Precipice Peak, 13,144', from West Fork Cimarron River

Essence: Precipice Peak ("U2", LiDAR 13,141')) is located in the Cimarron Mountains on a north-south running divide between the West and Middle forks of the Cimarron River. A handful of ranked thirteeners thrust abruptly from the West Fork. Only Courthouse Mountain is accessible by trail. Precipice has few visitors so the developing social trail is faint and fragmented. The no-nonsense footpath is ultra steep as it ascends straight up through a deep forest and guides around or through gullies and cliffbands. Follow it as best you can. Precipice is acclaimed for its expansive views of fourteeners to the south and neighboring Cimarron peaks--unique and wonky with fanciful volcanic features. On our hike the mountain was enveloped in cloudland so this post focuses on the hiker's immediate surroundings and the fascinating character of the mountain itself. We enjoyed the climb and hope to return for vistas far and wide. The peak is in the Uncompahgre Wilderness managed by the Uncompahgre National Forest.

Travel: From the signal in Ridgway at the junction of US 550 and CO 62 drive north on US 550 for 1.8 miles. Turn right on CR 10 and measure from there. A blue sign with an arrow pointing east, a sign for Owl Creek Pass, and a turn lane for drivers going north precedes the turn. The gravel road is wide and graded but prone to washboard. At 3.9 miles CR 8 comes in on the left (a shortcut from US 550 for drivers coming from the north). CR 10 transitions onto CR 8. Cross Cow Creek at 4.9 miles. Enter the Uncompahgre National Forest at 7.7 miles and the road becomes FSR 858. At the 8.9 mile split, stay straight. Dodge potholes. Cross a cattle guard at Owl Creek Pass, 15.2 miles, elevation 10,114 feet. The road from Silver Jack Reservoir comes in on the left at 15.5 miles. Turn right at the sign for West Fork, FSR 860. Courthouse Trailhead (on the right) and parking (on the left) is at 17.0 miles. 2WD vehicles should park there. FSR 860 degenerates considerably 0.4 mile south of the Courthouse lot requiring 4WD low with high clearance. There is plenty of dispersed camping near the trailhead. 
Distance and Elevation Gain: 7.2 miles; 2,900 feet
Total Time: 5:00 to 7:00
Difficulty: 4WD track (3.8 miles), off-trail (3.4 miles); navigation challenging; Class 2+ with mild exposure
Maps: Courthouse Mountain; Wetterhorn Peak, Colorado 7.5' USGS Quads 

Date Hiked: August 30, 2025
Poem:

Clambering up the Cold Mountain path,
The Cold Mountain trail goes on and on:
The long gorge choked with scree and boulders,
The wide creek, the mist blurred grass.
The moss is slippery, though there’s been no rain
The pine sings, but there’s no wind.
Who can leap the world’s ties
And sit with me among the white clouds?

Han-shan, A.D. 627-650 (Gary Snyder, translation)

 

Evening light accentuates the sharp edges of the unscalable cliff encircling Precipice Peak. Fingers of stone separated by vertical fissures hold the mountain in place. During the day the shy peak was hidden in the cloudscape but as night drew near it revealed its emboldened heart. This image of the north face was taken from the floor of the West Fork near the Courthouse Mountain Trailhead.  

Route: Walk (or drive) south on FSR 860 to the Wetterhorn Basin Trailhead. Bear east-northeast on a scrappy social trail to the south ridge. Climb north to the peak and return as you came. 

  

From Courthouse Mountain Trailhead parking, elevation 10,340 feet, walk south up FSR 860. The road was crowded by Engelmann spruce loaded with cones and sporting new growth. The forest floor was lush with foliage beginning its transition to gold. We actually tried to drive up the 4WD track, thinking that after a night of heavy rain we might need a lift across the river. But the show-stopper seen below turned us around. If you can get past this clearance challenge, you can probably drive to the Wetterhorn Basin Trailhead.  

 

At it happened the ford of the West Fork at 1.1 miles was wide and shallow. We simply hopped across on a row of small stepping stones. Presumably this principle tributary is capable of running bank full. 

The road rose imperceptibly and entered the first of a series of meadowlands at 1.3 miles. Grasses grew on the up-fringes, willows crowded the river, conifers crawled up the lower slopes, and shafts of sun found a path through clouds to illuminate encircling mountains. The exquisite volcanic oddities shown below are "Fortress Peak," Redcliff, and Coxcomb Peak. 

Look over your shoulder to see Courthouse Mountain and Chimney Rock.

  

Arrive at the Wetterhorn Basin Trailhead at 1.9 miles, 10,760 feet. U4, Peak 12,986', is on the west rim of the basin, shown directly above the sign.

We stayed on the road to the start of the Wetterhorn Basin Trail. The route to Precipice Peak is eastward and off-trail from there.   

Below, Precipice is on image-left. It is climbed via its south ridge from the saddle. Water from the prominences on either side of the saddle gather into a gorge starting at about 12,200 feet. The route begins in the alluvial washout on the valley floor and climbs 2,700 feet in 1.7 miles, a stiff pitch.  

The peak is to the northeast. This route holds an east-northeast bearing to the south ridge. There is no trail to start. Make your way into the principle, rubble-filled drainage. 

