Chipeta Mountain (southern Sawatch, Marshall Pass)¶
At a glance — recommended day
8.3 mi · 3,362 ft gain · Class 2 · 1 peak · ~4.2 h drive
Researched: 2026-06-02
NOAA weather link: Chipeta Mountain Weather
CalTopo research map: https://caltopo.com/m/CDMT01G
Status in DB: 0 ascents (unclimbed). Cluster status: - ✗ No unclimbed ranked 13er within 8 mi — the nearby high points are sub-13k (Chipeta Mtn South 12,874', Pahlone Peak 12,670') and don't count as ranked combos. - Mt Ouray (13,979', ~3 mi NW) is the one ranked neighbor and the classic big-day pairing (josephnephi did Chipeta + Ouray), but it's a substantial separate climb — see Multi-peak note. - Effectively a standalone day at standard execution.
Note: the recommended route was distilled from 10 recorded GPS tracks of real trips (recorded trips) — all layered on the interactive CalTopo research map.
Other climbers: Emily Sharpe — ✓ climbed · Shawn D Keil — ✓ climbed
The peak¶
| Chipeta Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Elevation (LiDAR) | 13,495' |
| Lat / Lon | 38.44767, −106.24077 |
| Class (standard) | 2 |
| Range | Sawatch (southern, Marshall Pass area) |
| 14ers.com peak page | 10745 |
| listsofjohn.com | 337 |
| peakbagger.com | pid 16206 |
| Peak DB id | 337 |
| County | Chaffee / Saguache |
Recommended route — Marshall Pass, NW up the Divide ⭐¶
A high, mellow tundra walk — one of the easier southern-Sawatch 13ers once you're at the pass. Class 2 throughout (more mileage if you chain Chipeta South). (The 2,630′ net climb from the 10,842′ pass to the 13,472′ summit rules out the lower estimates some TRs cite.)
- From Marshall Pass, head north/NW along the Continental Divide (Colorado Trail / Monarch Crest corridor) on tundra.
- Follow the broad ridge over (or around) Chipeta Mtn South (12,874') toward Chipeta's south slopes.
- Final tundra/talus climb to the summit — no scrambling on the standard line.
- Return the same way.
Several TRs link Chipeta South (12,874') and Pahlone Peak (12,670') on the same outing — fun bonus summits, but both sub-13k, so they don't change the "ranked" tally.
Drive + approach¶
| Drive from Boulder | 4h 13m via Google Maps (181 mi, origin: 1162 Peakview Circle) |
| Trailhead | Marshall Pass (~10,842'), off US‑285 via Poncha Springs → CR 200 (gravel) |
| Vehicle | 2WD gravel to Marshall Pass in summer; the road is well-graded (old railroad grade) |
| Approach | From the pass the route follows the Continental Divide / Colorado Trail north over rolling tundra toward Chipeta's south ridge |
- San Isabel / Gunnison NF — no permits, no fees.
- Marshall Pass Rd (CR 200 / FR 200) is a maintained gravel road (former narrow-gauge grade) — 2WD friendly in summer; gated/snowed in winter.
Gear & season¶
- Best window: June through October for the dry Marshall Pass road + tundra. The high, open Divide makes this a good early/late-season pick when higher Sawatch peaks are snowy.
- Snow: whileyh climbed late May (snow lingering); by mid-June the tundra is mostly dry.
- Storms: fully exposed on the Divide — early start, off the ridge by early afternoon.
- Wind: the Marshall Pass / Monarch corridor is notoriously windy; bring layers.
- Cell: no 14ers.com community reports for the summit, but the Marshall Pass TH (~10,842') likely has some signal (high pass with LOS toward the Poncha Springs / Salida corridor — US‑50 towers ~15 mi E) and the summit (13,495') likely good (broad line-of-sight east to the Arkansas Valley). Carry an InReach as standard, but coverage on this corridor is better than most 13er areas.
Other considerations¶
Chipeta + Mt Ouray (big day): Mt Ouray (13,979', ~3 mi NW, ranked, unclimbed) is the standout combo (josephnephi 2023: Chipeta + Ouray). It roughly doubles the day (Ouray is a steeper, more prominent peak with its own ~2,500'+ climb) and is usually approached from the Marshall Pass side too. If you want two ranked summits per the long drive, this is the pairing — plan a long alpine day rather than the short Chipeta-only outing.
Trip reports & GPX (all three sources)¶
| Source | Notable TRs | GPX |
|---|---|---|
| listsofjohn.com | josephnephi 2023 (Chipeta + Ouray), whileyh 2020, Alyson Kirk 2014, James Hitch 2017, avalletta 2012 | 14805, 8126, 1500 |
| 14ers.com | per-peak GPX library (TR + member uploads) | 4 files |
| peakbagger.com (logged in, Kyle Knutson) | ascent tracks | 3 files |
GPX collected: 10 track files across all three sources — layered on the CalTopo research map.
Sources checked: 14ers.com · listsofjohn.com · peakbagger.com