Night View of Gore Range from Ute Pass: Summit County, Colorado
The name to my favorite peak in the Gore Range has been eluding me for several years. The Gore Range is not like many mountain ranges where it has been thoroughly explored. Due to its limited access by Private Property, a person must travel great distances to experience the range. Maps of the Gore Range are also lacking with little info, the fact that many peaks are unnamed, and many named peaks not appearing on maps. It really is a mystery that needs some investigation
Peak T of the Gore Range
I went down to the Forest Service office and stared at several maps of the Gore Range with a couple of rangers for about an hour that still left us clueless. They recommended Google Maps to me which has been my best foot forward in identifying Peak “T”. After identifying Peaks R and S on the same ridge and noticing that Peak T was not on the map at all, I had a wild guess and began researching.
I came across an article entitled First Ascent of Peak T in the Gore Range by Joe Kramarsic which described exactly what I have been staring at for the last 10 years from atop Ute Pass. This was the confirmation I was looking for! Kramarsic also mentions why Peak T may have been left off maps, ” Although it is separated from the higher Peak S to the west by a half mile of rough ridge, it rises only 8 ft from the saddle and so does not count as separate mountain for peak baggers who follow the arbitrary 300 foot minimum drop criterion.” He also goes on to mention that it is not easily seen from within the Slate Creek Drainage and he actually climbed the wrong peak in the 80′s trying to summit Peak T.
I write this not cause Im entering into cartography but because I want to share the information which seems to be hard to uncover. Like I mentioned to the Forest Service, “That peak is too spectacular not to carry a name.”