 

The GPS tracks we had were all different. One trip report used brute force and plowed straight up the gorge to its head (efficient, but you would miss so much beauty!). In 2012, we started up Precipice but lightning bolts turned us around at timberline. In my field notes I wrote, "Is there a way that avoids climbing over 100s of logs?" Yes, we steered clear of the deadfall this time on a most helpful subtle social trail. We followed the drainage for awhile and pulled out before it deepened into a gorge. We tracked along the north edge of the gorge, grateful for guidance from periodic, well-placed "singletons" (one-rock cairns). 

The trail firmed up and, at about 11,120 feet, we moved away from the gorge and crawled up the hillside. The slope is steep steep ultra steep. If you do lose the human path, favor game trails. The locals are the terrain experts after all. 

  

At 11,440 feet, 2.4 miles, a substantial cairn rests on a mammoth boulder.

 

Oh glory! The cairn is placed at the base of a smooth tundra ramp with a gentle grade. Beyond is the last thin band of trees. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo) 

 

Bliss out. The trail is clear, the cairns are fanciful, and picas scurry about collecting winter fodder. They're everywhere. We are in a pica village. This image was snapped at treeline and  looks west to U4.

The route goes straight up the slope. Below, notice two large cairns leading the way. One is sitting on top of the block. 

 

The route skims to the south of a group of caves and then punches up through a minor cliff band to the right of the two knobs, image-center.

 

The slope is steep and the talus is loose. (THW, photo) 

 

Soon we were on delightful slanted slabs of bedrock.

 

The climb through the cliffband is playful Class 2+.   

At 12,200 feet watch for a three-foot-tall cairn signaling a shift to the south. It is important to nail this. The cairn, image-center, blends into the surrounding rock.

The route ascends in front of the gray stone rib and turns southerly above the clump of trees. 

 

Severe erosion has fashioned bizarre and mesmerizing stone features, only to leave them stranded. For a time, anyway. 

Scoot over a couple of swales to access the ramp to the saddle.

The grass ramp is free of large rock. The route engages the saddle north of the low point.

We arrived on the ridge at 3.2 miles, 12,720 feet. The low point is interpolated at 12,660 feet. Clouds were swirling and gathering quickly. We were fortunate to see Uncompahgre, Matterhorn, and Wetterhorn peaks standing mightily and unmistakably in the south.

 

On the east side of the divide was a confounding array of standing rocks--fangs, fingers, tusks, towers, turrets, and spires. It's a crazy assemblage of earth sculptures. (THW, photo) 

 

Unfortunately, the peak was enveloped in clouds and shrouded in mystery. The visual impairment felt rather spooky and slightly intimidating. (THW, photo)  

A thin trail skirts a short rock wall and returns to the ridge.   

 

The path makes for a small gap in two buttresses that are excellent examples of volcanic breccia. Breccia is composed of angular broken rock fragments cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. In this case, the igneous clastic formation is associated with volcanic eruptions. When climbing on breccia it is critical to test all holds to be sure the nibs and knobs are sufficiently glued to the foundation rock. As we learned on an eight hour failed attempt up Fortress Peak the day after this hike, the rubble exfoliated from breccia can be treacherous on super steep slopes. 

Climbing through the gap was exhilarating and fun.   

In this image, my partner is returning to the gap. There is some exposure when wrapping through the red soil. 

This image looks back on the gap from further up the slope. The rain the previous night enhanced our sticking power. 

  

Return to the ridgetop at 12,900 feet. I liked this mountain. It was an adventure. The route was anything but straightforward and obvious. The peak had so many surprises. (THW, photo)  

One such surprise was a Class 2+ brief workaround that was very exposed. Be religious about testing all your holds to make sure they are well glued! 

 

The ridge tapers to four feet or so. The rock surface is bubbly and fun. There's plenty of good footing to make the passage safely. 

I'd like to see these rosy-hued boulders under a brilliant sun.  

We were fooled by the false summit at 13,120 feet because visibility was limited. It was hard to tell if the highpoint was further north. Better keep going. There was one little downclimb and a simple lift to the true summit.

 

This image looks back on the false summit after a cloud drifted away.

We arrived on the small, rounded crest of Precipice Peak at 3.6 miles. We sat inside a cloud on weathered stones painted with multi-colored lichen. A tiny peak register placed in June, 2025, was tucked inside a Colorado Mountain Club canister. We couldn't see further than 20 feet so the precipitous nature of the mountain was lost on us. Because the peak is treasured for its radical views, check out the photographs by Liba Kopeckova and Monster5 in his Summitpost entry. 

For a quick moment we could see over the edge to turrets and needles on the east side of the divide as it resumed northbound to Dunsinane Mountain. 

This summit creature appears to be coming unglued but is hanging onto its garment of stones. (THW, photo)  

Who can leap the world’s ties
And sit with me among the white clouds?

 

Standing on top of any mountain is more than visually rewarding. There is an inevitable elevated state of consciousness. I am in a different reality than the one we'll return to a few hours hence. Having communicated with the mountain and offering companionship while touching its surface, I have a heartfelt sense of its idiosyncratic essence. It is satisfying to have found our way to the crest. I offer thanks to the mountain for allowing us passage. (THW, photo)