Other climbers: Kyle Knutson — ✓ all · Shawn D Keil — 3 of 5 (Jupiter Mountain, Pigeon Peak, Turret Peak A)

Jupiter, Pigeon & Turret — Needleton train backpack (+ optional Monitor group)¶

At a glance — 5-day trip

5 peaks · trip total ~30.4 mi · ~15,809 ft · ~7.4 h drive

Day 1 — Pack-in (Needleton → Chicago Basin camp): 5.9 mi · 2,643 ft gain
Day 2 (Jupiter): 6.4 mi · 3,051 ft gain · Class 2+ · 1 peak
Day 2 — Camp move — Twin Thumbs Pass + Ruby Pass: 4.2 mi · 2,378 ft gain · 1,700 ft descent
Day 3 (Pigeon + Turret): 4.8 mi · 4,594 ft gain · Class 4 · 2 peaks
Day 4 (Monitor group — optional): 3.9 mi · 3,143 ft gain · Class 4 · 2 peaks
Day 5 — Pack-out (Ruby camp → Needleton): 5.2 mi · 3,640 ft descent

Written for Emily — all five unclimbed on her 14ers checklist. Pigeon (CO rank #58), Jupiter (#91) and Turret (#92) are centennial 13ers; Animas (#113) and Monitor (#143) are bicentennials. (Ranks = elevation rank among Colorado's ranked 13ers + 14ers.)

Researched: 2026-07-10

NOAA weather link: Jupiter, Pigeon & Turret Weather

CalTopo research map: https://caltopo.com/m/MU0K4JT

Shareable link (sanitized — safe to forward to anyone): https://mtn-share.pages.dev/s/e6d42c6c59b6cda8/ — no names, climbed status, or research maps; expires ~2026-11-08 (regenerate anytime: share_report.py jupiter_pigeon_turret)

Status for Emily: All five unclimbed. Pigeon's mile-high "Matterhorn" face over the Animas is the most dramatic summit profile in the Needles.

Overview map

Note: the recommended route was distilled from 31 recorded GPS tracks of real trips (14ers.com · ListsofJohn · peakbagger · Kyle's recordings) — all layered on the interactive CalTopo research map.

Class 4 terrain, remote basins, no bail-outs

Pigeon: sustained Class 3 blocks with a 15-ft Class 4 chimney-slot near the top — exposed, route-finding-dependent.
Monitor (optional day): three loose couloirs with short near-vertical Class 4 rib moves.
The camp move crosses two ~13,000' passes with full packs — weather-exposed; helmets throughout, and this is deep wilderness two days from help.

Peaks covered¶

A train-served backpack — D&SNG railroad to the Needleton flag stop, no road anywhere near — climbing from two camps: Chicago Basin, then over Twin Thumbs + Ruby passes to Ruby Basin. 5 days / 4 nights with the optional Monitor day (4/3 without), hardest move Class 4 (Pigeon's summit slot, Monitor's saddle ribs).

Peak	Elev	Route	Class	CO rank
Jupiter Mountain	13,838'	SW slopes from Chicago Basin	2+	#91
Pigeon Peak	13,977'	via Pigeon–Turret saddle → SW basin → upper NW couloir	3, Cl 4 crux slot	#58
Turret Peak A	13,837'	NW slope from the saddle	2	#92
Monitor Peak	13,707'	W basin → Pk 13 ledge-ramp → saddle → N ridge	4	#143
Animas Mountain	13,789'	E ridge from Peak Thirteen	3 (some call the couloir exit 4)	#113

Peak Thirteen (13,705', unranked) sits directly between Monitor and Animas on the optional day's traverse — you summit it on the way whether you mean to or not.

Itinerary options¶

Direction — Chicago Basin first (as planned): easier miles with the full packs, and you descend Ruby's loose trail instead of climbing it (full reasoning in Other considerations).

Option A — recommended (5 days / 4 nights):

Day	Legs	Distance	Gain	Descent
Day 1	Pack in to Chicago Basin	5.9 mi	~2,640'	~0'
Day 2	Jupiter (morning) + camp move to Ruby (afternoon)	10.6 mi	~5,430'	~4,750'
Day 3	Pigeon & Turret from camp	4.8 mi	~4,590'	~4,590'
Day 4	Monitor · Peak Thirteen · Animas from camp (optional)	3.9 mi	~3,140'	~3,140'
Day 5	Pack out to Needleton, flag the train	5.2 mi	~0'	~3,640'

Why Jupiter and the camp move share Day 2: both halves are moderate — Class 2+ in the morning, a 4.2-mi pass crossing after — so stacking them costs little, keeps the Class 4 days on fresh legs, and saves a night of food. If weather or energy argue otherwise, splitting them back apart (6 days) is the escape valve — camp doesn't move until you do.

