Fourteener enthusiasts will have to go a long way this summer to climb one of the state’s most recognizable peaks, even though it’s the closest one to Denver.
Mount Blue Sky, formerly known as Mount Evans, dominates the western skyline as seen from the metro area, but it will be a lot more difficult to climb than usual. That’s because the trailhead for the most commonly used route — a 5.5-mile round-trip hike from Summit Lake with a 2,000-foot elevation gain — won’t be accessible to motorists due to a road repair project.
The recommended alternative involves 17 miles of hiking with 5,600 feet of climbing.
Only 25 miles from Denver’s western suburbs, Blue Sky is the state’s 14th-highest peak and ranks in the top 20 within the contiguous 48 states, topping out at 14,266 feet. According to the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, Blue Sky attracted 10-15,000 visitors in 2023, the most recent year for which figures are available. The only Colorado peaks that attracted more were Mount Bierstadt, Mount Elbert, Quandary Peak and the twin peaks of Grays and Torreys.
The Mount Blue Sky Highway is the highest paved road in North America, extending 28 miles from Idaho Springs to the summit, but this year the upper 14 miles will be closed midway at Echo Lake. The purpose is to repair and rebuild less than a mile of roadway near the Summit Lake parking lot at 12,850 feet, which is where Blue Sky hikers typically park.
The recommended alternative hike begins at the Echo Lake trailhead, elevation 10,580 feet, and follows Chicago Creek to the Chicago Lakes. From there, the route climbs to Summit Lake and a final push to the summit. That’s 11.5 miles more than the classic route.
“I’ve done that, it’s a long day,” said Lloyd Athearn, executive director of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative. “It’s going to hurt. The other thing that is somewhat demoralizing about it, you start off by going downhill, which means that when you are at the end of this long day, you’re going uphill again to get to the car.”
Indeed, the net ascent of the route is 3,600 feet, but downhill sections along the way add more than 1,000 extra feet of climbing to make up for them.
There is yet another route from Guanella Pass to the west ridge of Blue Sky via Mount Spalding, but Athearn doesn’t recommend it.
“That’s still going to be over nine miles, and it is more of a bushwhack experience,” Athearn said. “It’s not terribly enjoyable, and because a lot of it is not on a formal trail, it has greater potential to cause resource impacts. The conservationist in me is saying, if you really want to climb Blue Sky in 2025, you should do it from Echo Lake.”
Another option from Guanella Pass involves climbing Bierstadt, a neighboring fourteener just to the west of Blue Sky, then traversing the notoriously jagged Sawtooth Ridge that connects the two. It is aptly named and not for the faint of heart.
“People die on the Sawtooth,” Athearn said. “It is not for people who have not previously done difficult, exposed scrambling with high consequences if one slips and falls.”
The route from Echo Lake is not without rewards. It’s a beautiful hike, and it’s unlikely to be crowded, which is rare for a Front Range fourteener.
“It’s a great wilderness experience for those who want to do it,” Athearn said: “It’s an amazing route. It’s a cool experience, but you need to do it on a day with stable weather, and it’s going to be a long day, a long way with a lot of up-and-down pounding on the legs.”
This year’s road repair closure also forced the cancellation of the Mount Blue Sky Hill Climb bike event, normally held in July, that dates back to 1962. Team Evergreen Cycling, which organizes the event, is hoping to bring it back next summer.
“As long as our permitting agencies allow it,” Team Evergreen executive director Jennifer Barbour reiterated this week, “we plan to have the Blue Sky Hill Climb next year.”