Intro

Quandary Peak has one of the easiest routes up a 14er in Colorado. Its East Ridge is a roughly 7 mile hike with only ~3,400 feet of elevation. If you’re looking to get started with 14ers or for somewhere to bring your grandma, look here.

Route Overview

The East Ridge route starts below the tree line and follows a well-maintained trail up to the summit. There are really only a couple of places where the trail turns into talus. No special gear is needed although I’d recommend ibuprofen for any altitude symptoms, and as always, be heading down from the summit before noon to avoid lightning storms.

Length: 7 miles

Elevation: ~3,400'

Gear List

Hiking Backpack
3L of water capacity.
Snacks

Water Sources

There is no water on the route, so start filled up.

Hike

The hike stays below the tree line for the first couple of miles before opening up into a well-maintained trail through talus and scree. From the top, you’ll have a great view and plenty of company.

Conditions

In this unseasonably dry November, the trail was totally free of snow, and there were only bits of frost on the rocks as we climbed higher in elevation. However, temps did stay below freezing as we summited around 12PM from our 8AM start.