Читать книгу Best Summit Hikes Denver to Vail - James Dziezynski - Страница 23

Round-Trip Distance	6.4 miles
Class	2+
Difficulty	6/10
Hiking Time	5–6 hours
Total Elevation Gain	3,070’
Terrain	Parrys Rib is a fun, if steep, scramble. Good rock until the middle, where the slopes get a little loose and sandy. Some off-trail, easy-to-navigate forest terrain at the start.
Best Time to Climb	June–September

Overview

Parrys Rib is a welcome route to the top of the highest peak in the James Peak Wilderness. It avoids a direct scree scramble up the Bancroft–Parry saddle (though there’s still some loose, scrappy work near the summit). The walk over to Bancroft is a nice, relaxing saunter. You can return the way you came or link up several peaks. Looping down from Eva is popular (eschewing Bancroft is always an option as well).

Mile/Route

0.0 This hike follows the same route as Mount Eva for 1.6 miles. Pass the reservoir on its north shore, then head west over a series of low-angle waterfalls and gain the basin.

1.6 Split from the Mount Eva route at the base of the rib at 11,800 feet. There’s some good Class 2+ scrambling to be had here, along with rock outcrops that offer more-challenging options. At 12,800 feet, a small shelf signals the end of the fun scrambling and the beginning of the loose, gravel-ridden slopes to the ridgeline.

2.1 Gain Parry’s south ridge, just below the summit. The western side of these peaks along the Continental Divide is mellow and fun to traverse.

2.3 Parry’s summit. There are lots of options from here. It’s 0.9 mile to Bancroft, which is often done as an out-and-back, going back down Parrys Rib (though another fun option is to leave a second car at Loch Lomond and do a point-to-point, possibly tacking on James Peak).

6.4 Finish, if you’ve returned via Parrys Rib. Mount Eva is 0.8 mile from Parry; if you skip Bancroft and go directly to Mount Eva, then descend via the steep, grassy northeast slopes, the loop is about 5.4 miles round-trip. If you combine Parry, Bancroft, and Eva, it’s a 7.3-mile loop—still a very manageable day for most hikers.

Wide-open land in the basin above Fall River Reservoir