybe Aconcagua, Mount Mckinley or Kilimanjaro, Check back with me in about 10 years. Meanwhile you can check out some of the other trips reports:
Music Pass July, 2001
Mount Elbert July, 2002
Rito Alto Peak July, 2002
Humphreys Peak June, 2003
Lakes of the Clouds June, 2003
Gibbs & De Anza July, 2003
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Mount Antero July, 2003
Comanche & Venable Aug, 2003
Horn Peak Aug, 2003
Santiago Peak Feb, 2004
Agua Tibia Mountain Mar, 2004
Mount Adams July, 2004
Shavano/Tabeguache Aug, 2004
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Mt Princeton July, 2006
Engineer Pass Aug, 2006
Schofield Pass Aug, 2006
Trail Ridge Road RMNP Sep, 2006
Torrey Pines SR Dec, 2006
Mt San Jacinto May, 2007
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Fill free to email me at [email protected] for questions, comments, suggestions or whatever else you can think of.
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�2007 by Michael Downey. All rights reserved.
