The many shades of St. Vrain Mountain

Story and photos by Marlene Borneman

Meadow Mountain and St. Vrain Mountain lay in the southeast corner of Rocky Mountain National Park. The peak is named for a fur tradesman, Ceran St. Vrain, who owned a trading fort in the 1840s. St.Vrain Creek also bears his name. My husband, Walt, and I enjoy St. Vrain Mountain in the month of May while the slopes are still under snow. For sure, this peak can have unexpected challenges in spring. We carry micro-spikes and snowshoes as the snow conditions are unpredictable and it is best to be prepared.

The trail to St. Vrain Mountain begins in the Roosevelt National forest, among aspen groves and old-growth forest.

Photo by Marlene Borneman

The St. Vrain Mountain Trail begins in Roosevelt National Forest and passes through the Indian Peaks Wilderness areas before entering Rocky. In the early morning hours, we found the trail free of snow for the first mile. As we followed the big switchback up to treeline, the trail became snowpacked. We worked our way through stunted trees to a large snowfield and a perfect spot to take a break at the sign “entering RMNP.”

The trail skirts in and out of Rocky.

Photo by Marlene Borneman

The day was warm with a slight breeze. A few years ago at this exact same spot, we encountered a terrific blizzard that blew up quickly. We decided to wait it out under a large boulder. Sure enough, after about 15 minutes, the storm blew over and the sun came out encouraging us to go on to the summit. In May 2020, we found much less snow on the trail given that year's extreme drought conditions.

Snowfield heading up to the pass between Meadow Mountain and St. Vrain Mountain

Photo by Marlene Borneman

Following the trail another mile, we left the trail to hike southwest toward the summit. We avoided the krummholz as much as possible, climbing the large snowfield to the summit. Gaining 700 feet from here in 0.6 mile is quite a push. In summer months when the snow has melted this can be a strenuous climb up through large boulders. For us, it is enjoyable to simply kick steps up the snow. On the way down, if the snow conditions are favorable, a good glissade is your reward.

Views of Longs, Meeker and Mount Alice start right away above treeline.

Photo by Marlene Borneman

The near-the-summit metal posts mark the Park boundary and lead to the summit. An occasional cairn also marks the path. It is wise to stick to the well-worn path to the summit protecting the fragile tundra.

Metal t-posts mark the national park boundary to the summit

Photo by Marlene Borneman

We linger on top to enjoy the superlative views to the eastern plains, Wild Basin, and south to the Indian Peaks. As we left the summit, we met two skiers coming up to take advantage of the spring snows.

The author experiences spectacular, expansive views of Wild Basin from the summit of St. Vrain Mountain.

Photo by Walt Borneman

For many years about this time, I have found alpine forget-me-nots, alpine primroses, alpine parsley, and alpine phlox in full bloom. Not this May. Nothing was green on the tundra due to recent snowstorms and cold temperatures. I finally spotted a tuft of forget-me-nots just star ng to show thick bristly hairy leaves.

Alpine Forget-Me-Nots starting to green up above treeline.

Photo by Marlene Borneman

We returned in our footsteps under Meadow Mountain where now the deep snow had softened considerably. Walt's snowshoes came in handy today to negotiate the snowfields back through the trees until we again reached the trail. I, on the other hand, walked lightly across the snow without any problems.

Snowshoes come in handy on the way down!

Photo by Marlene Borneman

Another good spring day in the high country. I'm already looking forward to May, 2022, anticipating what lays up there in the high reaches on St. Vrain Mountain.

Marlene has been photographing Colorado's wildflowers while on her hiking and climbing adventures since 1979. Marlene has climbed Colorado's 54 14ers and the 126 USGS named peaks in Rocky. She is the author of Rocky Mountain Wildflowers 2Ed, The Best Front Range Wildflower Hikes, and Rocky Mountain Alpine Flowers, published by CMC Press. She has created the “Sunflower ID Quiz” for this issue of HIKE ROCKY magazine.

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