Mount Sheridan

Christy Mahon skins up Mount Sheridan — Ascending the Northeast Ridge of Mount Sheridan. Mount Sherman stands in the distance, behind.

Route: Northeast Ridge

Team: Christy, Ted

Mount Sheridan, 13,748 ft., lies just south of the well-known 14er Mount Sherman. And like most summits in the Leadville/South Park region, it get quite a lot of wind. And that’s not always ideal for snow coverage. But it is a Bicentennial peak and it’s on our list, so on Feb 13, 2022, Christy and I headed up to it to ski.

Our approach was from the west, from Leadville, via Iowa Gulch. In winter, the road is closed several miles down at the pavement, so there’s a pleasant jeep road start to the day. Once you’re up high in the valley, you simply follow snow on or near the sometimes-visible summer trail, and make your way all the way up to the Sheridan/Sherman saddle.

Skinning up to ski Mount Sheridan — Heading up to the Sherman/Sheridan saddle. Mount Sherman is the wind-scoured peak in the distance.

Christy Mahon skinning up Mount Sheridan. — Skinning through sastrugi to the saddle.

From there, you will see an obvious, wide swath of snow to ascend to the summit plateau. It’s a straightforward skin, sometimes complicated by punishing winds. But once you reach the end of the snow, you’re practically on the summit, and you can simply retrace your route of ascent all the way home.

Christy and Ted Mahon on the summit of Mount Sheridan. — On the summit.

Mount Sheridan is an easy, high summit for a mid-winter attempt. The winds strip much of the snow from the mountain’s flanks, and the snow that remains is fairly low angle and heavily wind-hammered, so soft slabs don’t develop like they might in other terrain. Wind slabs are a possibility of course, so take care to assess for those, but otherwise, Mount Sheridan is a fun, mid-winter 13er to climb and ski when other options might be limited.