The Apostles Traverse is a scramble that links up North Apostle, Ice Mountain (both Colorado centennials) and West Apostle peaks. This scramble almost exclusively consists of no trail, lots of loose terrain, exposed scrambling and very few cairns to help you along the way. This traverse is quite a step up from many of the classics in Colorado as it requires good beta beforehand, experience with loose terrain and the ability to route find in all sorts of different mountain environments. I DO NOT recommend this traverse unless you have A LOT of experience route finding AND are comfortable dealing with a lot of loose terrain.

Apostles Traverse Quick Facts

Apostles Traverse Rating: ★★ (2/5 Stars)

Virtual Trail Guide: Apostles Traverse

Distance: 10.5 Miles

Elevation Start: 10,575ft

High Points: North Apostle:13,869ft, Ice Mountain:13,958ft, West Apostle: 13,597ft

Total Elevation Gain: 4,350ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 12-14 Hours

Difficulty: Difficult to Strenuous What does this mean?

Class: Class 3+ – Areas of Class 4 can be found on the traverse from Ice Mountain to West Apostle – What does this mean?

Season: June- October: Depending on your skill set, this traverse could arguably be easier with snow to make climbs less tedious and descents faster. However, postholing…

Check the Weather Forecast

Crowds: Low

Directions to Apostles Traverse

Trailhead: Lake Ann

Getting Here: To access the trailhead, turn onto Chaffee County Road 390 (20 miles south of Leadville, 14.5 miles north of Buena Vista). Take 390 (starts off paved, turns into a well maintained dirt road) for 11.8 miles until you reach the replicated ghost town of Winfield. Turn left here and follow the road for another .1 miles to the lower trailhead parking area. If you have a higher clearance car, you can drive the remaining 2 miles to the upper parking area. If you are driving to the upper Huron Peak parking area, stay right at .7 miles and continue straight at the 1.7 road junction. The trail to start the Apostles Traverse goes straight at the TH sign.

Parking: The Apostles Traverse shares both an upper and lower trailhead with Huron Peak and Lake Ann which are both very popular hikes. However, you should be beating all of those hikers to the TH so that you have ample time to send the traverse. 

Permits/Fee: No fee required.

Summary

Dogs: I would not recommend bringing any type of mountain dog on this traverse. 

Camping: There are several camping spots along County Road 390 but the best spots in the area are located along the 4WD road up to upper TH in my opinion. Both sections are popular spots to camp and can fill up on busy weekends.

Make it a Loop: This is a lollipop loop hike with plenty of options to extend your hike to Lake Ann or Huron Peak. 

Trail X Factors: Lack of Beta, Relentless Terrain

This traverse is nothing to say a Satan’s traverse but the lack of beta online and in books makes research beforehand tricky. One person’s experience and trip report ARE NOT you. Myself included, don’t base your day off someone elses’. I try to keep my ETAs on time very generous, but you may be able to knock out this traverse in 10 hours or it may take you 16. Bottomline, give yourself PLENTY of time. Having a partner is also super helpful for this one to make the scramble from Ice Mountain to West Apostle easier. 

In terms of the terrain on the Apostles Traverse, basically from the time you hit 2 miles into the hike until you are back on the Colorado Trail leaving Lake Ann, you are going to be tested with loose dirt, loose rocks, rock hopping, scrambling and wet grass. This is not a route that I recommend for someone without A LOT of route finding and scrambling experience. 

Hike Tip(s): 

Ice Mountain to West Apostle: I am not convinced that the ridge direct from Ice Mountain to West Apostle’s western saddle does not go. Maybe it does? But if you are following our route, looking for the notch I point out after descending from Ice Mountain is super key to traversing from Ice Mountain to West Apostle. Staying too high will cliff you out and going too low will likely do the same. Once you find this spot, you will instantly know because the rest of your traverse will be A LOT more straightforward. 

West Apostle: I typically do not like to have people leave my site or videos to do their beta for a hike but in this case, I do recommend it for the descent down West Apostle. The gully we took will work for you as a worst case scenario but I think there is a much more direct (and less loose) way to do this out there, I am just not aware of it. If you are reading this and know of said route, let me know! 

Best Views: The views on the Apostles Traverse are unmatched with anything I have seen in the Sawatch Range before. Simply put, your eyes and brain will be overloaded with tremendous views the entire day. For all of the other negatives that this hike has, the views are some of the best I have seen in Colorado.

Gear Needed

• 14er Day Hike Packing List
• Men’s Trail Runners 
• La Sportiva Cyklon
• La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
• Backpack (Winter)
• Backpack (Summer)
• Base Layers
• T Shirt
• Mid Layer
• Rain Jacket / Shell 
• Outer Layer
• Pants
• Shorts
• Socks
• Food & Water
• Optional: Water Filter
• Optional: Garmin inReach
• Optional: Hiking Poles – 120CM
• Optional: Headlamp
• Optional: Climbing Helmet
• Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
• Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod, Selfie Stick, GoPro 360, Drone, Insta360

Apostles Traverse Hike Guide

*Note, there HAS to be a better way to descend off West Apostle vs the way we took. I would not recommend following that gully down unless you are not able to find the “standard” descent/approach.