Mount Sherman (Southwest Ridge)

Mount Sherman is the shortest standard route on any Colorado fourteener: 5.25 miles round trip with 2,100 feet of gain from a trailhead at 12,000 feet on Fourmile Creek Road west of Fairplay, past the ruins of the Dauntless and Hilltop mines to a 14,036-foot summit. It is the first fourteener for many people and the most popular winter fourteener in the state, because the route avoids most avalanche terrain.

From the gate on Fourmile Creek Road, walk the old mining road up the valley past the Dauntless Mine's collapsing buildings and on to the Hilltop Mine's stone ruins near 12,900 feet, with the road switchbacking through mine tailings. Above the Hilltop the road becomes a trail and climbs to the saddle between Sherman and Mount Sheridan at about 13,100 feet.

From the saddle the trail turns north up Sherman's southwest ridge, Class 2 on rock, with one narrow section near 13,700 feet where the ridge pinches and the wind hits hardest. The summit at 14,036 feet is a long, flat ridge with the true high point at the far north end. Return the same way. Mount Sheridan, a 13er, is a short walk south from the saddle.

From US 285 a mile south of Fairplay, take Park County Road 18 (Fourmile Creek Road) west about 10 miles of gravel, past the Leavick townsite, to the gate at about 12,000 feet. Passenger cars manage the road in summer; the last mile is rough. Park along the road below the gate without blocking it. The pullouts fill by 6 AM on summer weekends. No fee or permit. There is no toilet.

Dogs are allowed and do well on Sherman's easy ridge; keep them out of the mine workings. The Forest Service notes that the route crosses privately owned mining claims rather than public land, and that misuse could close it, so stay on the trail and leave the structures alone. Not a kid hike, though it is the fourteener where fit older kids most often start. Carry two liters; there is no water above the trailhead. The trailhead is at 12,000 feet and the altitude arrives on the first switchback; sleep in Fairplay or Alma the night before. The mine buildings are unstable and the shafts are open; do not enter anything. Fairplay has gas and groceries. The Mount Sherman guide covers the route and the winter version in detail, and the Mosquito Range page has the Decalibron next door.