Option B — compressed (4 days / 3 nights): stack the pack-in with Jupiter and the camp move with Pigeon/Turret. Same ~30.4 mi / ~15,800 ft, one fewer night out:

Day	Legs	Distance	Gain	Descent
Day 1	Pack in + Jupiter	12.3 mi	~5,700'	~3,050'
Day 2	Camp move over both passes + Pigeon & Turret	9.0 mi	~6,970'	~6,300'
Day 3	Monitor · Peak Thirteen · Animas from camp	3.9 mi	~3,140'	~3,140'
Day 4	Pack out to Needleton, flag the train	5.2 mi	~0'	~3,640'

Option B's two trade-offs, eyes open: Day 1 is train-constrained (the ~11:00 Needleton drop puts Jupiter's summit in monsoon hours — stable-window weather only), and Day 2 stacks the crux on the biggest day — ~7,000' over two 13,000' passes under a full pack, then Pigeon's Class 4 slot on tired legs. Option A exists precisely to avoid that.

Getting there — the train¶

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge from the Durango depot (~7h 22m / 336 mi drive); reserve backpacker drop-off at Needleton in advance (durangotrain.com — summer service, roughly May–October). ~2.5 h ride to the flag stop.
At Needleton the footbridge over the Animas (37.6335, -107.6928, ~8,270') is the trailhead.
Flag the return train from the same stop; the built-in Needleton camp night means a slow pack-out can't miss it.
No train? Hike in from Purgatory Flats TH — adds ~9 mi each way along the Animas; it's a slog.

The days, in order¶

Day 1 — Pack-in: Needleton → Chicago Basin¶

Cross the footbridge, turn south, and climb the maintained Needle Creek Trail steadily through aspen then spruce to the camp cluster at ~11,000' — the realistic summer camping in Chicago Basin (the tundra above ~11,200' is not campable terrain). Afternoon arrival off the morning train is normal.

Day 2, morning — Jupiter Mountain, SW slopes (Class 2+)¶

The warm-up, away from the 14er conga lines:

From camp take the Columbine Pass trail fork (SE, across Needle Creek) up switchbacks to ~11,680', where the two trail options rejoin.
Leave the trail near the Columbine Pass side at ~12,700' and climb Jupiter's SW slopes — grass then blocky talus, Class 2+ with easy route-finding.
Summit views straight down the Animas gorge and across to the Ruby-side objectives. Retrace to camp, eat, pack.

Day 2, afternoon — Camp move: Chicago Basin → Ruby Basin¶

All above treeline after the first mile — start the morning early and treat the afternoon as weather-critical as any summit day:

Ascend the Twin Lakes trail from the basin floor to Twin Lakes (12,500') — the same trail the 14er crowds use. Fill water here — the last reliable source until Ruby Creek.
Climb NW over Twin Thumbs Pass (~13,060') — talus, steep at the top — and drop into the head of No Name Creek basin (~12,200').
Contour/climb NW over "Ruby Pass" — the Ruby–No Name saddle (~12,940') SW of Monitor — and descend tundra benches to the upper Ruby Creek meadow (~11,640').

Day 3 — Pigeon + Turret (Class 4 crux)¶

The trip's centerpiece, from the upper Ruby meadow (the saddle re-climb on the return is why this day out-gains its mileage):

Ascend the broad N/NE slope to the Pigeon–Turret saddle (~13,100') — ~1,500' of grass and talus, the day's grunt.
Turret first (Class 2, ~1 h round trip from the saddle) — quick, easy, and it guarantees a summit if weather later shortens the day.
Back at the saddle, contour around Pigeon's south flanks into the SW basin (~13,000') — ledgy Class 2+ traverse, cairned.
Climb Pigeon's upper west/NW line: sustained Class 3 blocky granite (Sunlight-like cracked blocks and gravel ledges) with the 15-ft Class 4 chimney-slot near the top. The north summit is the true one. ~1.5 h from the basin for a steady party.
Reverse everything — careful down the slot and back over the saddle.

Day 4, optional — Monitor group: Monitor · Peak Thirteen · Animas (Class 4)¶

A tight, aesthetic cirque day — strongly recommended while you're there (Animas and Monitor are two more bicentennials Emily won't get a cheaper shot at). Compact mileage, but the saddle drops/regains, the Class 4 ribs, and the couloir descents make it slow going for its size; treat it as a full climbing day, not a rest-day add-on:

From the meadow, climb NE into the Monitor/Pk 13/Animas cirque, up tundra to ~12,800' under Peak Thirteen.
Take the upper ledge-ramp (an unmistakable gash, Class 2+) rising left-to-right across Pk 13's SW face to the Pk 13–Monitor saddle.
Monitor: drop slightly west and cross three steep sandy couloirs separated by rock ribs — each rib a short (~10 ft) near-vertical Class 4 step on solid rock (cairned) — then Class 3 up the ridge to the summit.
Return to the saddle and take Peak Thirteen (Class 3 from this side — the freebie).
Animas: descend Pk 13's north ridge (east-side ledges) to two tundra saddles, contour west of Pt 13,620 to the 13,500' saddle, then the summit couloir — Class 3 with a blocky exit some call Class 4.
Descend the wide sand/talus gully south from the 13,500' saddle and pick down granite benches back to the basin and camp.

Day 5 — Pack-out: Ruby Basin → Needleton¶

Descend the unmaintained Ruby Creek climber's trail — steep, loose, and slow (this is why you descend it). Camp at Needleton by the river and flag the train the next morning.

