Post by Peter Bakwin on Jun 25, 2016 18:29:37 GMT -5
This thread pulls together FKTs for some classic routes in Boulder (CO) Mountain Parks
These routes are all in City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. An interactive park map is here.
Mt Sanitas:
Mt Sanitas (pronounced "San-i-tas", NOT "San-EE-tis") has it's own page.
Green Mountain:
The classic (and fastest) route is Amphitheater - Saddlerock - Greenman from the Gregory Canyon parking lot and ending at the base or top of the summit block. These trails are clearly shown on this map, where the Gregory Canyon TH is located at the apparent intersection of the Baseline and Flagstaff trails, at the base of Flagstaff Road. George Zack has collected a list of fast times. The overall FKT for this ascent appear to be Sage Canaday, 28m09s on November 19, 2012. (Note that Krupicka's time for this route is from the first trail junction, about 5-10s past the parking lot.) The trail has changed significantly since the September 2013 flood, including some short re-routes and the addition of a ladder in a badly washed out spot.
Zack also reports times for other routes as per these links:
georgezack.blogspot.com/2007/01/fkts-green-mountain-boulder-gregory.html
georgezack.blogspot.com/2007/01/fkts-green-mountain-boulder-bear-canyon.html (note that the Bear Canyon and Green-Bear trails have been majorly rerouted and are now MUCH longer than in 2011)
georgezack.blogspot.com/2007/01/fkts-green-mountain-boulder-gregory_20.html
Bear Peak:
The standard route starts from the Cragmoor TH, at the west end of Cragmoor Road, and ascents the Cragmoor Connector, North Fork Shanahan and Fern Canyon trails to the true summit of Bear Peak, where there is a benchmark. These trails can be seen on this map, though the Cragmoor TH is not labelled.
Galen Burrell set the FKT of 36m50s from the Cragmoor TH to the true summit of Bear Peak, June 6, 2016.
South Boulder Peak:
The standard route starts from the South Mesa TH, off Eldorado Springs Drive, and ascends the Mesa, Shadow Canyon South and Shadow Canyon trails to the high point of South Boulder Peak. The route is seen on this map (same as for Bear Peak). Note that the Shadow Canyon Trail was heavily damaged in the flood of September 2013, and is now exceptionally technical.
Dave Mackey ran from the South Mesa TH to the summit of South Boulder Peak in "under 45 minutes" in 2009 (?). This was witnessed by Jeff Valliere (who has done the route in the 45m4?s). Note that the current shortest route (Mesa Trail to Shadow Canyon) is about 0.3 miles longer than in 2009, when a short-cut was available via Towhee Trail.
Mesa Trail:
The Mesa Trail is one of the most iconic short hiking trails in the entire country. It has it's own thread.
Sanitarado/Eldoitas:
These are link-ups of Mt Sanitas, Green Mtn, Bear Peak, South Bouler Peak and Eldorado Mtn. They have their own thread.
These routes are all in City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. An interactive park map is here.
Mt Sanitas:
Mt Sanitas (pronounced "San-i-tas", NOT "San-EE-tis") has it's own page.
Green Mountain:
The classic (and fastest) route is Amphitheater - Saddlerock - Greenman from the Gregory Canyon parking lot and ending at the base or top of the summit block. These trails are clearly shown on this map, where the Gregory Canyon TH is located at the apparent intersection of the Baseline and Flagstaff trails, at the base of Flagstaff Road. George Zack has collected a list of fast times. The overall FKT for this ascent appear to be Sage Canaday, 28m09s on November 19, 2012. (Note that Krupicka's time for this route is from the first trail junction, about 5-10s past the parking lot.) The trail has changed significantly since the September 2013 flood, including some short re-routes and the addition of a ladder in a badly washed out spot.
Zack also reports times for other routes as per these links:
georgezack.blogspot.com/2007/01/fkts-green-mountain-boulder-gregory.html
georgezack.blogspot.com/2007/01/fkts-green-mountain-boulder-bear-canyon.html (note that the Bear Canyon and Green-Bear trails have been majorly rerouted and are now MUCH longer than in 2011)
georgezack.blogspot.com/2007/01/fkts-green-mountain-boulder-gregory_20.html
Bear Peak:
The standard route starts from the Cragmoor TH, at the west end of Cragmoor Road, and ascents the Cragmoor Connector, North Fork Shanahan and Fern Canyon trails to the true summit of Bear Peak, where there is a benchmark. These trails can be seen on this map, though the Cragmoor TH is not labelled.
Galen Burrell set the FKT of 36m50s from the Cragmoor TH to the true summit of Bear Peak, June 6, 2016.
South Boulder Peak:
The standard route starts from the South Mesa TH, off Eldorado Springs Drive, and ascends the Mesa, Shadow Canyon South and Shadow Canyon trails to the high point of South Boulder Peak. The route is seen on this map (same as for Bear Peak). Note that the Shadow Canyon Trail was heavily damaged in the flood of September 2013, and is now exceptionally technical.
Dave Mackey ran from the South Mesa TH to the summit of South Boulder Peak in "under 45 minutes" in 2009 (?). This was witnessed by Jeff Valliere (who has done the route in the 45m4?s). Note that the current shortest route (Mesa Trail to Shadow Canyon) is about 0.3 miles longer than in 2009, when a short-cut was available via Towhee Trail.
Mesa Trail:
The Mesa Trail is one of the most iconic short hiking trails in the entire country. It has it's own thread.
Sanitarado/Eldoitas:
These are link-ups of Mt Sanitas, Green Mtn, Bear Peak, South Bouler Peak and Eldorado Mtn. They have their own thread.
