REDCLOUD PEAK
Difficulty: Class 2
Trailhead: Silver Crk/Grizzly Gulch
Trailhead Elev.: 10,400 feet
Elevation Gain: 3,700 feet
Trip Length: 9 miles
SUNSHINE PEAK
Difficulty: Class 2
Trailhead: Silver Crk/Grizzly Gulch
Trailhead Elev.: 10,400 feet
Elevation Gain: 4,800 feet
Trip Length: 12 miles
Redcloud is the 46th highest peak in Colorado and is usually climbed in conjunction with Sunshine Peak. This is a very interesting Class 2 climb in the beautiful San Juan Range. The mountain gets its name from the beautiful red coloring of the peak. This pictur is going up the trail to Redcloud.
Sunshine is the 54th highest of the 54 Colorado 14'ers. It has the distinction of being the lowest 14'er in the United States. Be careful to not disturb the summit lest the mountain could become a 13'er! Luckily it gained 5 feet of elevation in the last survey so it is no longer the lowest of the 14ers. It is usually climbed in conjunction with Redcloud as it is only about a mile from Redcloud. After climbing Redcloud most people just follow the summit ridge trail over to Sunshine. A saddle between the two mountains descends about 500 feet. It took us right at 1 hour to reach the summit of Sunshine from the Redcloud summit. This is the summit of Sunshine with Tyler.
If you only climb Redcloud the best descent is to descend the same route as the ascent. But if you climb Sunshine Peak also, the "approved" descent calls for climbing back to the Redcloud summit a second time and then descending the same route as the ascent. A faster, more direct descent route is available from the Redcloud/ Sunshine saddle if you need to get off the mountain quickly. However, this descent is quite steep and dangerous. More details are provided on the Sunshine Peak page for those who are going to do Sunshine Peak before descending. This is a picture of the steep and dangerous decent.
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