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A Walk in The Park 
Arrowhead 
Chiefshead 
Chiefshead Northeast Face 
Chiefshead Northwest Face 
Half Mountain 
McHenry's Peak 
Pagoda Mountain 
Shelf Cirque 
Spearhead 

Glacier Gorge 


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Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: Richard Rossiter on Oct 19, 2009

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Looking down towards Black Lake. Lots of snow for...

Description 

The west slope of Long's Peak drops 3000 feet into a rugged basin at the head of Glacier Gorge known as the Black Lake Cirque. Some of the most impressive walls and spires in Rocky Mountain National Park are found here towering above fields of wild flowers, ice-scoured slabs and jewel-like lakes comprising an alpine paradise of exceptional beauty (except for the mosquitoes). The rim of Glacier Gorge is formed by Half Mountain, Storm Peak and Long's Peak on the east; Keyboard of the Winds, Pagoda Mountain and Chief's Head Peak on the south; and by McHenry's Peak, Powell Peak and Thatchtop Mountain on the west. Spearhead and Arrowhead are satellite or island peaks within the rim of the gorge.


Getting There 

Begin from the Glacier Gorge Bus Stop (Trailhead) and follow the Glacier Gorge Trail to Black Lake. A useful shortcut branches right from the main trail just after the 4th stream crossing (about .55 mile) and regains the main trail just east of the Loch Vale Junction. As soon as you cross the log bridge over Icy Brook, you are in Glacier Gorge. This great trail continues to Mills Lake, Jewel Lake and eventually to Black Lake. From Black Lake the trail climbs along a beautiful cascade SE into the basin above Black Lake. From here, cairns indicate the line of least resistance into the upper cirque.

There is also a steep path that leads to Shelf Lake and Solitude Lake. This trail (never built) breaks right from the Glacier Gorge Trail after about 4 miles in some old avalanche debris. Cross Glacier Creek on large flat boulders and the find the start to the trail in the trees. This is less than obvious.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Glacier Gorge:
NE Ridge or Arrowhead Arete        Trad, Alpine, 10 pitches, 1500 feet, Grade II   McHenry's Peak
North Ridge   5.6     Trad, Alpine, 7 pitches, Grade II   Spearhead
North Buttress   5.7     Trad, Alpine, 7 pitches, 1500 feet, Grade III   Pagoda Mountain
East Prow   5.9     Trad, Alpine, 6 pitches, Grade III   Spearhead
Syke's Sickle   5.9+     Trad, Alpine, 7 pitches, 900 feet, Grade III   Spearhead
The Barb   5.10-     Trad, Alpine, 9 pitches, Grade III   Spearhead
Age Axe   5.10b     Trad, Alpine, 6 pitches, 600 feet   Spearhead
Arrowplane   5.11a     Trad, Alpine, 6 pitches, 800 feet, Grade III   Arrowhead
Birds of Fire   5.11a R     Trad, Sport, Alpine, Grade IV   Chiefshead Northwest Face
Obviously Four Believers   5.11a     Trad, Alpine, Grade IV   Spearhead
Cowboys and Indians   5.11c     Trad, Alpine, Grade IV   Chiefshead Northeast Face
Spear Me the Details   5.11d     Trad, Alpine, 8 pitches, 700 feet, Grade III   Spearhead
All Two Obvious   5.11d R     Trad, Alpine, 8 pitches, 800 feet   Spearhead
Airhead   5.11d     Trad, Alpine, 5 pitches, 600 feet   Arrowhead
Ithaca   5.12a     Trad, Alpine, 6 pitches, 800 feet, Grade IV   Arrowhead
Browse More Classics in Glacier Gorge

Featured Route For Glacier Gorge
Nate A onsighting the crux pitch. 7-2-05.  <br /> <br />I will go so far as to say this is one of the finest pitches I've done in the Park.

Airhead 5.11d  CO : Alpine Rock : ... : Arrowhead
It's hard to believe that Airhead, which climbs the plumb line dihedral and crack system up the center of Arrowhead's south face, isn't an RMNP mega-classic. Not only is the line itself the most obvious directissima on the wall, but the climbing is really good and the crux pitch is one of the gems of the Park. After approaching via any of the methods listed for Arrowhead, begin climbing from the highest of a series of ledges below the obvious, hanging, left-facing dihedral. This feature is se...[more]   Browse More Classics in CO


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By Rich Farnham
Aug 15, 2011

There is a very new-looking bridge on the hike into Spearhead. I didn't really pay attention to where it was, but near Mills Lake seems about right. We had no problem hiking into the cirque, so I'd assume that the bridge problem Ross describes has been fixed.