Ervin Peak/Mount Blaurock

Statistics

Date - 08/29/2026
Elevation - 13,531'/13,616'
Route - West Ridge/Southeast Ridge
Miles - 4.5
Elevation Gain - 3,807'
ACME Mapper - Link
CalTopo - Link
Partners - Not Applicable

Description

After returning from an overseas trip, I was excited to get back to the Rocky Mountains and attempt another Colorado Bi-Centennial Peak. I drove past the nearly empty Clear Creek Reservoir and Winfield Cemetery on Friday evening on the miserable County Road 390 to car camp at my trailhead at 10,600' the night before my hike.

Since my body was still adjusting to the eight-hour time change, I was up early and had an alpine start at 3:20 am. I took short breaks at 4:10 am and 5:20 am before reaching the summit of Ervin Peak at 6:50 am after 3 hours and 30 minutes of hiking and gaining roughly 3,000' of elevation. I spent 20 minutes on the summit but was getting a bit cold so started the traverse over to my primary objective of Mount Blaurock. This peak was previously measured at 13,616' and ranked Colorado's 184th tallest mountain. New LIDAR information puts its elevation at 13,626', which moved it up to 182nd.

I took another short break on the saddle between Ervin and Blaurock at 13,100' and made the summit of the second peak at 8:50 am or 1 hour and 50 minutes after leaving Ervin. I spent 30 minutes on Blaurock and observed all the other peaks in the area that I had climbed. It took me 5 hours and 30 minutes to reach both peaks and gain approximately 3,700'. The steep bushwhacking below tree line and the traverse between the two peaks was slower than I anticipated. Nevertheless, I backtracked a bit on Blaurock's southeast ridge before dropping back down to the trailhead by 11:20 am for an 8-hour car-to-car day. I'm getting slower as I age!

Given the statistics of this hike, it is fairly steep and direct. I thought the rock was generally tight, and the ridge to and from both peaks were fun scrambles with limited route-finding difficulties. I stayed on the ridge nearly the entire time and only had to avoid a few steeper pinnacles on Ervin Peak's west ridge where I dropped off the side for a short while. I underestimated the time I thought it would take me, but still rather enjoyed the day and was happy to climb another Colorado Bi-Centennial Peak.

Photos