Sundance Mountain
August 9th, 2009
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This was a rest day between our hopping to 7 glacier knobs the day before and a long hike out to Junco Lake the day after. We haven't done much hiking up along Trail Ridge Road so this was a nice change. This hike is all tundra and no trail. The route starts from the small parking area by the Ute Crossing TH and heads across the road. The summit of Sundance Mountain isn't visible from the parking area. The summit forms a triangle with two local, lower summits, point 12036 and point 12375. The latter is visible along Trail Ridge Road as you round Rainbow Curve and head toward the Ute Crossing TH. When you start out, point 12375 is directly ahead and point 12036 is off to the left. The more direct route passes through the low point of the saddle between these two points. As you pass through that saddle, the summit becomes visible on the left side at about 10-11 o'clock. It's wide open tundra so pick your own line favoring easy slope or direct path.
It's a small summit with great views of the Mummy Range, the Alpine Visitors Center, Trail Ridge Road, and across to the Terra Tomah Mountain - Mt. Ida group. Walk just a couple of minutes to the north east to get views of Old Fall River Road. We didn't climb it, but I think the views would also be good from point 12375. Round trip to Sundance is about 3.6 miles. I think adding point 12375 would add another mile at most.
During this vacation, we've had a lot of wind. This day was no different. There was a constant, strong breeze that sometimes pushed hard enough to require a solid stance to avoid getting off balance. Even crouched on the ground to take close-up flower photos was difficult at times. None the less, it was a good hike and very pretty. It would also make a great warm up hike.
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