• Date: September 2, 2019
• Partner: none
• Height: 14,420 feet
• Range: Sawatch
• Route: South Slopes (Class 2)
• Overall Distance: 14.00 miles
• Elevation Gain: 4,600 feet (TH to summit)
• 14ers climbed: 35 separate climbs
• 14ers remaining: 18
• Road Condition to Trailhead: The North Cottonwood Creek trailhead is a relatively easy find from the town of Buena Vista.  The road has a couple of rough spots but the trailhead is accessible with a 2WD vehicle.

Surprisingly, Mount Harvard is the fourth highest summit in the contiguous United States.  In other words, it’s very tall 🙂  After the Capitol Peak climb, I was in the mood for something a little bit more tame.  Its height notwithstanding, Mount Harvard is a straightforward climb.  It also represents the last of the Sawatch Range I had to do, since I am saving Mount Elbert for last.

I decided to sleep at home in Denver for this one and get a late start.  To be honest, I didn’t arrive at the trailhead until an hour at least after sunrise.  The parking lot had plenty of cars for Mount Harvard and other surrounding hikes.

The trail, which was in excellent shape, steadily chugged upward alongside a creek for 4 miles until it hit timberline (~ 11,500′).   Even though it was Labor Day, I surprisingly only saw a few other people.  It was sunny and pleasantly mild; perfect conditions for a climb.

Once at the timberline, I was able to look across a vast basin of grass and dwarf willow and see Mount Harvard.  I walked roughly 1-to-1.5 miles until I arrived at a distinct rocky slope near Bear Lake (~12,500′).  Once at the top of the slope after a short 500′ climb, I could plainly see the remaining route on the south shoulder of the summit block.  I crossed a well-marked trail across a grass field and to an obvious ridge.

On this so-called South Ridge, things became much more steep and rocky and I had to stop a few times to do a standing rest.  You will put in some work here, a sharp departure from the relatively tame hike in that you’ve had so far.  Mount Harvard does not have the classic conical summit you might envision.  In fact, I was never quite sure what my target was.  I followed somewhat defined trail to the right of the ridge, under the crest of the south shoulder of the summit block, towards the ridgeline.  That was as much as I knew, so I relied on Gaia GPS.

Approaching the final summit pitch, I had to scramble up large boulders to the summit (be a little careful here).  The summit itself was a tangled pile of large boulders jutting up into the air.  Several people were lounging about when I arrived and we exchanged pleasantries.  After 15 minutes of munching on beef jerky, soaking up the sun, and admiring distant views of the surrounding Collegiate Peaks (e.g., Mount Yale), I headed back down at a brisk pace.

I could tell that I was in good shape on this hike, and certainly should have been at this time of the season.  Altogether, the trip took me about 6-to-6.5 hours.  This is not a difficult climb.  This would be a good one for someone who has already done one or two 14ers in the Class 1 category.  I would give Mount Harvard a 2-to-3 out of 10 in terms of Colorado 14er difficulty.  It is tall enough that you will get a real sense of accomplishment once you are finished.  Enjoy!