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Sep 14, 2021 — The high-prominence Colorado 12er Anthracite Range High Point was my first objective in Crested Butte, mostly because it was also high on Whiley's to-do list and I was excited to play in the mountains together. It ended up being a really nice ridgeline hike with a long, easy bushwhack to get back. We parked at a trailhead just south of Kebler Pass, accessible by any vehicle. Though it may seem there are roads that can get you closer, there's lots of private property that we did our best to avoid.
We walked south along the dirt road and left it when we located a spot that seemed mostly clear of brush and trees. Giggling about how dumb we are for bushwhacking in Colorado when there's a million other cool peaks to hike, we made quick progress along the progressively steepening slope, hoping to get above treeline quickly. Really there's no one "best" way up to gain the ridge above, but we liked what we did. It had minimal brush and was just a forested slog with occasional steep terrain. The steepest spot was probably Class 2 due to having to use our hands to stabilize on the steep slope.
Once on the ridgeline, we proceeded up to Peak 11555, just a hump along the way. The traverse continued quite pleasantly with good views until we reached Ohio Peak, an unranked little bump. The section between Ohio Peak and Peak 12290 was the crux of the route. We stuck to the steep tundra ridge crest until we reached a cliff. We headed right along the rim until a Class 2/2+ ramp brought us down to below the cliff. We stuck to the base of a gendarme-of-sorts and then split up to try to find the best way back up to the ridgeline. Whiley ascended a Class 3 loose gully on the opposite side of the gendarme, while I wrapped around to the north face and scrambled up a few hundred feet of Class 2/2+. It's not hard, but it does feel pretty exposed since the slope drops away below. It was hand-over-foot ascending, quite fun. We agreed my route was less sketchy. Now on the summit of Peak 12290, we scoped the remainder of the ridgeline to the high point. Some light Class 2, but mostly just tundra or easy talus led to the summit of the Anthracite Range High Point.
Initially we were tempted before doing the route to just backtrack along the ridgeline rather than do our return route on the north side of the range, but now that we were on the summit, Whiley and I both decided we would prefer to attempt the bushwhack instead of redo all that work in reverse. So, we decended the eastern tundra slope from Anthracite's summit and entered treeline. I recommend just sticking to grasses the whole time. We passed over a couple of gullies requiring Class 2 to get in and out of them, and wrapped around the north ridge of Peak 12290. Animal trails and easy woods walking with super minor 'shwacking led us below the peaks and then down back to the road. There's a ton of options and I can't possibly describe our route through the forest, but my advice would be to try staying as high as you can while keeping to the woods. We constantly found ourselves descending only to have to re-ascend since there is a section on the north side of Peak 11555 that requires ascending to reach. From this point, it was all downhill on easy forest terrain, back to the road we left earlier. We both enjoyed the hike, though the bushwhacking did get a bit old toward the end.
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