Camps & water¶

Recommended pair (matches the plan): Chicago Basin ~11,000' → upper Ruby meadow ~11,640'. The meadow is the obvious convergence point of the recorded tracks on the research map — squarely between the Monitor/Animas cirque and the Pigeon–Turret saddle slope.

Camp	Elev	Pros	Cons
Chicago Basin (lower) ⭐ nights 1–2	~11,000'	Established sites near the Jupiter/Columbine turnoff; water everywhere; positions the Twin Lakes trail for the move day	Busy (14er traffic); aggressive goats + marmots
Upper Ruby meadow ⭐ nights 3–4(+5)	~11,640'	The Monitor-group cirque is right overhead; short line to the Pigeon–Turret saddle; quiet	Exposed sites — pitch for wind; farther from Pigeon than the NW Pigeon Basin alternative
NW Pigeon Basin (alternative)	~11,740'	Best Pigeon/Turret positioning (2 mi RT to Pigeon)	Wrong side of a rib for the Monitor group; harder to reach on the move day

Water: constant in Chicago Basin / Needle Creek (treat — heavy goat and human traffic); fill at Twin Lakes on the move day; Ruby Creek runs through the meadow camp — the climbing cirques above it are dry, so carry from camp.
Chicago Basin regulations: no fires; established sites 100'+ from water and trails. The goats are habituated and salt-crazed — urinate on rocks far from camp, never on vegetation near tents, and hang everything scented or salty (goats AND marmots chew).
Weminuche Wilderness: no permits; groups ≤15; LNT throughout.

Gear & season¶

Helmets mandatory — loose couloirs, party-caused rockfall on Pigeon and the Monitor ribs.
No rope needed for competent Class 4 scramblers; a light 30 m confidence line is defensible for Pigeon's slot if the party wants it.
Ice axe + microspikes early season — the Pigeon couloir and Monitor's sandy couloirs hold snow into July.
InReach/PLB — no cell service from the depot to the summits; this is as remote as Colorado gets.
Window: July–September, governed by the train (summer service) and snow in the couloirs; mid-July onward is safest for dry Class 4.
Monsoon strategy: the move day and Pigeon day both spend hours above 12,500' — pre-dawn starts, Turret-first sequencing to bank a summit.
Bail-outs are poor: once in Ruby Basin the only exits are back over the passes or down the Ruby trail — weather-day patience beats forcing a crux in the wet.

Other considerations¶

Judgment calls a planner would reasonably ask about — the reasoning behind choices already baked into the plan above. Optional section; populated only when a trip has real forks in the road.

Which direction — Chicago first or Ruby first? Both directions get done ("Ruby via Chicago" vs "Ruby to Chicago"), but Chicago Basin first is the better order:

Easy miles first: Needle Creek is a maintained trail — 2,800' with full packs on good tread beats 3,400' up the unmaintained Ruby climber's trail cold off the train.
Descend, don't ascend, the Ruby trail: the pack-out drops the rugged, steep Ruby Creek trail — a knee day, but far better down than up with camp on your back.
Train-schedule insurance: camping at Needleton the last night means you flag the train rested with zero time pressure — the only fixed appointment of the trip.

The reverse order's sole advantage — a maintained-trail exit — is neutralized by that Needleton camp.

Trip reports & GPX (all three sources swept)¶

GPX collected: 26 track files — 13 from 14ers.com libraries, 9 from listsofjohn TRs, 4 from peakbagger ascents (all five peaks' libraries swept and deduped) — plus Kyle's own 2013 recordings of this exact itinerary (Needleton approach → Sunlight/Jupiter → Chicago–Ruby move → Pigeon–Turret → Ruby hike-out), all layered on the research map.

14ers.com — the deep beta:

"Ruby via Chicago as told by the okayest hiker in the world" (22337) — Emily's direction, blow by blow
"The Lonely Goat Tour - Chicago and Ruby Basins" (19278) · "Chicago, Ruby, North Pigeon Creek Loop" (14193) — the two-basin link-up
"Rowdy Ruby" (23258) · "Ruby Basin roundup" (17425) · "Ruby Basin Bicentennials" (21327) — Pigeon/Turret/Monitor group beta
"Purgatory to Ruby: Pigeon, Turret and the Animas Group" (15444) — the whole Ruby objective set in one trip
"Monitor Peak, Peak Thirteen, Animas Mountain…" (3764) — the optional day, exactly
"Centerpiece of Chicago Basin" (21708) · "Jupiter Mtn Via SW ridge and Columbine Trail" (16414) — Jupiter day
"Laboring in the Weminuche: Ruby to Chicago 13ers" (12910) — the reverse direction, for contrast

listsofjohn.com — 31 TRs seen; 9 tracks incl. a Needleton→Jupiter round trip (17869) and a 4-peak Ruby day (13249).

peakbagger.com — 4 ascent tracks (logged in), covering Jupiter and the Monitor cirque.

climb13ers.com — per-route class/terrain detail for all five (and the camp/approach system this report's numbers cross-check against).

Sources checked: 14ers.com · listsofjohn.com · peakbagger.com · climb13ers.com