Quandary Peak East Ridge

Difficulty

Class 1

Intermediate, D3 / R1 / II

Risk Factors

ExposureLow
RockfallLow
Route-FindingLow
CommitmentLow

Trailhead

Quandary 10,850 feet

Summit

14,272 feet

Elevation Gain

3,450 ft

Length Round-TripRT

6.75 mi

Peak Conditions

1,214 reports

Downloads

GPX

KML

Route Last Updated: Jul 2026

Trailhead

From Breckenridge, drive 8 miles south on Colorado 9. Turn right (west) on the 850 (Blue Lakes) Road. Trailhead parking is on the right, just after you leave the highway. If you took the Breckenridge shuttle, it will drop you off here.

Route Description

1 provides a view of the route from the southeast. From the parking area trail kiosk, briefly follow a trail to the McCullough Gulch 851 road. Turn right and follow the road for 0.25 mile, then turn left onto the marked, Quandary Peak trail 2. Ascend into the forest, passing a large boulder 3, then turn right and follow the well-defined trail through the forest 4. Above 11,300', pass through clearings 5 and climb a hill where the trees begin to thin out. Continue to reach the crest of the east ridge near the 11,600' mark 6. Walk another 0.2 mile to the base of a slope 7.

From here, follow the trail as it veers toward the left (south) side of the ridge and gradually ascend back toward the ridge crest 8 9. Near 12,800', rejoin the ridge 10 and continue west to reach a 13,150-foot point on the ridge 11.

Staying on the ridge, traverse a flat section and begin the ascent of the final 1,000 feet 12. The route here is straightforward: follow the ridge while taking in views of Quandary's upper east slope 13 14 15. Gain the summit ridge and walk to the top 16 17.

In Winter

To avoid possible avalanche terrain between 11,800' and 13,000', do not follow the summer trail left (south) to the south side of the ridge. Instead, ascend the slope in 7 to gain a 12,100-foot point and continue along the ridge crest to reach the 13,150-foot point 11.

Skiing?

This is a popular ski route. Through June, the upper and lower east slope bowls usually have decent snow coverage.

Notes

Quandary's east ridge is one of the easiest Colorado 14er routes but make sure you are properly prepared. If you're new to the 14ers, check out the Getting Started section.

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Quandary Peak East Ridge

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